Thomas Wylde Fall 2016

Inspired by the upcoming Disney remake “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and California’s beachside culture of skaters, musicians, artists, and surfer types, Thomas Wylde creative director Jene Park created a fall 2016 collection that heavily referenced Los Angeles’ nightlife, and more specifically its rock n’ roll club scene. Sexy, bold, somewhat irreverent, and surprisingly accessible are all great adjectives that describe this fall 2016 collection.

Decades ago rock n’ roll inspired fashion collections appeared mostly to a youthful, rebellious niche audience. (Think Zhandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood, Betsey Johnson, to a lesser degree Claude Montana, and currently John Varvatos.) Those days are long gone. Rock n’ roll references are rather commonplace in fashion and what was once seen as rebellious and outré is now seen as high fashion. And that is one of the challenges with this collection.

Though this collection is exciting and does cause pulses to quicken, fashion insiders and many fashionistas have seen most of the looks many times over. (Consider Versace’s punk-inspired collection a few seasons ago.) Like the proverb “there is nothing new under the sun,” this collection rehashes standard rock n’ roll looks that keep popping up in collections every four or five years. And that is no necessarily a bad thing!! If something works, keep doing it. And this collection works!!

Still, there are some details in this fall 2016 collection that elevates this outing from standard rock n’ roll–inspired collections. The brand adds small ruffles to the hem of jackets and pants, a very interesting and unexpected flourish that adds a softer quality to the otherwise hard driving collection.

There are also some lingerie elements to the collection that gives the collection a plush richness. That said; at times there was an overabundance of zippers, metal studs, Swarovski embellishments, and fur elements.

Standouts in the fall 2016 collection include the brand’s sunset red undulating cape with dyed fox collar with plunging V-neck thigh-high draped matte jersey dress, tar black shadow fox wand leather gilet with diamonte crystal studded details. Cream white undulating cashmere cape with white shadow fox collar, sunset red shrunken leather biker jacket with diamond cut studding detail on the sleeves, and sunset red al over pailette encrusted coat dress with tumbling layers of chiffon and frayed silk chiffon conical ruffle detailing.

—William S. Gooch