Ivan Aguilar Fall 2014

Ivan Aguilar’s fall 2014 collection was his first venture into women’s wear. Known primarily as a menswear designer, Aguilar for over 20 years has stayed in that market. Now that Aguilar has expanded into the women’s wear market, unlike other designers who tried this crossover and abandon their menswear oeuvre, Aguilar has infused some menswear elements into this new direction.

Inspired by the 1950s Dior aesthetic of wide skirts and cinched in waist, Aguilar added some modern elements expressed in fabrication, length of skirt and architectural construction. Aguilar also stayed mostly with a neutral palette of greys, black, and eggshell white infused with one of the trending colors of the season, rose gold.

Aguilar’s fabrications for this fall 2014 collection belie his Brazilian roots and fit more nicely into the colder international fashion capitals of New York City, London, and Paris. Still, Aguilar’s interesting use wool, leather, cashmere, and knitwear fit nicely into the trending projection for fall 2014 of combining knitwear with leather and fur. Also, Aguilar’s styling of cashmere and knit scarves draped seductively over basic blouses and peplum-inspired coats conjured up images of cool nights in the higher elevations of Brazil.

Though this collection was not a loud pronouncement of Aguilar’s foray into women’s wear, this collection demonstrated that Aguilar has the requisite skill and craftsmanship to have a sustaining presence in that market. The genius is in the details, and in this fall 2014 collection Aguilar proved that his detailed sensibility has set him on the right path.

[vsw id=”dQ55aZUp4LM” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]

—Earlean Suite-Henderson