The Tamesis
As with most Partow collections, there’s no single concept that inspires the design process, nor are individual images pinned to a mood board wall before other ideas populate it. Most of the time, a collection is first and foremost driven by fabric, and this season was no different. The brand recently established an Italian team and adopted new factories and new technologies. Taking advantage of these opportunities, designer Nellie Partow is eager to showcase a range of fresh yet subtle techniques.
The novelty is the hand-draped chintz, which appears on an asymmetrical blue dress and a white top in the same one-shoulder design. The smooth sheen and angled shapes of the fabric reveal fluidity, while hidden skeletons lend unexpected structure—a dialogue between “ease and control,” as Pato describes it. A color-blocked button-up shirt delivers a similar effect, but with a more visible contrast, with the white swatch on the lower half giving a boxy look when paired with black wide-leg pleated pants.
Of course, Pato couldn’t resist reinventing other classics of American sportswear again. Pleat-front denim and a healthy selection of blazers are crucial to both the brand and the category. A modern cropped silhouette or an angular silhouette with extra pockets adds a sense of elegance that designers find easy to reflect in the sophisticated wardrobes of New York women. “I think I’m always trying to find a reality of what’s going on in a woman’s life and what she needs,” Pato said. “So I’m always looking for ways to create it and then push the envelope.”
