With Jéan’s new Sensation collection is a 70s dreamscape
Gold Coast-based fashion house, With Jean, has provided a nod to expressive 1970s fashion in its latest release.
BY JULIETTE CAPOMOLLA
By now, you’ve either heard of With Jéan, seen someone wearing the infallible Andy dress, or have been living under a rock. Gold Coast-based friends Sami Lorking-Tanner and Evangeline Titilas have built With Jéan on a collection-based business model, historically selling out in record time. It’s a well-known fact – if you want to get your hands on the newest With Jéan fit, you better jump online at 9am on the dot, or be among the 5000-plus people on the waitlist for the Andy dress.
With Jéan launched its new collection, 'Sensation', on Thursday August 12. It consisted of 10 garments, ranging from dresses to corsets and more. 'Sensation' Drop 1 is the first of the brand’s highly anticipated Spring/Summer ‘21 collection, which will feature one more drop.
In a first for the brand, 'Sensation' nods to the 70s with new prints 'Chalk and Flowers', and 'Cher'. This 70's moment came about thanks to the founding duo’s inspiration – photographer Slim Aarons. His influence extends to the campaign imagery, which is reminiscent of Aarons’ iconic photograph collection Poolside with Slim Aarons.
“Slim Aarons’s composition of these incredible homes and fabulous women doing fabulous things, paired with our love for and collection of vintage designer pieces we’ve collected over the years, lays the foundations for how Sensation was born,” With Jéan’s co-founder Evangeline Titlas shared in a statement.
However, branching out from its quintessential vibrant, floral prints has turned some avid With Jéan lovers away. Needless to say, not everyone can confidently rock a brown and yellow combo such as the 'Cher' print. If you do happen to be one of the fans coming back for vibrant florals, rest assured, With Jéan have not failed you! New print 'Water Babies' featured in the Naomi set, Lani dress and Cindy corset has got you covered.
While the prints may be too bold for some, the duo has no doubt methodically, and seemingly successfully, played into the chocolate brown trend (Kylie Jenner in that Miaou set, anyone?). As the colour brown undergoes a renaissance to become the colour of the moment, it’s no wonder Lorking-Tanner and Titilas chose to feature it in this drop. While you probably don’t look at brown and instantly think of summer, perhaps the brand can surpass these traditional archetypes of Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter colourways.
As With Jéan so expertly does, it has reinvented its coveted, sell-out styles, including the Andy dress in three new prints and colours, Lena dress in new colourway 'Chocolate', Naomi set in new print 'Water Babies' and have introduced pattern to their signature corsets.
In this new collection, they have not swayed from their trademark flattering silhouettes, which are arguably what makes the brand so popular. So while you may have seen Addison Rae rock the Andy dress in moss green, you may soon see the likes of fellow With Jéan fans Bella Hadid, Emma Chamberlain or Emily Ratajkowski suit up in these new colourways.
Particularly notable is the inaugural Pip dress, one of only three styles unique to this collection. Cleverly incorporating the popular polo trend, the dress features short sleeves, a polo collar and a short hemline. You wouldn’t be wrong if you said this dress reminds you of the brand’s very similar and very popular Alexa dress. Again, With Jéan skilfully plays on styles they have tried and tested, but with a slight tweak so that we all come back, time and time again.
Another piece unique to 'Sensation' is the Miles skirt. Cleverly, the brand has made their beloved Chloe Corset dress into a two-piece set – a technique which not only makes the already-loved style more profitable for the brand, but also more attractive to us die hard fans.
Not to harp on about the pandemic we’re all well and truly sick of hearing about, but it’s undoubtedly a reason why you haven’t seen their antecedent collection released in June, 'Morphology', make such a splash across the 'gram or sell out quite like their other collections. Whether the same fate is destined for 'Sensation' is yet to be seen, but no piece has sold out as of yet.
