Lutz Huelle RTW Spring 2019

Lutz Huelle pounced on some classics and roped them into his game. He was hankering after more elegance this season and turned to bourgeois motifs like roses, polka dots and an alligator skin print, and eager to push these couture elements out into the street.

For a dressy coat — it was beautiful — he picked a red rose print set against a dark background that added vibrancy to the colors. Puffed up shoulders from last season pushed outwards a smidgen; sleeves were wide, stopping near the elbow; the waist was cinched.

“How would she wear it?” Huelle asked. “With a sweatshirt underneath to go shopping!”

The designer also thought about mothers and daughters raiding each other’s closets — not to mention the father’s wardrobe.

“This whole notion of old and new is completely gone, in a way, because a beautiful garment is a beautiful garment…there’s no rule about how people dress these days,” the designer observed backstage before the show.

Taking full advantage of this welcome state of affairs, he offered a lineup of deconstructed jean jackets, bombers with ruffles or drawn tight to the waist with a Fifties New Look flair, and, what he claimed to be his first jacquard cocktail dress. This, he tucked under a trench coat and, in a pinstriped version, layered on top of matching trousers. Mindful that shifting boundaries can be unsettling, though, he threw in some simpler black dresses as well, with a gentle flow.

The alligator print was very chic. So were the polka dots — white with a dark blue background — applied to a dress paired with matching boots. The added measure of elegance overall contributed to the strength of this forward-looking collection.

Launch Gallery: Lutz Huelle RTW Spring 2019

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