Christophe Lemaire Pre-Fall 2015

With a newly re-branded company, a critically acclaimed men’s show and now their first pre-collection presented for pre-fall 2015, designers Sarah-Linh Tran and Christophe Lemaire seem prepared to write a successful next chapter to their business.

Talking about the lineup, the duo evoked the idea of a woman walking by the peaceful seaside in winter, translating it into a range that was strong on outerwear. The designers said that pre-fall will represent about 60 percent of their overall fall/winter collection, with the big pieces remaining longer in stores and lighter, more delicate pieces slated for the upcoming runway season in March.

Focused on classics — with some items reworked from past Lemaire collections — the lineup’s looks included wide-legged, ultra high-waist pants shown in cotton or wool-denim and worn either with a boxy pea coat or a tight red knit sweater. Given their masculine sartorial aesthetic, the duo favored natural fabrics and comfortable volumes, such as a yak wool cape and tunic, a wool-crepe pantsuit, a generous waxed cotton raincoat and a woolen Panama fabric “umbrella”-shaped wrap skirt. Rounding out the collection was a range of thin cashmere knit sweaters and tops in skin-tone shades as well as a line of square leather bags manufactured by a traditional French workwear factory.