Jeremy Laing (Q4812)
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Jeremy Laing is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Jeremy Laing |
Jeremy Laing is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
"Malibu Beach Barbie goes to a rave." That's how Toronto-based designer Jeremy Laing described his early-nineties-tinged Spring collection. It's an era many of his thirty-something colleagues are nostalgic for this season, yet Laing was able to take the very specific reference to a very brand-specific place. Laing tends to favor boxy, oversize silhouettes, and he stuck with those this season, weaving in a body-con piece here and there for an unexpected element.Another big inspiration were the colors of sidewalk chalk. "I wanted to use the saturated brights that reminded me of childhood in the summer," he said a few days before his runway show at Chelsea Piers. They were best represented in a series of tech-poplin tunics and culottes in colors named Orangesicle and Dreamhouse Pink. That tech-poplin is a fun reminder of parachute fabric, that nineties standby used for outrageously tacky tracksuits.Per usual, printed textiles played a major, if not dominant, role in the collection. This time around, Laing collaborated with New York artist Julia Dault on a multicolor print that looked as if it had been squeegee'd onto the fabric. It was particularly successful on a white silk wrap dress. Another print, a swirly, black and washed-out peach design, was inspired by Tiger Tail, a sherbet laced with licorice that is apparently quite popular in the Great White North.But amid all the typical, there was the new. For the first time in Laing's career, he has produced shoes. A collaboration with Tiffany Tuttle, the chunky ankle boots were the strongest style—they grounded the collection's featherlight fabrics. Also new for Laing was menswear, something he's been wanting to try for some time. "I started out designing clothes for myself, so it just seemed like the logical next step," he said. Many of the pieces were almost unisex: a chiffon-bonded tunic, for instance, could have been worn as a dress on a woman. But designing men's seems to have given Laing the mental freedom to be a bit more feminine with his women's clothes. Those aforementioned body-con shapes—most notably, a mesh-bonded off-the-shoulder top that zipped up the front—were sexier than virtually anything he's designed before. For Laing, it's an interesting new avenue.
7 September 2013
"Mothers and daughters." Jeremy Laing often mentions these two women in conversation and how he aims to design for both of them. A Toronto-based scenester whose price point easily hits the upper-contemporary mark, Laing needs to appeal to women with a bit of money. And in most cases, that means mothers.For Mom, there were plenty of art teacher-style pieces: smock tops and funnel necks abounded. A below-the-knee coat, done in a luxurious stuffed jacquard colored Joseph Beuys red, was sophisticated. So was a tweedy cropped jacket that Laing is calling "the Mogul."For daughters, there were flashier, sexier styles, including separates in gold lamé seersucker. "It's dirty," said Laing of the metallic-preppy pairing. The ironic combo looked best in a motorcycle jacket and skinny trousers. That unofficial suit was shown with a georgette top in a black and white stripe-and-cross print, a collaboration with friend and artist Vanessa Maltese. Maltese, who is also based in Toronto, had a hand in the large metal necklaces too. They looked cool, but for the most part they were too big—a detraction from the great clothes.In general, though, it's hard not to think that Laing deserves more credit than he is afforded. (Showing at New York fashion week since Spring 2006, he is no longer the shiny new toy.) With clothes that work for mothers and daughters alike, more should take notice.
9 February 2013
According to Jeremy Laing, it's not too late to get on last Spring's sporty-trend bandwagon. The designer, who decided to forgo a traditional show this season in order to pursue other ventures, presented layered separates—a continuation from his Fall range—with mesh details in shapes that mimicked baseball jackets, basketball shorts, jerseys, and sweatshirts. The color palette was "swamp deco," according to Laing, who recently went on a bayou adventure in New Orleans. A Spanish-moss-colored fabric was pigment-dyed to deliver a milky white and tarnished silver hue. The prints were camolike in a gray scale, and appeared on a double-layered T-shirt with an open flap in the back and slouchy culottes that could easily carry over into evening. Following a few bare, austere seasons, Laing brought back embellishment. There were metallic baguettes on flak vests and bibs that attached to minidresses with matte closures. Leather sequins accented a sexy cutout frock. But the highlight here was an equally sexy look with no sparkle at all—a bustier with an exposed back zipper paired with wide-leg trousers that wrapped to show just a hint of leg.
