Perfect Number RTW Spring 2021
What’s up, what’s down, what’s a spring collection, and what’s fall? Who even knows anymore, but fledgling Los Angeles brand Perfect Number is this week rolling out its fourth collection. And it has a lot of style for the price, with pieces in the $595 and less range.
Mixing L.A. edge and utilitarian touches with feminine polish, the direct-to-consumer women’s brand was launched in June 2019 by designer Nicola Morgan, previously at Givenchy, Lanvin and Mugler in Paris, and Yana Sosnovskaya, who has a background in film and came to fashion with the help of London designer David Koma, who is an adviser on Perfect Number.
Like most, the team has had difficulty with late fabric deliveries, and has been trying different ways to engage customers and the community to drive sales, including launching a charity T-shirt to benefit the COVID-19 response at the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center. It services the area around the Perfect Number studio in the Arts District neighborhood, where Dover Street Market and a new Soho House had been generating buzz pre-pandemic.
“We are worried but at the same time trying to look at the positive side — when you’re a start-up there’s only one way to go, and that’s up!” Morgan said.
For collection 4, the designer decided to carry over some of the bestsellers, a familiar strategy in this challenging time, including a cool modular jumpsuit that has detachable sleeves, top and pants legs, and utility blazer with ribbon and patch pocket details that would be a wardrobe workhorse.
“Dresses with snaps on the sides that can become tunics, a recycled nylon trenchcoat has removable sleeves…we definitely put an emphasis on functionality to let our costumers go with their own flow,” Morgan said.
What is new is an effort to work in more softness, fluidity and movement, as on a hand-painted check-patterned pleated skirt, a fun mohair sweater surrounded in a cloud of tulle, and a laser-punched and “intensely washed” black denim top that has the texture of a shaggy knit. “It’s the same fabric we use for our layered denim pant,” Morgan said.
Sustainability is a growing focus for the brand, which produces locally. “We have a biodegradable nylon bomber…when I saw the fabric at PV [Première Vision], I had never seen anything like it before. It’s a technical fabric and sporty, but doesn’t look crunchy sustainable. And the lining is post consumer wool,” the designer said.
When her next Perfect Number collection launch? We’ll see. She’s in no rush: “The pandemic pushed us to think more about the pace and seasonality. We are committed to considered design.”
Launch Gallery: Perfect Number RTW Spring 2021
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