Sid Neigum Fall 2018 Ready-To-Wear....Fashionweekly...On Fow24news.com

Sid Neigum is a man of math and science—the Canadian designer studied both subjects before he launched his eponymous women’s brand, and they continue to play out in his work.....
“The pattern-making, especially, is what interests me,” he explained at a preview of his Fall collection. “That’s a continuing theme, looking at construction and architecture.” (To wit, the lookbook was shot in London at the house of Ernö Goldfinger, a Modernist architect from the 1930s).

This season Neigum strove for simplicity, and many of the pieces were held together by a single seam. Think a pleated black nylon skirt that wound neatly around the body, or four identical slices of fabric, cut and twisted into a little stretch top knotted at the chest. Its shiny black and gold threads were not Lurex, but a plain jersey with metal woven in with the fibers—a coy nod to that scientific background of Neigum’s. “I try to push it a little bit further each time,” he said. In contrast, there was a series of prettily ruffled dresses and a blouse the color of aged ivory, inspired by his seamstress grandmother. “She never used patterns, just created by measuring and cutting,” he said. It made sense that they brought a classic romance to the mix.

Neigum spends a great deal of time exploring the golden ratio, which allows him to assemble garments with innately pleasing geometry—a sleeve squared at the shoulder to zig-zag off the body, and so on. Yet what strikes the eye first is the delightful contrast of textures: a feathery blouse next to a sheeny laminated wool skirt, or those matte pleated nylons against softer stuff. One standout turtleneck dress summed it up nicely: a ribbed velvet-corduroy number, knotted at the center and embellished with silver hoops, plus a pretty curved sleeve designed from that golden ratio. Yes, its construction was meticulous, but without knowing any of the math behind it, the result was still clearly great.