10 September 2012
An artsy and stylish crowd, including Hope Atherton, Terence Koh, and Hanneli Mustaparta, invaded Chelsea for Jeremy Laing's Fall show, and the designer showed clothes to match. The Toronto native had decided to be "more honest" with himself, fusing his love for Japanese design (particularly the work of Yohji Yamamoto) with his passion for poetry and art. The result? A collection with a sensuous, post-goth minimalism that was less intimidating than last season's, and completely wearable. For the first time, the focus shifted from dresses and jumpsuits to layered, tailored separates, like the knit molded-shoulder sweatshirt and zip-back vest in bleach print velvet.Laing managed to work in his signature architectural flare, but this time took a more malleable approach. Long kelp cotton and antique leather overcoats and shift dresses were done with full back zippers, transforming into capes and tunics when layered over leather leggings or pants in denim velvet (a new fabric for Fall). Laing creatively incorporated chain detailing to mimic Edwardian dandies, whom he imagined never left home without their pocket watches. And although last season's digital prints were nowhere to be found, subtractive bleach-stained designs, such as the "black lilies" pattern on an easy-to-wear wool and linen dress with leather sleeves, were dispersed throughout the collection.Models walked the runway to music by seventies punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees, which accented the post-goth mood of the show and was perhaps Laing's way of tying in his desire to make his collection more accessible to "mothers and daughters." "I just want them both to think it's cool," he said. We suspect they will.
11 February 2012
Jeremy Laing is an incredibly consistent designer. That sounds like faint praise, but it isn't: He has staked out a territory and, like a good farmer, he works every inch of it. The Laing look was on high-quality display today, as the designer sent out a collection of sophisticated, texturally sensuous clothes.Laing explained after his show that he was inspired this season by a trip to Joshua Tree, California, a reference that was easy to read in this collection's earthy palette and in its utilitarian, trekker vibe. More specifically, Laing said, that trip to Joshua Tree awakened him to the idea of erosion, and the beauty of decay. "There was something about the stillness of the landscape," he noted. "It seems so permanent and monumental, but of course it's all changing and going away—you just don't see it." Laing's silhouettes tend to err on the side of monumental, anyway; the decay was reflected in his materials, which included cracked, mud-dyed silk, hammered satin, and technical linens that had been treated to restrain the fabric's natural wrinkle. A lot of the fabrics were also washed and worked over with sprayed dye, giving them a sun-aged effect.Not that you needed to know any of that. Laing's clothes may intimidate people who can't quite buy into his signature tent- and balloon-like shapes. But it's really easy to extract chic, accessible pieces from his collections, like the kimono trenchcoats in olive-toned hammered satin, or the red vest-and-culotte suit, executed in one of those technical linens. (A one-shoulder draped dress in stretchy viscose jersey even made you wonder whether Laing should have gotten a crack at Halston.) Where the collection faltered was in its overemphasized apron theme—a few of the apron-inspired dresses and jumpsuits looked pretty awkward. Overall, though, it was another strong collection: Jeremy Laing really is consistent.
10 September 2011
Geometry, in one way or another, always informs a Jeremy Laing collection. This season, inspired by the winter equinox's lunar eclipse, the designer took on astronomical shapes, "but nothing too spacey," Laing promised a few days before his show. "I worked from an earthbound perspective." Fittingly, there was a dressed down and appealingly rumpled quality to many of the clothes. The form-hugging, putty-colored turtlenecks were rolled just-so at the hem and sleeves, revealing a sliver of bellybutton over a pair of gorgeous wide-leg pants that, from the back, was also a skirt. Anywhere else that might have looked silly, but the pant's volume and low-slung slouch kept the garment from taking itself too seriously. And what of the moon? It appeared, quite literally, as a crater print on a long, slinky tube of a dress; it had immediate appeal. The black holes taking up space on a few dresses and tops could have been skipped, but those were the only gaps in a collection that was otherwise very well conceived and constructed.
