Phi
REVIEW
COMPLETE COLLECTION
NEW YORK, September 11, 2008
By Laird Borrelli-Persson
Phi is slowly but surely becoming a force to be reckoned with. The label was founded in 2004 by Susan Dell and has been designed since its second season by Andreas Melbostad. This year it ran its first ad campaign, with a nod to Vargas girls, and debuted a Resort collection. Early next year it will open up its second shop, in Los Angeles. "We started feeling that we had built a nice foundation and that people started to relate to the image and product in a good way," Melbostad explained modestly, "and we felt comfortable and confident to deliver more."Speaking of which, Melbostad's Spring collection was one of his strongest yet. Over the past four years Phi has experimented alternately with lingerie and aggressive tailoring. This season, the balance between the two was at its most harmonious. As his jackets demonstrated, Melbostad didn't totally abandon his preoccupation with the eighties, but his engineering and construction were "much softer," as he himself put it, "not as body-con, and a little bit looser and more relaxed."
Loosely inspired by motocross racing and works in glass by Ettore Sottsass—the founder of the currently highly trendy haute-eighties Memphis design collective—Melbostad jigsaw-puzzled together soft, pale colors (opal, petal, mint) and fabrics of different weights (georgette, mesh). Paneled dresses with intricate boudoir pleating and fine tucks were worn over zip-bottomed skinny pants that looked like an Egyptian mummy's leggings. (Trust us, they were hot.)
Admittedly, the harem pants and jodhpurs are unlikely to look as cool on an ordinary human as they did on the models. But beyond that, there were plenty of beautifully made pieces that are sure to race out of the NYC and L.A. stores.
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Spring 2009 Ready-to-Wear
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3.1 Phillip Lim -
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Eley Kishimoto Elie Saab Elie Tahari Elise Øverland Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emporio Armani Erdem Erin Fetherston Etro -
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Fashion Fringe Fendi Francesco Scognamiglio -
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Gap Gareth Pugh Giambattista Valli Gianfranco Ferré Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Graeme Black G-Star Gucci -
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Haider Ackermann Halston Hanii Y Helmut Lang Hermès Hervé Léger by Max Azria House of Holland Hussein Chalayan -
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Iceberg Isaac Mizrahi Issa -
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Kai Kühne Karen Walker Karl Lagerfeld Koi Suwannagate Kris Van Assche -
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L'Wren Scott Lacoste Lanvin La Perla Lela Rose Limi Feu Loewe Louise Goldin Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella Luisa Beccaria Lutz & Patmos -
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Naeem Khan Nanette Lepore Narciso Rodriguez Nathan Jenden Nicole Miller Nina Ricci -
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Ohne Titel Organic by John Patrick Oscar de la Renta Ossie Clark -
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Paul Smith Women Peter Jensen Peter Pilotto Peter Som Phi Philosophy Pollini Ports 1961 Prada Preen Pringle of Scotland Proenza Schouler -
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Sabyasachi Salvatore Ferragamo Sari Gueron Shipley & Halmos Sinha-Stanic Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Sophie Theallet Stærk Stella McCartney Stephen Burrows Sue Stemp -
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Tao Temperley London Thakoon Threeasfour Tibi Todd Lynn Tommy Hilfiger Topshop Unique Tory Burch Tracy Reese Trovata TSE Tuleh -
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Undercover United Bamboo -
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Valentino Vena Cava Vera Wang Vera Wang Lavender Label Veronique Branquinho Versace Victoria Beckham Viktor & Rolf Vivienne Tam Vivienne Westwood Vivienne Westwood Red Label VPL -
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William Rast Wunderkind -
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Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
