“I went to the beach and got shipwrecked,” says Telfar describing his breakthrough spring / summer ’09 showing yesterday. Small wonder that his models stumbled unto the runway clearing in all states of deconstruction. Belly bearing half-shirts, tied together shorts, broken down flax jackets-cum-t-shirts were some of the Lord of the Flies inspired looks—possessing a subversive element not dissimilar to John Galliano’s homeless collection. The designer took pains to work entirely without buttons or zippers. Colors were once saturated blues, reds, greens, now sun-bleached into chalky palettes of their former life. Plastic bags washed ashore were used for pieced-together sandals and were fashioned into deconstructed tops (one arresting version comes in canary yellow.)

Using whatever resources at hand to keep oneself clothed is a statement we can all appreciate in this climate.

-Jason Campbell