10 February 2011
Every morning, Jeremy Laing wakes to flags waving at him from the office building across the street, and the sight of so much fluttering fabric sparked Spring's design process. Laing isn't much for flutter, per se; he prefers sharp lines, geometric figures, and a stark palette, and this collection combined an air of flaglike loftiness with his signature angularity. Digital prints have been a focus for the past few seasons, but there were no prints today, save for one of a rose. (The image had a sentimental pull: It was based on a flower Laing laid on his grandmother's coffin earlier this year.) In lieu of edgy graphics, he created interest through texture and draping. Many of the pieces could not only be worn in multiple ways but would look quite different depending on the wearer. It was an accomplished, sexy outing. The prints weren't missed.Chain-link linen lace could have been mistaken for twisted copper, but it crinkled in your hand. A long skirt in the stuff was layered over a sleek bodysuit for a refreshing take on the sheer trend, and a finer version in black net was pieced alongside fluid satin in body-clinging, paneled dresses. A few dresses and skirts doubled back on themselves at the hem—one long rectangle of fabric tunneling back up to the shoulder. It could have been gimmicky, but it was subtly done. Another possible sticking point were the "trapped" dresses, as Laing named them in the liner notes. Shimmering, one-sleeved goddess dresses were contained below the waist by separate, small leather minis—really too small to be skirts in their own right. The curvier among us might not want to chance it, but it worked on the runway: underwear-as-outerwear meets the layering trend. A viscose jersey dress in black with one long, draped arm and a slit up the side didn't have a single extra, but it swooped and clung in all the right places.
15 September 2010
On the evening of the Olympic opening ceremonies in Vancouver, Canadian Jeremy Laing paid tribute to some of his country's vast natural resources. "There's Northern elements—but presented in a refined way," the 29-year-old Toronto native said of his Fall collection. "It's not about trapper style."A long, hooded maxi dress was printed with an interpretation of a Pacific First Nations print, and the incredible lightweight fur coats (a first for the designer) were made of beaver, raccoon, and muskrat pelts sustainably hunted in the Canadian wild. Also noteworthy was the new knitwear line, in particular a sumptuous, four-gauge, oversize wool sweater with 3-D dots. All told, Laing was savvy to shift away from the complicated architectural silhouettes he has emphasized in the past to focus more on texture and surface.
11 February 2010
Remember back to grade-school art class, when you used a pencil and ruler to create vanishing points? Jeremy Laing does, and he used the drawing technique as his jumping-off point for Spring. One print was composed of perpendicular lines that converged prism-style at the model's hips. Laing also draped his chiffon dresses so they were seamless, effectively wrapping around the body into nothing. Though mummylike in appearance, the treatment was actually functional, causing the fabric to move freely with the wearer. Laing favors a more avant-garde silhouette, and in that vein he offered a hybrid short-cum-legging that could be a tough sell, particularly in this economy. But a great taupe perforated-suede cap-sleeve jacket is a fine choice to reel in more conservative customers.
11 September 2009
Sending out models in anvil-shaped tops with funnel-shaped sleeves, Jeremy Laing kept geometry at the forefront. Some of the looks, especially those punctuated with strong seaming, were too severe; there was a robotic quality to some of the girls. Laing was more successful in the dress department, showing tunic-y pieces with gently embellished crystal belts slung low to draw attention to at least a bit of body and curve.The prints, though, were the real story here: Black and gray starbursts lent levity to a rectangular shift, and a swirling copper pattern made for a nice contrast to all the shades of concrete. Delicate adjustable straps on the backs of coats and oversize tops gave an impression of airiness—proof that Laing does have a knack for finer details. The collection could have benefited from more of the same.
14 February 2009
The work of Argentine artist Lucio Fontana was the jumping-off point for Jeremy Laing's Spring collection. Laing referenced Fontana's monochrome, slashed canvasses by taking the knife (OK, shears) to his clothes, creating precise, controlled slits and slices in dresses and shells. The slits served a functional purpose in one charmeuse tube dress, expanding as the wearer moved so she wouldn't be hobbled as she walked. This dress, like others, was layered with a wispy chiffon "tank" that provided, at best, an unusual cobweb effect. At worst, it looked a little witchy (Edward Scissorhandsalso came to mind). On their own the dresses were quite pretty, especially those subtly studded with Swarovski crystals; most of the chiffon pieces were layered separates. Several day looks with a clean, geometric appeal—including a cropped nylon top with a low, rounded back that managed to look both sporty and conceptual—were proof that, all in all, Laing's shape-based construction served him well.
