Wes Gordon (Q3681)
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Wes Gordon is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Wes Gordon |
Wes Gordon is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
For Spring, the designerWes Gordonsaid he focused on what was “intrinsic” to the brand. “It’s walking the line between the romantic and the modern, the clean nineties silhouettes, but then, the handwork and the detail,” said Gordon. He also mentioned a tighter, more controlled approach to the collection’s execution—citing the benefits of doing video and/or Instagram presentations (which is now his strategy) over runway shows, which require an excess of pieces and looks.His mission was mostly accomplished, especially with a series of silk, lace, and chiffon dresses, which boasted flawless bias drapes and an enticingly subtle chromatic variance between blush and nude. They were sleek yet amorous, somewhere between slips and gowns, and impressive. As a complement to this bit, Gordon also whipped up pale silk shorts, which he admitted were “like a perfect boxer.”It was also encouraging to see Gordon take some risks here and there; his collection can sometimes feel superannuated (see, for Spring, other elements of inset lacework and a certain hard line in tailored jackets and blazers), but there was a “paper, paper thin” plaid taffeta cut into a floor-length trench coat. That was a nice surprise.
13 September 2016
When asked what kind of pieces his client looks particularly to his brand for,Wes Gordonreplies: “Special ones.” He means it. Since tightening up the range of items in his collections last season, Gordon has taken to thinking of his output as “a jewel box,” and each item in it a labor of love. The approach suits him. As this collection reaffirmed, Gordon is at his best when he’s attending to the details of his clothes—the touch of crispy lace on the sleeves of a box-pleated minidress; the jagged pinking shear edge on the panels of a wool viscose balmacaan. And so on. Detail-drivenness militates against making collections very large, or producing clothes in vast numbers. Gordon, for his part, has elected for product integrity, and keeping his brand petite.So, what are these special clothes? This season, they largely hewed to the Wes Gordon fundamentals: ultrafeminine blouses and frocks made from ultrafine laces and silks, mixed with some durable tailoring. The aforementioned dresses and tops were as appealingly pretty as you’d predict—camisoles topped with a soft ruffle extension were one standout, and a spaghetti-strap dress in a tonal lily of the valley–print silk was another. Despite the attentive finishing, these looks, and others, had a nice easygoing mien. But the stars here were the garments with an elevated utilitarian vibe. A mid-calf silk shirtdress seemed like the kind of thing a woman—pretty much any woman—would be happy to wear to shreds. And Gordon’s tailoring was superb, in particular the high-waist flares executed in a denim-blue wool viscose and graphic white-and-black check. There was a strong flavor of ’90s minimalism in these looks, which was Gordon’s intent. The more he simplified, the more his loving details stood out.
2 June 2016
Kudos,Wes Gordon. The designer deserves accolades for his good, hard thinking, both in terms of the way he chose to present his latest collection, and how he focused the collection itself. Gordon eschewed the catwalk this season, opting instead to shoot a campaign-style lookbook and debut GIF-style “moments” from the shoot on Instagram. The Insta-posts highlighted the details of Gordon’s clothes—which is, in fact, the correct way to appreciate them. Gordon is more or less a classicist—he’s not after a showy silhouette. Rather, his talent is demonstrated in the make and finish of his garments. To wit, the tulip-shaped cuff on his new high-neck charmeuse blouses, or the punctuating touch of topstitch on his unexpectedly sturdy silk damask slip dresses.Relieved of the need to make boastful clothes, Gordon stepped to his other significant breakthrough: This season, as he explained at his studio, he chose to repeat and elaborate on themes that have stuck with him from previous collections. Yes, yes, yes. This is a smart strategy for a designer still in the process of defining himself, and for Gordon it entailed finding ways to encode his love of fashion’s precious elements—a bit of lace or ribbon, say—in looks with some durability. A sharply tailored V-neck pencil dress in black lace, winked in ultra-fine lace at the slit, while a boyish coat of featherweight wool came unlined but spotlessly finished, to accommodate multi-season wear. There was a nice sense of balance here, with the gossamer blouses and ruffled dresses offset by androgynous pieces such as Gordon’s slouchy striped trousers. The clothes in this tightly edited collection were invariably refined, but they had a sense of real life about them. For Gordon, thinking small meant thinking well.
