5:31 Jérôme Spring 2014: Paillettes and peat moss

The time couldn’t be riper for Jérôme LaMaar to make his debut. Baby of face and sharp of shear, the designer himself has become a ubiquitous presence on the fashion blogger circuit. This playful, kinetic collection is a mashup reflective of his own eclectic style and design background (Baby Phat by way of Chado Ralph Rucci) – a mashup likely to appeal to the very bloggers who keep him in the spotlight.

The aesthetic crackles with casual whimsy. Baggy trousers and ample pencil (crayon?) skirts are festooned with iridescent paillettes, and paired with boxy shantung doubled-breasted blazers over crop tops or lazy T-shirts. A cream lambskin ensemble forms coveralls for the world’s most impractical mechanic. The palette may be sweet – pinks, creams, blushes, whites, the odd turquoise – but the cuts and embellishments are saucy and bold. Perfect for the uptown girl wandering through the Conservatory Garden, walking off her hangover.

Ingeniously, Jérôme straps that garden to her feet, with a range of stilettos made of grassy Astroturf and leaves. Leaves! Of course. It’s a hothouse world Jérôme has created, a world of the cultivated wild, of paillettes and peat moss. The product of a lush imagination.

Photos: 5:31 Jérôme Spring 2014 – New York Fashion Week
all photos by Andie Davis / Meniscus Magazine