Karl Templer has made it his ambition to deliver pulled-together and polished garb that exudes confidence and a sense of calm.
Backstage, Ports 1961’s artistic director said his search for beauty started from men’s patterns and pieces and yielded a soft-edged, breezy wardrobe with a nonchalant flair.
“It’s [about] classicism and playing on the codes of taste,” he said.
Cue the opening look, Julia Nobis in a fluid and statuesque wide-legged pantsuit, followed by a strapless duchesse short-sleeved dress exuding the laid-back attitude of a cotton T-shirt.
He embedded a few crafty spins and except for the shabby-looking, make-do-and-mend knit cardigan and skirt sets made of layered panels of former vests, they made for the most interesting pieces.
Templer inventively manipulated stripes and checks, the former of different sizes and applied to cotton pajama sets with chiffon back panels and handkerchief dresses, the latter rendered in superb knits made of cable knit strips weaved like origami.
“The starting point was very architectural and then it was very simplified… it’s the idea of someone quite handsome and confident,” he said.
This was a covetable and smart collection, with the right dose of creativity elevating wardrobe tropes.