Which way will the fashion winds blow when the fall 2024 collections begin in February? If Catherine Holstein’s latest Khaite collection can offer any clues, the 1980s may knock the ’90s and Y2K out of the trend cycle. The shoulder pads on the black leather motorcycle jacket that opens the look book call to mind Claude Montana at his power-dressing peak, and the blouson shape of the windbreaker in khaki nylon twill that shows up several looks later can also be traced back to that time.
Volume and exaggeration are running motifs at Khaite this season. A lilac gazar paper-bag-waist skirt and a black leather tank dress both blossom from the hips. If the moto jacket’s padded shoulders seem like an easier sell, the dropped waistlines and pneumatic hips seen elsewhere in fashion suggest that the young, fashion-forward customer is bored by familiar silhouettes and up for experimentation. Holstein provides more experimentation in a dress, also in that lilac gazar, cut to curve like 3D sculpture on the torso and slink below the waist. She also balances these bolder propositions with slinky knit dresses and office-friendly matching knit sets.
Outerwear is one of Holstein’s strengths. Beyond the leather biker jacket and the nylon blouson, both an elongated varsity jacket and a bell-shaped toggle coat looked confident and definitive, worthy of the investment they’d require. Accessories are another winner for the brand. The pointy-toe, slant-heel Davis boot can be seen all over town and in the front rows at Fashion Week. Come summer, she’s betting on a strappy sandal with a kitten heel and an elongated, also pointy sole.
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