Love to Love You Babe
Alexander Berardi Fall 2011
There something for every woman in Alexander Berardi’s Fall 2011 collection. And that’s not a bad thing. The collection, made up of Ali McGraw-in-Love Story-inspired separates, consists of proper blouses (the Marigold scarf version was a welcome last minute addition), sequined dresses, coats, sweaters, pants and even a knit hat that Ms. McGraw requested herself. Hitting his stride, the 24-year-old Parsons alum and native of Hurley, NY, updated his New England meets city slicker collection with hints of mahogany (yes, wood—Even Suzy Menkes noted the use of the material in fashion in a recent column), ultra-suede and oh-so-many sequins. Our favourite of the cocktail frocks is easily the midnight blue, one-shouldered liquid sequined dress, which Berardi tells us, when we meet him at the Burroughes Building in Toronto, is actually made of one piece of fabric.
But, we digress (we easily gets distracted by sequins!). Staying up until 2am one morning with his sewing team, Berardi was there to finish sewing a sleeve on the intricately detailed mahogany beaded cropped jacket. And those little wonders make appearances throughout the collection, as details on the Carey skirt and the Arden Cardigan. And complement the ultra-suede detailing on a tux-inspired jacket and a pair of snazzy, caramel shorts, made of the same material.
Foregoing a show this season, Berardi and his team chose instead to take a more personal approach, hence their second stop north of the border. After a successful runway collaboration with Canadian handbag designer Jessica Jensen for Spring 2011, Berardi, whom Robyn Kay of the FDCC noted was the first American designer to show at Toronto Fashion Week, is now focused on opening his first boutique in the SoHo neighbourhood of New York City, as well as strengthening relationships with buyers. “If you’re not reaching the consumer it’s not going to connect in the end,” he says. “And the Toronto show went so well, that it seemed really natural to come back!”
