The corset is to Jackson Wiederhoeft what the shrunken suit is to Thom Browne (for whom he once worked). Rather than go wide, Wiederhoeft—in a manner befitting the tendency of corsetieres to tighten things—has created a profitable niche in bridal and eveningwear. They have also started showing once a year and jettisoned editorial plays (such as denim) which, they report, “didn’t move the needle.”
For the designer, a sci-fi-loving “theater kid” who is interested in working across media in collaboration with fellow creatives, the show is the thing: a passion product and a creative outlet. It was through dramatic scene-setting, central to their creative process, that Wiederhoeft was able to craft a collection that was pragmatic in that it responded to known client needs. For spring, the designer dreamt up a tale about the passing of the crown among generations of queens in a dystopian world. Masked creatures in smoke gray shirred dresses opened and closed the show, paying homage to a huge sculpture, depicting Wiederhoeft’s muse (their own Ozymandias). There were royals and attendants, and a finale with a baby, representing hope through the continuation of the species. “I kind of pictured this journey: If you were taking off from Earth, and you were going to land on another planet, what outfit would you choose for that moment?” the designer related.
If the theatrics felt a bit separate from the collection, Wiederhoeft’s turn toward myth-making tracks with the phenomenon of The Odyssey. “I think there is kind of a sense of overwhelm in these times; an emphasis on looking back, and there is a feeling that maybe we’ve gone too far,” the designer mused. “As we lose parts of our world, as we lose friends and family who are close to us, we become the holders of that mythology, which I think is really interesting”.
The workmanship of the pieces was certainly out of this world. The embroideries, Wiederhoeft noted, are done in Mumbai by men using passed-down techniques as old as any epic. There were metal-wrapped pearls and arum lily embellishments, as well as entirely beaded pieces including a mesmerizing fringed bodysuit just waiting to be worn on a stage. A colleague said she couldn’t wait to see Olivia Rodrigo in one of the dresses made using a specially designed burnout velvet.
The designer’s commitment to the corset and skirt was almost total, and, as a result, the less structured pieces felt less integrated into spring’s vision. Wonderfully crafted as these pieces are, they are not fashion fantasies in the sense that they existed to suggest what might be—and that’s by design. “We’re an independent brand, self-funded, so I just want to celebrate the work that resonates with the clients the most,” Wiederhoeft said. In the end, myth bowed to mortals.