12 February 2016
Wes Gordonis one of a handful of young designers who have found themselves in a tricky position vis-à-vis their clientele. Gordon serves what once was known as an “uptown” customer—except that those women are just as likely, these days, to be found downtown, or even—heavens to Betsy—inBrooklyn, and their shifting sense of style reflects the change in geography. They want clothes that are luxurious and polished and feminine, and that will serve at the formal occasions they are called upon to attend, but they also want clothes that are functional and unfussy, with a don’t-mess-with-me attitude and perhaps a hint of the offbeat. This is a difficult brief. Gordon, for his part, fulfilled it capably last season, finding ways to elevate a grungy vibe without losing track of its essential brooding spirit.This time out, Gordon took a similar tack. The silhouettes were girlier and the palette less moody and imposing—this was a Spring collection, after all—but the grunge inflection remained firmly in place. Gordon noted that he had photos of ultimate slacker girl-crush Winona Ryder posted up all over his studio as he prepped this collection—and at moments, in looks like the silk or plaid cotton dresses with stripes of cobwebby lace sewn on in seemingly amateurish fashion, he did summon Ryder’s characteristic demure dishevelment. Elsewhere, the message was more muddled. There were great seam-detailed looks done in matter-of-fact charcoal linen, and need-it-now marled knits, which, when paired with the buttery calfskin pieces, provided the collection with much of its warmth. There were other nice touches, too, like the tunics with cutout shoulders, or the flourishes of iridescent chiffon. Overall, though, Gordon’s effort this season to fuse upscale and edge led him down too many byways, and the collection never really came into focus. It could have used fewer stories, better told.
11 September 2015
For Resort, Wes Gordon's story was a colorful one. "It's happy," said the designer, whose endless fascination with the '90s led him to a series of saturated Steven Meisel photographs, from which he extracted the deep coral and sky blue that tinted his lace of the season. He fashioned that very special fabric—plucked from the archives of a St. Gallen mill—into structured shapes, including a deep-slit skirt that was paired with a ribbed, mock-neck tank rendered in electric blue.Gordon loves a clean line, and his red suede collarless coat will slip nicely into a wardrobe filled with pieces from his past collections. But it was the newer ideas that mattered most. Chintz jersey linen—made into everything from a T-shirt to a slipdress and ruched irregularly across the front of each garment—added the sense of ease he was after. Double-faced cotton—done up as pants, a jacket, and a gorgeous dress with a built-in tulle bustier—was intentionally frayed at the seams, ensuring that nothing felt too rigid. Gordon wants his clothes to look serious, but he needs to make sure that doesn't mean boring. This season, he did a good job of that.
1 June 2015
Wes Gordon is a child of the '90s, and over the past few seasons he's made a business out of designing modern clothes that are nostalgic for that era, from minimalist slipdresses to chunky, high-neck sweaters.For Fall he took it one step further, enlisting longtime collaborator Manolo Blahnik to make refined combat boots. There was a flat version, and one with a sky-high, squared-off heel. "Last season was very serene, very clean," Gordon said at a preview. "This time, there's a little more attitude. It's not aggressive, but there is an added confidence and toughness."With every collection, Gordon moves a little further away from the idea of what an Upper East Side princess might wear, and closer to what she actuallywantsto wear. For instance, he showed a long coat in double-faced speckled wool as an opening look. It wasn't overly polished, but it was the sort of thing his customer could easily throw over a gown—even though it was shown with a rib-knit pullover and skirt set that was reminiscent of long underwear. "I don't know any girls who have a 'dress' coat," Gordon said. "This was created in line with how people actually live."There was more to love in that vein, from a dark gray mink sweatshirt with subtle chalk-like vertical stripes in cobalt blue—designed in collaboration with New York furrier Pologeorgis—and a mock-neck, double-slit dress in black stretch crepe. These were elegant pieces, yes, but not fussy. Gordon also took less-precious fabrics and gave them a glamorous spin. A dark blue corduroy trouser, for instance, was cut ultrahigh and close to the body, its pockets trimmed in an expensive-looking Japanese denim. Jeans done in the same fabric were worn with a high-neck blouse covered in geometric Swarovski crystals.There were times, however, when the clothes felt more ambivalent than cool. A pieced-together dress—gray mélange on top and beige double-faced satin wool on the bottom—didn't really say anything, it just existed. You can offer realness, but you've still got to wow them. Gordon achieved that by playing with embroidery and lace, moving away from his favorite Chantilly and going for a gorgeous guipure, sourced at a prestigious Swiss mill. (The paintings of Argentine artist Grillo Demo triggered Gordon's print story of lavender and buttercup yellow florals on black.) A crepe mock-neck top, worn with a lace skirt and flat boots, was very real looking, but also beautiful.
