Nary Manivong, known for his solo fashion line, met Ally Hilfiger (daughter of Tommy) in 2008. They instantly clicked. After having Ally style two of his fashion shows last year, Manivog joined forces with Hilfiger to create a new line, NAHM.
To debut their new line, NAHM chose to focus on a single element of classic style: the shirt dress.
The collection starts simply enough, with classic cuts in double-faced cotton. I love the sheen on these, but hate the hair and makeup. NAHM cited Poe’s “The Raven” as an influence, but the makeup speaks more to goth girls with “The Crow” tattoos.
NAHM’s collection carries a juxtaposition of thin and thick that completely entrances me. Both the sheer draping on the left and the stiff pin-tucking on the right show the female form, but in entirely different ways. My favorite part of this collection is in the collars and shoulders: thin crisp cuffs and wide, rounded arms create unexpected curves and drop-offs on each design.
I swear to god I’m not trying to be pretentious. That up there…it just came out. Maybe NAHM makes everyone a little gothic poet.
Like, um, these girls. Someone needs to scold the model on the left. As for the right: I’m a sucker for that little girl-inspired poof. I can’t help myself.
I don’t want to be bored by these, but I am. The orange is great – and everywhere this season – but the dress itself would be lost if it weren’t on the perfect model: the short hair compliments the collar, and her proportions are great for the heavy fabric and skinny leather (?) belt.
The dress on the right is, unless I’m missing something, just a black dress shirt. Nothing else. So what?
So this, apparently.
Lindsay chose these as two of her favorites, but wondered if part of the reason was that she “hadn’t really seen them before”. I wanted to like them, but the left doesn’t inspire me and the right kind of looks like pleated drapes.
What do you think of NAHM’s debut line?
Did they reinvent the shirtdress, or just reproduce what’s already been done?
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