The New Shape: Sculptural Silhouettes for Summer

 Photographed by Craig McDean, Vogue, June 2012 

This summer, consider not going with the flow. The advantages of billowing maxi dresses and airy button-downs in muggy weather have been well documented, but as pre-fall collections come into stores, it’s clear there’s a new alternative: structure. These new silhouettes are all about suiting details, the reprise of the cotton peplum, and corsets, all rendered in fabrics that flatter July and August. Sorry, caftans, your services are no longer needed.

A Thakoon peplum shirt paired with nude flats is perfect for easy weekend dressing (and its roomy leg-of-mutton sleeves are ideal for those who’d rather not give up summer volume cold turkey). Simply swap the look’s slim Audrey Hepburn pants for a pair of shorts. And peplums will continue to peek out of waist lines well into 2013. Just take a look at the Altuzarra and Suno resort collections. For the office, Stella McCartney’s shrunken brocade suit radiates architectural elegance, while giving your stems full exposure to the sun (and air-conditioning). And if you still insist that baggy is the only route to breathable, consider Alexander Wang’s generous sheer knit dress, cinched at the waist by a whip-stitched alligator skirt—an innovative approach to summer-friendly layering.

  Altuzarra, Suno, Balenciaga
Photo (from left): Courtesy of Altuzarra; Courtesy of Suno; Courtesy of Balenciaga

 Perhaps the ultimate homage to sculpture for the warm season is Balenciaga’s resort collection, in which Nicholas Ghesquière used a bonding material to form wavy summer fabric like jersey into fixed drapery. And his version of a lazy white T-shirt? Why, one that’s layered under a molded leather corset, of course. Paired with loose trousers, the look is anything but restrictive. Look out, oversize, you’ve got stiff competition.