Cloak Spring 2007

Those who know me well understand my obsession with Cloak by Alexandre Plokhov. But I was saddened to see just a few days ago his Spring 2007 show in NYC. Basically as my favorite designer he let me down.

Whereas in the past I have wanted almost every single piece from the runway, I was hard pressed to find looks and pieces I liked. Some of the models were painfully ugly, the clothes too dark, and the anger that was in the presentation over-powering.

There were details that I liked such as this three piece suit:

I find it well tailored flattering, beautifully cut and elegant. It maintains the gentlemanly forms of past collections but is not staid in its traditional black or charcoal color tones. What is even better is that all three parts could be worn on their own or in any combination of two. Its rocker but its presentable as well.

My other favorite look was this short trench, trousers and rolled neck smock shirt. Typically I would find this too heavy and better suited for the fall and winter, but shown here it looks light and airy compared to the rest of the outfit. I'm thinking early early spring when its still nippy and the wind can pick up:

But the trousers are so well cut and fit perfectly, the jacket is immaculate with the belt tied just to the side and the color palette is flattering and slimming. I feel that the rock/punk look is over and if people are still wearing the trend, its because they are trend followers and not trend setters. This taken into consideration, Plokhov has designed a collection that ought to sell well, but he is teetering on the line of becoming too Dior Homme when he shows a first look like this:

tsk, tsk, tsk...lets wait till next season to see what he does and save our excitement for then. I do hope he stay around for a while though, as I can never get enough.