13 February 2015
Wes Gordon has spent the past few seasons working to define his brand's mission. "It's becoming really clear who we are as a company, and who I am as a designer," he said. Maybe that's why he decided to compete for the second time in the CFDA/VogueFashion Fund after taking a year off. "I have different answers to their questions now," he said. It's been interesting to watch Gordon's progression since his Fall 2010 debut: His taste level has risen steadily, and his woman has transformed from a fantasy figure into a real client. Gordon has found his niche in clean-and-lean pieces with just the right amount of polish.For Spring 2015 much attention was paid to curved seams, which gave Gordon's high-slit dresses in black and white stretch crepe an added sensuality. His favorite Chantilly lace returned once again, most notably in a black and celadon strapless column dress. There were new fabrics too, including a lightweight tweed painted with a windowpane check on a V-neck blazer and a pair of trousers. While much of the collection is still made in New York, Gordon is doing some things in Italy as well—a pale pink blazer made abroad from a substantial crepe stood out for its meticulous construction.Gordon's look may now be better delineated, but there were still some playful, unexpected moments. A pair of overalls made of gray mélange linen were a sexy and cool way to do the now-standard jumpsuit, and a long-sleeve quadrant gown embroidered with tiny Swarovski crystal embellishments had a liquid-y, chain mail-like look. It's nice to come across a young designer with so much outward confidence in his capabilities.
5 September 2014
Many designers are inspired by the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, but few nail her style as precisely as Wes Gordon does. Really, it's easy to imagine Bessette-Kennedy as one of his clients. "I'm always thinking about that idea of American fashion," said the designer in his studio on Monday afternoon, just hours before attending the CFDA Awards, where he was a runner-up for the Swarovski Award for Womenswear. "Chic is such an overused word, but it really is an easy chic: not stuffy."Gordon says his muse is most definitely a woman—not a girl. "She doesn't look like she's borrowing clothes," he said. For Resort, the designer's goal was to incorporate a casual feeling into the "precious ingredients" that make up his ready-to-wear. There was a slouch to the looks. Tops either hung loose or hit just below the waist so that there was nothing to tuck in. An open-weave wool mélange shirt in a soft periwinkle blue, styled over a striped lace pencil skirt, was a fancy take on chambray, and a white slip tank, paired with a mid-calf crossover skirt in a lightweight chevron suiting, was reminiscent of the nineties supermodels Gordon worships. The designer once again worked with Manolo Blahnik on shoes, this time introducing a slipper flat that added another element of cool.A series of white crepe pieces—particularly a mid-calf dress with a curved hem—stood out for their simplicity. A pair of white, wide-leg trousers was a bit more complicated, with a V-insert of blue fabric running down the center of the pants from the waist all the way past the knee. A woman with a certain confidence could most certainly pull them off. What was great about the rest of the collection, though, was that any woman would feel confident in it. Or, as Gordon would say, at ease.
1 June 2014
"Last season was an aha moment for me," said Wes Gordon while sifting through looks at his Financial District studio just days before his Fall show. "I feel like my woman is becoming really clear."Gordon launched his collection four years ago right out of school, and it has taken him a while to find his footing. At first, his lady was alady—the kind of icy blond who only orders clothes via trunk show. Yet as Gordon has learned to tap into his own youth, she's loosened up a bit: still upper-crust, but living in Tribeca.For Fall, Gordon's muse was wearing pieces that played quite a bit with texture, the season's big idea. A silk georgette and tulle color-blocked sheath was paired with a chunky, cropped cashmere cardigan, and an ice-blue wool bomber with a fox collar popped against a pencil skirt. The knits, especially the cashmere sweater in zigzag stripes of ice blue and brown, looked so right against lightweight silk and organza skirts.A pair of plaid trousers, worn with a banded sleeveless shell, was too ordinary for a runway. But Gordon's verging-on-signature slipdresses—in Chantilly lace or silk—had an irresistible quality. He's in a good place, and undoubtedly gaining confidence in his abilities.
