Sherri Hill Spring 2016

 “Florals for spring, groundbreaking,” remember that iconic line from “The Devil Wears Prada’? Well, whether Sherri Hill got the memo about floral prints for spring looking rather pedestrian or not, it didn’t keep her from putting lots of floral prints in her spring 2016 collection.

Sometimes this floral direction worked, and sometimes it looked like a walk down Southern Belle sipping mint julep among the magnolia tree memory lane. And at times that was a part of the charm of this collection.

That said; for several seasons Sherri Hill has attempted to push her design aesthetic out of the beauty pageant/prom queen genre. Some seasons she is more successful than other times. This collection was not one of her shining moments in that endeavor. And though some of Hill’s floral print garments had a certain amount of charm, at times the saccharine element was almost too sweet, like something out of a 70s Butterick pattern book.

Though Hill did add some trending elements like crop tops, cutouts, and illusions to her floral prints what worked best in this outing is Hill’s pageant-inspired looks. And in the genre Hill is without compare.

Because Sherri Hill has worked in the pageant/prom genre for so many years, this segment of the fashion industry is definitely more comfortable for her and over the years she has instrumental in expanding that genre beyond the pretty, over-embellished gown standard and helped evolve the pageant/prom genre into a fashion-forward expression of that particular genre.

Still, it is good thing that Sherri Hill continuously pushes out her comfort zone, always trying to evolve her design aesthetic. Ultimately, this quest has influenced her aesthetic, pushing it further and injecting more style and innovation. Keep pushing Sherri!!

—William S. Gooch