As if Phillip Lim hasn’t consistently proven his knack for easy yet sophisticated separates for the effortlessly-cool Manhattan working girl season after season, he made his mark yet again for A/W 2012 with a collection anchored in what he described as 'duality'. Lim explored this concept through a bold, primarily monochromatic palette that underlined his signature razor-sharp tailoring, alongside deceptively simple paneling allowing the illusion of shadowing – effectively creating a lithe, lean silhouette.
As we’ve come to expect from Lim, structured layer-friendly separates suited to any desk-to-disco girl’s wardrobe in contrasting materials including organza, merino wool and PVC were rife throughout, key pieces being high-waisted pencil trousers, sleek blazers, slouchy-chic knits and two-tone shift dresses. It was really through the outerwear, though, that the collection shined. Textural, subtly experimental and in countless forms, Lim’s polished and modern chill-fighting wares ran the gamut from wool patchwork overcoats, classic crombies and mod-like panelled mohair capes to reworked military blazers and nouveau-puffa jackets. To break up the black and white two-tone party, Lim introduced optimistic pops of red, bright blue, grey and taupe – as well as striking geometric prints, adding a youthful vitality to his grown-up cool vision for the coming winter.
