Tracy Reese Spring 2013: Breezy glamour, wind machine not included

A look from Tracy Reese’s Spring 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week. (photo by Bibs Teh / Meniscus Magazine)

Tracy Reese’s elegant, winsome designs are as dreamy on the eye as on the body – feminine but not fussy, bold but not overwhelming. As the spotlight rises in the afterglow of Michelle Obama’s luminous appearance at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the label delivers a sumptuous collection of soft, playful glamour for SS 2013 that’s more than worthy of the extra buzz.

There are designers of formula (neutral column=Calvin Klein; safari debutante=Michael Kors) and designers of form, and Reese reigns among the latter. Her stock in trade is an impeccable mastery of balance: of coverage to exposure, color to neutral, volume to length, subdued to shine. The result is a sensuous collection that flatters without ever trying to wear the wearer.

Draping is easy on jackets that shrug open, and on charmeuse separates that cascade in perfect proportion. Seduction is in the details: drawstringed drop-waists, sloping shoulders and pleat-paneled miniskirts bare but do not overshare. Cobalt, lemon, indigo, peach, mint and kelly are almost edible against nudes.

Embellishments are monochromatic, mostly showing up on a range of white separates. A white bead-encrusted top frames a plunging backline in silver. One exception is a black flapper-style dress with a shocking band of gold that ends in dazzling scarlet beaded fringe.

That dress swings and shakes with the best of them, epitomizing the winning element around which this collection coalesces: movement. At the show, the ample cuts, fluid fabrics and skimming silhouettes sailed so breezily down the runway beneath the models’ tousled manes that many in the packed house were left to wonder: do these clothes come with their own wind machines?

Photo Gallery: Tracy Reese Spring 2013
all photos by Bibs Teh / Meniscus Magazine