The Slovak label Nehera celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this month with its first runway show, an outdoor event around the refurbished fountain on Bratislava’s Freedom Square. It was an appropriate setting for the brand’s collection, inspired by the aging Brutalist water features of its homeland, which have largely fallen into disrepair.
It was a study of materials and watery effects, where cracks in concrete provided the print on an apron-mile white linen twill strappy dress or the inspiration for the motif on a maxi shirt dress.
Patchworks of different fabrics on a lightweight suit or a pleated, cinch-waist dress looked alternately like an architectural mood board or the effect of the light playing on water.
Nehera’s silhouettes were worn closer to the body this season. Certain tailored pieces were crafted from a transparent fabric with a slight sheen, letting their striped lining show through. That motif was reprised in multi-colored knit pieces with delicate vertical ribbing that flowed like a water feature around the body when done in shades of blue and white.
The layering of different textured fabrics added interest to Nehera’s distinctively minimalist yet cleverly articulated silhouettes. In crinkled poplin, a puffball miniskirt looked a little like a hovering raincloud, and was styled, peplum-like, over tailored pants, while a matching top, when worn over a ribbed sweater, created the look of water flowing over pale stone.
Lightweight outerwear options tied in with the theme in the form of a roomy coat in a wool, linen and silk blend, offered in steel blue or beige, as well as a raw-edged washed denim poncho.
