Theia Resort 2016

For inspiration, Theia’s creative director Don O’Neill looked to the work of Bauhaus artist Anni Albers. Albers was known in the US for her designs in ink washes for textiles, and for being one of the first textile designers to have their work presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.  Her woven works include many wall hangings, curtains and bedspreads, mounted “pictorial” images, and mass-produced yard material. Her weavings are often constructed of both traditional and industrial materials, not hesitating to combine jute, paper, and cellophane.

This juxtaposition of industrial and traditional and materials is a focal point of O’Neill’s inspiration. “Her simple and clean use of lines to create textiles and wall hangings, informed a minimal approach to [this Resort 2016] collection.  I began with navy blue ribbon embroidered tulle, woven thru with linear micro sequins, which is used throughout the collection.  The vibrational aspect of color she used in vivid stripes inspired nautical dresses and her graphic black and whites resonate in a mosaic-tiled embroidery, while white details accentuate clean lines on black dresses,” explains O’Neill.

Though this Resort 2016 collection incorporated current trends of big floral prints, metallic fibers and variations on crop tops, O’Neill stayed true to the brand’s design aesthetic by fusing Albers woven detail influences with Theia’s modern perspective on chic, sophisticated clothing that can appeal to a wide demographic.  Standouts in the collection were O’Neill’s nautical blue and silver stripped pocketed skirt with mosaic multi-dimensional weaved crop top and black dress with low decolletage and high slit and white Peter Pan collar.

—William S. Gooch