September 6, 2014
For Spring, Katie Gallagher lightened up—so much so that her clothes almost disappeared. "I was thinking about mist and something dewy, so I wanted to create clothes that seemed to fade away," she explained. The show, titled "Fantasm" (a play on phantasm, the ancient word for an apparition), opened with a series of heavy black looks, then gradually faded to gray, pure white, and finally nude. Gallagher's darkly cool signature made its way into each piece, like stiff shirting with extra-long sleeves and sporty mesh-paneled dresses, but everything had a new, relaxed ease. A cloudy charcoal latex skirt was surprisingly soft and easy to wear, and a billowing chiffon dress even felt a little sweet. Completely see-through tops (Gallagher certainly does not fear the nipple) left little to the imagination, but they felt of-the-moment with loose, wide-leg trousers. A more reserved shopper could layer a tank or bandeau underneath and still look every bit the edgy Gallagher girl