3.1 Phillip Lim Ready To Wear Spring Summer 2013 New York

To the distinct crooning of Neil Young’s “My My, Hey Hey,” Phillip Lim’s models wove their way through a massive midtown warehouse venue, where “grunge” was high on the mind. “None of the negative connotations,” said Lim backstage. So think less grease and more slick slouchy. There’s a certain carelessness to which the Lim girl assembles herself; it’s part of the brand DNA of repurposing the past and present and proposing a new future. “I took this straight line, cut it up and see what happened,” said Lim. “I didn’t want to do straightforward grunge; instead, I wanted to explore the romantic parallel of it.”

The results were an eclectic mash-up of faded florals from your grandparents’ past to trompe l’oeil done in a futuristic way. There were hints of naughtiness as well, witnessed via a translucent dress that revealed undergarments. Lim manipulated and reassembled many of his pieces in a way similar to the literary “cut-up” technique used by Dadaists in the 1920’s and made popular by William S. Burroughs in the 50’s. The results? A seemingly-pieced-together yet posh nubuck biker jacket, shredded jeans and utility jacket and dresses with mixed floral patchworks. It may not have been a collection for everyone, but for the Lim girl, it was a home run.

- Jim Shi