10 February 2014
Moving from presentation to runway is a big deal for a young designer; the transition has a very "coming up from the minors" feeling about it. Wes Gordon made the leap for Spring, and proved that he was ready to play with the professionals. "Casting was interesting," he said in his studio a few days before the show. "When I asked the models to walk, there was an actual reason to see them do it."Gordon was just a babe in the nineties, but like many of his peers, he was inspired by that era—particularly the elegance of the supermodels and, even if he didn't mention her, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. There was also a subtle nod to grunge. A gray cotton cashmere crew-neck sweater was thrown over a lavender silk crepe halter dress with black lace insets instead of the requisite slits. A slinky pale pink pullover—done in a cotton cashmere mesh that made it look almost like a thermal—was dotted with jet black Swarovski crystals and layered over another halter gown, this one done in black silk twill on a bias.The designer launched his line in 2009 with clothes for the Lady with a capital L, and even if Nirvana's "Come as You Are" was playing in the background, he still needs to cater to those clients. A series of cotton pieces embossed with teensy checks did the trick. A pencil skirt in the material, worn with a pale green leather motorcycle jacket, was both proper and cool. But the standouts were the sexy body-skimming gowns. A racerback in white tulle, a slip in a weighty copper-colored satin—with a longer lace slip peeking out from below—and a cap-sleeve bias-cut sheath in rose-colored satin were all well played.The sexy pumps were yet again courtesy of an ongoing collaboration with Manolo Blahnik, but the small capsule of box clutches, done in partnership with the accessories line Kotur, was new. And Gordon doesn't want to stop there: He's quietly determined to build a lifestyle brand. "Bit by bit, I'm making the woman more real," he said. You could almost smell the fragrance that is surely taking form in his mind.
9 September 2013
Wes Gordon's career has been on the fast track for the past year or so. In 2012, he received the Fashion Group International Rising Star award and was later named a finalist for both the CFDA/VogueFashion Fund and, recently, the International Woolmark Prize. With all that buzz comes a pressure to generate even more, and the young designer perhaps played it a bit too fast and loose for Fall with a conspicuously louche collection that channeled a "modern harem." Gordon's new Resort lineup put him back on track.Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Gwyneth Paltrow (circaGreat Expectations) served as this season's muses, inspiring relatively pared-down silhouettes. You could imagine either of those nineties golden girls in a curve-hugging navy camisole dress with a flouncy trumpet hemline. Ditto the crisp button-up paired with classic-fit jeans updated in metallic leather. Gordon mixed in signature pieces like high-waisted flared trousers that instantly slim and lengthen the legs, and also tapped into his customer's sexier side with an ivory tuxedo jacket (worn with nothing underneath), as well as a gown featuring hand-appliquéd rubber sequins and an on-trend sheer tulle maxi skirt.
4 June 2013
"It was initially about a modern harem, but then this whole Sgt. Pepper, King's Road vibe started coming through," Wes Gordon said at his Fall presentation in the Gramercy Theatre. The shabbily opulent venue proved ideal for the young designer's latest effort, a louche ode to "the girl who's having an affair with one of the Rolling Stones."The Stones fittingly swelled in the background as models lounged about in crushed yellow-gold satin separates and super-flared pantsuits in shiny yellow, teal, and burnished orange brocade. Gordon's biggest strength might be color choice—his unexpected combinations are almost always pleasing to the eye. Royal blue pindot satin was paired with the orange brocade; purple velvet boots with a winter white off-the-shoulder cocktail dress, a yellow fur shawl draped over the shoulder.There were moments when Gordon went too far or not far enough. Long goat hair coming out of suit jacket sleeves registered more creepy than glamorous, and a black lace cocktail dress was a littletooshabby. Gordon is still young and learning, but one thing's for sure: He knows his girl. She's rich, and she likes her clothes that way, too.
10 February 2013
Well, that was quick. Having launched his namesake label in 2010, Wes Gordon can already count Michelle Obama as a fan and was recently named a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. The 26-year-old designer's core clientele is a gala-going group of ladies who lunch, but today's Spring presentation, which also attracted downtown darlings including Annabelle Dexter-Jones and Garance Doré, proved that Gordon has his eye trained on a hipper crowd, too. The new lineup was inspired by mystical tarot cards (see: the hand-painted swan print) and was "a little tougher and more sinister—with a bite," as the designer put it. Compared to seasons past, Gordon decidedly ratcheted up the sex appeal here, with a corseted foil-leather trench, vampy Chantilly lace blouses, and ultra-slim tulle pants embellished with sparkly Swarovski elements. The killer stilettos (Gordon's third collaboration with Manolo Blahnik) featuring lace-up ankle straps deserve a shout-out, too, even though you couldn't help but sympathize with the pained look in the teetering models' eyes. Still, Gordon was careful to balance those sultrier pieces with more straightforward, sophisticated ones like a lipstick red bias-cut dress with a high neckline and asymmetrical hem. That should keep his Bergdorf base—out in full force this morning, and all wearing Gordon numbers—coming back for more.
