P.O.W.
spring/summer 2005

If Andy Thê-Anh for POW made a salient point with his Spring 2005 collection, it's that modesty can be mean; that serious can be devastatingly sexy.

The seersucker beige and white jacket is snappy and down to business, while the snow white Chanel-style business suits are mixed and matched with aquamarine printed chiffon. It is this clear intention of letting the spring winds in to ventilate the stuffiness that Chloé did to freshen up Paris this season.

Colourwise, the collection is as attention-grabbing as any that this fashion entrepreneur has produced in recent memory. Not only are the blues electric, but so are some of the coppers and oranges, not to mention shimmering pistachio and gold used intelligently in a number of the pieces. Thê-Anh's fascination with satin and satin plissé in metallic shades has a slightly Schiaparelli-esque aura to it.

It seems that POW can hardly resist dipping into vintage influences, and we should be all the more thankful for it. The swimsuits harken to 1920's modesty but they are not devoid of the luxury of layering and colour contrast that Thê-Anh does so well, if those in the front row would ever deign to lower their tinted shades. The double-breasted white trench coat are done a la London Calling, and they are just as razor-sharp as the tapered pants.

Let's call a time-out to this journalistic love-fest-what happened to the daring POW that had come to take our breath away because of its relationship to all things new, commanded by Canadian fashion's quirky enfant terrible? No trapeze acts with needle and thread? No more mind-bending manipulations of fabric and silhouette? Apparently, in Thê-Anh's forward stab at the expanded marketplace, some of the experimental spirit got subdued.

The resulting simplicity, however, is incredibly easy to live with.

Daniel Cox
Fashion Editor
Marek Wlazlo
Photographer

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