What would Leeloo from “The Fifth Element” wear if she were a boarding school coed? Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs answered that question with their pre-fall collection, inspired by their mutual love for the 1997 Luc Besson film and nostalgia for their uniformed lower education — Cushnie went to boarding school; Ochs to military school.
Bandage details, crops and cutouts were a grown-up, seductive compliment to riffs on classic tailoring and varsity knits. A sharp blazer was reinterpreted as a reverse sheath dress with the jacket lapels outlining a plunging back. A jumpsuit was cut into strips around the back and dense stretch knits came in sophisticated body-conscious shapes that were definitely suited to postgrad life.