9 September 2012
At his Fall presentation, Wes Gordon was continually encircled by a crush of fans chorusing "amazing" and "obsessed." A security guard at the venue gestured at the young designer and remarked, "That's probably what Justin Bieber feels like all the time." Gordon has quickly made a name for himself in the industry, and recently tied for the Fashion Group International's Rising Star Award. But he's far from complacent, and is continually setting the bar higher. This season was Gordon's largest yet."It's darker, grander, and more romantic, with a more disheveled elegance than in the past," he said, going on to reference Rooney Mara and Charles Dickens heroines as inspirations. Looks including a chain-mail tank paired with a belle-of-the-ball saffron cutaway skirt and a majestic Edwardian cashmere coat brought to mind a modern fairy tale, while duchesse satin T-shirts and brocade flared pants kept things youthful and effectively grounded the collection. You're not about to see Gordon's luxe clothing on every downtown hipster—these pieces are better suited for special occasions and regular gala goers like Olivia Chantecaille, who stopped by today to show her support. But it's refreshing nonetheless to see a 25-year-old up-and-comer who keeps the fantasy in fashion, and doesn't necessarily want to be the next Alex Wang.
10 February 2012
Wes Gordon's challenge for Spring: translating his luxe (for him, the best fabrics are the most expensive) aesthetic into something "not too chintzy," he said. The young designer made it work, whipping up a shorts suit of substantial python skin ("It just slithered out at me!") or a heavy, sculpted lace bolero that reminded him of Jean Shrimpton.Gordon upheld the "spirit of fall tailoring" with a sharp, navy gazar trenchdress, as well as his best-selling high-waisted, wide-leg trousers. But what really stood out here were the flowing eveningwear looks, with "Sofia Coppola wedding gown" high necklines. One came in a Rorschach-style print, and another in a saturated coral silk. It seemed as though everyone in the room today took notice of Gordon's talent—Cathy Horyn chatted up Wes, while a queue of editors and buyers formed behind her.
7 September 2011
Wes Gordon may only be 24 years old, but he has a maturity that few of his peers can match. For his third collection, the young designer gave a presentation in the filigreed Fontainebleau Room at the St. Regis hotel. Models formed a circle around a grand piano, at which the singer and pianist Niia, wearing a custom velvet column gown, played Rolling Stones covers. This tableau hit a balance—between young and old, luxe and everyday—that Gordon's clothing does, as well.A simple, gray wool sheath had deep, razored slits at the neck and left thigh, which made for a subtly sexy look. Same went for the embroidered foulard evening number with a to-the-belly-button V-neck that was tied off with a sweet ribbon. If this winter has made one thing clear, it's this: Everyone needs a statement coat, and Gordon showed a wealth of toppers here. Silver fox fur appeared on the shoulders of a hunter green version and on the skirt of another. And you could imagine either a 24-year-old or a 42-year-old wearing a double-breasted camel coat cut from lightweight cashmere. It's this kind of versatility that has made Gordon a hit with stores like Neimans, Saks, and Harrods.
9 February 2011
There aren't many newcomers who can rouse the world's top buyers to a 9 a.m. presentation midway through New York fashion week, but Wes Gordon did it today. The Central Saint Martins grad spent summers in the studios of Tom Ford and Oscar de la Renta, and it shows in his clothes. He's got a taste for fine fabrics and hand-finished details. Saks and Harrods scooped up his Fall debut, which focused on Thierry Mugler-esque hard-edged suiting, and Bergdorf Goodman is eyeing the label for 2011. This season, Gordon added a bit more flou, in the form of a draped gold lamé gown with black grosgrain trim and a starburst-pleated georgette halter dress. "Spring should be light and airy," he said. "I wanted an easier, more youthful feel."You can't fault a young designer for wanting to push himself, but it was the tailoring that again made the big impact. An army green stretch-cotton jacket with gold dégradé embroidered sleeves was a real looker, as was a utility-chic double-breasted vest in the same fabric that opened the show. With their smart cut and perfect fit, those pieces looked like the work of a seasoned pro.
12 September 2010