A simple statement of sophisticated casualness, but one that spoke volumes in conveying Tomas Maier’s direction for spring. Bypassing convoluted shapes and difficult-to-navigate hemlines, this Bottega Veneta collection, save for the billowing jersey dresses that whispered barefoot walks on the beach, pushed forward the idea of wearing easy, elegant and understandable day clothes. With its palette of cool neutrals, it seemed as if Maier turned to his own backyard of Florida, where he spends much of the year, to deliver the roomy shapes and body-skimming silhouettes cast in airy and light materials–highlighted by tiny Lucio Fontana-like slashes, mesh and hole punches–with structure infused in the form of croc vests and jackets. The suiting, cut from washed silk that draped the body in languid ease, was phenomenal. Juxtaposed against a soundtrack of Bach and Plastikman (the clamor of traffic noise and construction jackhammers), the models let lose a nonchalant, not-a-care-in-the-world attitude that matched their dewy complexions and beachy hair. If anyone has the mastery of resort wear down to a science, and can effortlessly apply to all seasons, it is Maier.
