Reem Acra’s pre-fall look book was shot in what might be the last place you’d expect to find her high-glam eveningwear: a dank, dreary warehouse deep in Brooklyn. Back at her Manhattan showroom, Accra said she’s grown accustomed to shooting her collections from home since the pandemic and that she’s been wanting to try something different with an edge.
Ironically, In her quest for newness, the designer returned to something old, basing many of her silhouettes on one from the archives. It was a pleated ivory gown with embellished cap sleeves from spring 2008, dubbed the Olivia after Olivia Wilde wore it on that year’s Emmy’s red carpet. That same dress had two cameos in “Gossip Girl” as well — a marketing double whammy introducing many tween-age girls to the Acra label.
Those girls will be pleased to find sultrier versions of the Olivia, to wear for their own events, like one in turquoise chiffon with a triangle cutout at the hip, or another in charcoal-blue with a ruched bodice and portrait neck. “This is very much what I was known for,” Acra said.
She was referring to her higher-profile days in the 2000s when she was more focused on dressing international movie stars than international housewives, and with the SAG-AFTRA strike in the rear-view, she’s hoping to get back to that. “It’s what I know how to do best,” she said, and she’s right.
Among the best-dressed list contenders were sheer columns with gunmetal sequins embroidered on nude-illusion fabric. One had blue bugle-beads to resemble falling water and clung to the body as if it’d been soaked. Leaning this far into naked-dressing felt fresh for the designer and lucky for her, the trend shows no sign of slowing. But for Tinseltown’s more modest types, there were goth-looking dresses that had high necks and elongated Renaissance sleeves.
Could any of them repeat the Olivia’s success this coming awards season? Probably not — that kind of fashion lightning rarely strikes twice.
