YSO
fall/winter 2003

The new YSO is severe, but not in the way you'd expect.

The clean, symmetrical bias cut of Fall 2003 is a clear and present danger to preconceived notions of the label, and it comes as a healthy shock.

Gone is the shredded fabric, replaced by the tough love of treats like the neck/waist harness. The erotic Y-shaped pattern sprouts upward all over the place with swooping, elliptical seams that serve to soften the silhouette with some of that YSO femininity. Felted wool does its seductive thing to sleek it up.

The body-hugging uniformity is far from impersonal; the cotton candy pink armour breastplate is an organic hybrid whose pleating gives it an almost skeletal, even birdlike quality. The animal metaphors continue to the intricate back cross-hatching on some of the pieces; they perpetuate a delicate reptilian illusion. A dual-tone cream and chocolate boat-neck snug top is the perfect companion to low-rise YSO pants, especially when said pants jazz things up with upside-down fin pleating (just try not to drop any canapé crumbs into them).

Nearly every look was done on the draconian styling terms of those Clockwork Orange body tights. Although their interplay between brown and cream is some of the richest tone definition of the season, the stronger separates in the collection don't need this colour tableau to validate their places in the pantheon of chic.

Daniel Cox
Fashion Editor
Marek Wlazlo
Photographer

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