8 September 2008
The saturated palette of Bauhaus artist Josef Albers and his "Homage to the Square" paintings were Laing's starting point. You could see the Albers influence in the first look, an easy dress sewn together from two squares of silk, decorated with a block of Swarovski crystals. Loose-fitting tank dresses in vivid shades of orange and pink, with rectangles of fabric fluttering up and down the side seams, were a less literal take on the concept. The theme, though, threatened to get the best of the designer with the sleeveless dresses with nipped waists and slashes of extra fabric suspended from rivets at the neckline or waist; these, like the "skirt-pants" (which, as their name suggests, appeared to be slacks from the front and a long skirt from the rear), looked overdesigned. Laing said his focus was on tailoring. Lose all the extras, and he would've gotten the season's structured silhouette just right.
1 February 2008
Laing is a designer with an architect's sensibility, and his clothes sheath the body in sweeping planes and facets constructed with the technical precision of a blueprint. This season, his third, he cited "apparitions of light" as his inspiration: fireworks, the northern lights, and lens flares (the enigmatic flashes accidentally captured sometimes in photographs). Those are some pretty ephemeral effects to tease out of fabric and thread, and the only reference obvious enough to be picked up on by the naked eye was the pyrotechnic one: a spectacular fireworks print created by the artist Karen Azoulay.Whether or not Laing's luminous conceits were tangibly interpreted, the clothes looked great. The designer worked those structured folds to clever effect, creating both slim and voluminous silhouettes out of the high-tech fabrics he loves. "Wedges" folded into the back seaming of a dress were wrapped around to the front, magically inverting to create a horizontal ruffle across the bodice. A deep, asymmetrical fold was slashed across the length of a belted sack dress, leaving one side tented and the other slim as a blade of grass. For a softer air, Laing cut the same shapes from washed silk, in light gray, butter yellow, and midnight blue.
5 September 2007
A designer who eschews living in a major fashion hub in favor of his native Toronto might be construed as a designer who goes his own way. Add to this stints at Alexander McQueen and Preen, and you could reasonably expect from him over-the-top showmanship or darkly avant-garde experimentation. But that's not Jeremy Laing's bag.Instead, Laing—27 and showing his third collection in New York—presented a sober selection of smartly tailored dresses, suits, and separates in a muted palette of grays and greens. You had to look closely to see where Laing lets loose. It's all in the finer details: architectural constructions (a boxy, faceted hitch at a neckline instead of darting, for instance) or a kaleidoscopic crystal print (created from a blown-up digital photo). This detailing knocked classic silhouettes—pouf-skirted party frocks, drawstring dresses, and slouchy suits—slightly askew, and pushed what might otherwise have been ho-hum into the realm of cool.
4 February 2007
For his first-ever runway presentation, the Toronto-based, Preen- and Alexander McQueen-trained designer Jeremy Laing distilled ideas he's been working on since his "petit début" for Fall 2005. Back was the neon, the tailoring (boyfriend and Norfolk jackets), and the play with shape. Last season, Laing worked with deflated volumes using mostly menswear fabrics; for spring, he favored lighter materials, like silk, for a softer, more lyrical effect—a feeling that was reinforced by a live performance by Swedish folksinger Colin Bergh. The designer's use of layering was mostly successful, if sometimes overwrought, with lingerie-like straps darting in and out of tops and a plethora of crisscross backs. Knickers seemed a hard sell, but the dresses really sang.
8 September 2006
Jeremy Laing is a stealth entry to the spring season. Though his show, 19-looks strong, was not posted on the fashion calendar, he presented Sunday in the elegant, marble-floored Knoll showroom. It's the second time out for this 26-year-old Toronto native, who has worked with the London-based label Preen and with Alexander McQueen. Last fall, he showed a promising collection—assembled in just three weeks—at Lia Gangitano's Participant Inc. gallery. But spring found him solidly prepared and in an elegant mood.Many of the clothes featured what he called a volant silhouette: winglike extensions of cloth that created a graphic line when viewed in profile, but beautifully framed the draped pieces when seen straight on. Dresses and skirts had full trapeze shapes. Pants were high-waisted and paired with coats, emphasizing a long line, while shorts were toped with vests and boleros. Fabrics ranged from airy parachute silks and luminous taffeta to more-substantial canvas and tie silk. The collection wasn't perfect, but it was a find, and Laing may well be ready for his own timeslot.
10 September 2005