Who — or what — creates the female form: the woman herself or the designer who's dressing her? Hussein Chalayan toyed with that idea in his Spring 2013 collection, showing looks that were alternately boxed in, formfitting, or had the shape of a woman's body literally drawn on.
The foundation here was Chalayan's customarily sharp stable of basics, rendered this season in fabrics that were for the most part light in color and in weight. Two boxy coat dresses opened the show (one with sleeves, one without), followed immediately by square shirts and culottes. The pieces that followed — mostly shirts and skirts, some adorned with ruffles and pleats — sucked the waist back in and gave their wearers shape for a time, then came rectangular dresses with column shapes that either had an hourglass figure gently colored on or sheer rectangular shapes over printed dresses that hugged the body. All Chalayan's customers will have to do is decide which method for showing off or concealing their assets works for them.
