<\/p>\n
\n\tFforme\u2019s Frances Howie is in a New York state of mind. Last season her customer left town in a figurative sense, but fall was all about returning to the emerging brand\u2019s metropolis. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe are a New York brand,\u201d she said during a preview. And New York was a character in her show. \u00a0She called to mind the 1990 film \u201cMetropolitan,\u201d a romantic comedy of manners about a group of friends who meet to discuss social mobility. The \u201cendangered debutante,\u201d Howie labeled it.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhere did those social swans get their clothing? In the ateliers of Seventh Avenue. It\u2019s a bygone era that still has a few specialized\u00a0holdouts crafting pieces in the garment district. She used one to construct shearlings that were treated less as luxury than instinct \u2014 dangling as scarves, hats, and shoulder wraps as cocooned silhouettes, left deliberately frayed at the edges, elegant but faintly savage.<\/p>\n
\n\tHand-tailored suiting in m\u00e9lange wool faille was deconstructed, made modular with a vest as a separate piece locking together, completing a look. Another slick collarless coat was paired with a tailored sleeveless dress. A dramatic A-line gown in gray m\u00e9lange ottoman was wrapped in gauze-y wool jersey, creating a trompe l\u2019oeil effect.<\/p>\n
\n\tMetallic-hued velvet dresses molded the body into hourglass silhouettes with panniers in gold and burnt amber. They came in the finest French velvet, another one of this\u00a0atelier\u2019s specialties with decades of experience. \u201cIf we don\u2019t support these places, they will be gone,\u201d she said, a cause she is passionate about.<\/p>\n
\n\tOther looks, like outerwear, used hair calf, the tactile continuing to be what makes her work\u00a0at Ffrome resonate. \u201cWe don\u2019t really have accessories. The clothing is the hero piece,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tMetallic halos were hand-hammered in silver and bronze, circling the necklines of minimal silk dresses, partly suspended. The natural elements were immortalized through electroplating: real flowers and leaves were coated, creating one-of-a-kind works of art by a close collaborator of the brand, Barcelona-based jewelry designer Alba Navarro of ANH Studio.<\/p>\n
\n\tHer endangered debutante emerged in the shapes and fabrications but the soul was unmistakably \u201990s Helmut Lang, with ribboned tuxedo trousers trailing the runway and sheer knit tops deconstructed using ribbons cross-stitched into quiet disruption.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEverything is dressier,\u201d she said of her collection, \u201cbut not too dressed up.\u201d \u00a0Howie\u2019s Fforme delivered edge without indulgence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fforme\u2019s Frances Howie is in a New York state of mind. Last season her customer left town in a figurative sense, but fall was all about returning to the emerging brand\u2019s metropolis. \u201cWe are a New York brand,\u201d she said during a preview. And New York was a character in her show. \u00a0She called to mind the 1990 film \u201cMetropolitan,\u201d a romantic comedy of manners about a group of friends who meet to discuss social mobility. The \u201cendangered debutante,\u201d Howie labeled it. Where did those social swans get their clothing? In the ateliers of Seventh Avenue. It\u2019s a bygone era that still has a few specialized\u00a0holdouts crafting pieces in the garment district. She used one to construct shearlings that were treated less as luxury than instinct \u2014 dangling as scarves, hats, and shoulder wraps as cocooned silhouettes, left deliberately frayed at the edges, elegant but faintly savage. Hand-tailored suiting in m\u00e9lange wool faille was deconstructed, made modular with a vest as a separate piece locking together, completing a look. Another slick collarless coat was paired with a tailored sleeveless dress. A dramatic A-line gown in gray m\u00e9lange ottoman was wrapped in gauze-y wool jersey, creating a trompe l\u2019oeil effect. Metallic-hued velvet dresses molded the body into hourglass silhouettes with panniers in gold and burnt amber. They came in the finest French velvet, another one of this\u00a0atelier\u2019s specialties with decades of experience. \u201cIf we don\u2019t support these places, they will be gone,\u201d she said, a cause she is passionate about. Other looks, like outerwear, used hair calf, the tactile continuing to be what makes her work\u00a0at Ffrome resonate. \u201cWe don\u2019t really have accessories. The clothing is the hero piece,\u201d she said. Metallic halos were hand-hammered in silver and bronze, circling the necklines of minimal silk dresses, partly suspended. The natural elements were immortalized through electroplating: real flowers and leaves were coated, creating one-of-a-kind works of art by a close collaborat…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}