A softness blanketed the latest Kallmeyer collection, shown at the brand’s brightly sunlit new SoHo loft studio. “We call it romantic tailoring,” said Daniella Kallmeyer. “I was really drawn to these small elements and textures that felt like they were from another time, maybe, but brought into a modern context.” A slim maxi coat with architectural silver buttons placed only to the mid-waist, for example, was engineered to dramatically expose a layered silk gown whose asymmetrical hems swished and swooshed underneath.

Kallmeyer is a designer who considers not only color and silhouette, but gestures—she sets the stage with her pieces, allowing her customers to step into her clothes and fill them with their own attitude and savoir faire. A slim tailored jacket had slits on the inside of the sleeves that went all the way above the elbows because she knows her customer likes to wear pristine button-down shirts, undo the cuffs, and let the fabric dramatically drape in the crook of their arms; an oversized silk organza shirt had delicate lace peeking out from underneath the cuffs.

A reversible cashmere coat was inspired by an old Isaac Mizrahi
sketch of an “embrace me coat.” “I loved this feeling of being permanently bundled up,” Kallmeyer noted, putting on the coat then taking it off and putting it back on the other way. She took that same reversible combo of navy and “mink” cashmere and used it on a cropped jacket and matching wrap mini skirt—an absolute necessity if ever there were one. (In one shot, she layered the skirt over the coat, totally oozing with power and sensuality.)

But Kallmeyer didn’t fully give in to whimsy; rounding out the lineup was a handsome leather bomber with a funnel neck and voluminous sleeves, screen-printed velvet that looked elegantly aged, and quasi-acid wash denim in a pattern she said was meant to resemble fur. There was also a proper fabulous off-white shearling coat. Shots of chocolate brown, magenta, and ultramarine blue—the latter on an especially fabulous blouse with short sleeves—showed a flair for the decadent and the practical.