admin “I think normally when you talk about a spring collection, it’s about this idea of traveling and the beach,” said Commission’s Dylan Cao during a recent appointment at the label’s garment district studio. “And we just stayed here, so we thought, ‘We’re going to work on this collection, why don’t we talk about coming back from vacation?’” He added, “It’s about going back to reality a little bit, when the fun is over.”
Thankfully the fun wasn’t over when it came to the clothes, which had a tongue-in-cheek attitude, all slightly askew in different ways. “When you travel, sometimes you bring something that doesn’t quite fit you well,” said co-founder Jin Kay, “so some garments were designed oversized and then if you look closely, they’re pinched and snipped into a smaller fit.” A simple white cotton spaghetti strap slip dress “that feels like paper” had a big dart running across the body—with the excess fabric on the outside like a paper plane—while another grey shift dress had pinched shoulders and gathers on the front, as if the wearer pulled up the hem of a dress that was too long and just stitched it in a few places right before heading out the door.
One of the things you can always count on with a Commission collection is a great take on the classic button down shirt. For spring, there were two, which took on the slightly-off fit thing in different ways. One check shirt built off the sort of too-small style developed last season, with the buttons curving around the body and budging in different places; the plaid on each front panel ran at different angles—one straight and one on the bias—which added just a hint of Rei Kawakubo-esque deconstruction. Another shirt was much subtler in its approach but no less effective in its execution: one side was fully longer than the other, and the back was completely shifted to the side, as if you just threw the shirt on as you were going out and never bothered to straighten it out. “Our patternmaker really hates us for this one,” Cao added, laughing. Their oversized Rider shirt, which has become a bit of a cult classic, at least in the streets of New York, was fantastically reimagined as a suede overshirt for the new season.
Because they kept the collection small, they experimented with new materials, like a “trash bag-looking nylon,” and a coated lace which was used to great effect on a simple slip dresses. That piece, like everything else Commission does, allowed the focus to remain on the fantastic way they cut and fit their clothes.
