The Tamesis
During a visit to Sanssouci, the summer residence of Frederick the Great, Johnson Hartig not only crossed an item off his bucket list, but also found general inspiration for his fall collection. I say generally because while you can clearly see how the designer interpreted the sun symbol on the Potsdam pavilion as a delicate embellishment on the back of a jacket, or used elements of the sky and space to pay homage to the aristocracy’s interest in astronomy, he didn’t stick too closely to his starting point. In fact, Americanism makes up a large portion of the collection. These included embellished jeans, crazy quilt patterns printed on textured fabrics punctuated with gold glitter like stitching, and Hartig’s use of gold “tweed” that resembled the clothes his mother would have worn as a hostess in the ’60s.
Hartig’s favorite fall style is a tunic paired with pants. He said he wanted a look that was “more restrained and elegant for us.” Although the lines are a bit thin, in the world of the libertine, restraint can only be relative. A black crepe dress achieves this perfectly, with long sleeves gently rolled up and delicate beading on the chest. For this viewer, it is the spiritual successor to the black “necklace” dress that Tina Chou once wore. A coat in a reissued animal print, a shimmering reptilian look or a plaid pattern with transferred rhinestone roses should all be belted at the waist.
In this post-truth era, carelessness may seem an impossible ideal, but fashion has the temporary power to transform. “People relate to the joy in clothes,” Hartig said. “I hear it all the time: ‘Your clothes bring me so much joy.'” The designer’s fondness for pendant embroidery on densely beaded jackets or shimmering tinsel on marabou suggests that, 25 years on, Hartig has not been immune to this sentiment. You might say that he built his Sanssouci in the form of a brand, not a palace.
