Partow Fall 2018 Ready-To-Wear...Fashionweekly..On Fow24news.com

Designers are lucky if they can establish their “thing” early on—maybe it’s a signature detail, or a particular item they become known for..... Nellie Partow has a few. In the beginning, she was quickly recognized for her plush hand-knitted sweaters, which came with cut-outs at the shoulder blades or hints of Lurex, and made a subtle statement about fusing craft with innovation. A few seasons later, suiting was her big focus; more recently, it's been her shimmery dresses in easy, T-shirt-like shapes. The light-reflecting fabrics have changed a bit from season to season, from glowy fil-coupé to hardier jacquard and, for Fall 2018, a “tissue weight” Lurex blend. Partow’s new long-sleeved dress in rosy-bronze Lurex is the rare find that will appeal to women of many tastes—minimalists, maximalists, romantics, pragmatists, and everyone in between.

In the lookbook, that standout dress is shown as a New York woman might wear it: with chunky sandals, a necklace, and little else. The fabric alone will draw women to the rack, but it will hold their attention for its mesmerizing shifting tones: Sometimes it looks like a bright, sparkly pink, and other times it’s more golden. What will also strike customers is how soft the Lurex is. Partow explained that the ultra-smooth texture was achieved with Lurex threads that actually have rounded edges; traditionally, a Lurex thread is flat, so it tends to be scratchy.

As for Partow’s other specialties, the suiting was happily unstructured, and her new brushed-cashmere coats stood out for their long, lean silhouettes and rows of buttons. On the knitwear front, she introduced a new cable-knit shrug, shown here as a scarf wrapped around the model’s neck. In the studio, Partow modeled it over her own T-shirt and jeans, then turned around to show off the rounded, couture-ish silhouette. It might be one of the only shrugs we see this season, but it’s a clever styling piece: It could replace a denim jacket or cardigan during the day, and would be even cooler with a slipdress or long gown at night.