Lafayette 148 Pre-Fall 2023 Is So Famous! In the last season, the creative director Emily Smith was inspired by the building’s origins in the form of a printer which led to an original collection that was a clever riff on the concept of paper.
In the pre-fall collection, Smith dug deeper into the brand’s history, finding that the building’s 148 Lafayette Street location was also used as a post office during the 1920s.
“How can we evolve that into a story to tell throughout?” Smith stated. “We are surrounded by envelopes and letters, crumpled-up letters, and love letters. These are the moments of returning to the past, reconnecting and writing letters by hand, showcasing craftsmanship, and an inclination to write with the hands. This is a celebration of the idea of love letters. We also introduce the idea of the post office, which takes you on the journey of postcards and getaway packages, and then into the postal service uniform.” Discover more about fashion or consider new ideas in Striped Jumper.
This resulted in a nostalgic tribute to the building’s rich history based on the same handcrafted dialogue that helped make spring’s collection an instant hit. For example, the button-offs on the shirt and trench coat subtly referenced the action of tearing apart stamps. Likewise, monochromatic clothes included “postal stripe wave-like” engineered shirred stripes” and envelope-inspired pockets that appeared on the stunning suit and workwear jacket. In other places, Smith continued to riff on nostalgia for the postal service with vintage collars and buttons that were affixed to uniform-style utility shirts (an overshirt with “muslin brown” alluded to the concept that Mr. Messenger Bag of the Postman) as well as outerwear, suits and suits and cashmere wool knits were designed with the familiar vertical stripes.
For getaway packages and postcards, Smith unveiled a seasonal print (a vintage-inspired scene featuring beaches, a “weird motel,” the countryside, lakes, etc.) with a selection of silhouettes. When they were placed over blue jeans, re-created in Technicolor on pleated skirts, or sported on toned silk jacquard, every style brought back memories in an intelligent way. This is the case with the collection as a total, which was a testament to Smith’s sweet, joyful inspiration but never losing Smith’s refined, high-end handcraft style.
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