Cohen’s thoughtful silhouettes are upstaged only by his dedication to super-special fabrics and finishes. The Sarah dress came with allover quilting, which required subtle padding behind the silk and hundreds of red contrast stitches. The technique lent a bit of soft structure to the dress, plus some texture and dimension. At the shoot, Cohen styled it over a hand-knitted sweater to play up its day-to-night versatility. As for his signature floral prints, nearly all of them were created in Cohen’s studio with dried flowers scattered across the table or arranged in “bouquets,” then translated to silk or fil coupe. A floor-length ’40s-ish gown with clusters of wildflowers and anemones was, in a word, lovely. So was the black sable column with shimmering blue lamé petals, which should appeal to the less-print-inclined woman.
The designer said his inspiration for all of it was Grey Gardens, specifically, how living in the house made the Ediths’ imaginations go wild. “Their clothing played such an important role, and it helped them escape their troubles,” he said. Women today might feel a similar anxiety; in the face of the endlessly disastrous Republican administration and women’s rights violations in Hollywood and beyond, Cohen’s clothes are reliably beautiful and mood-lifting. He pointed out the raw edges on a ruby silk dress and the mismatched ribbons on a hand-knit cardigan: “I imagined [the women in the film] switching the buttons and ties on their clothes, and putting little touches on each garment,” he explained. His black three-button blazer will come with just one striped button, and its placement will vary on each jacket, “so each one feels personal.” It’s those special details that feel right for now, and will no doubt earn Cohen a bevy of new shoppers.
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