“You can wash this gown in the washing machine,” designer Kirk Pickersgill said, pointing to an extravagant, crayola-hued gown constructed out of a “neoprene-jersey double knit,.” Behind Pickersgill, who was speaking on a Zoom call from Toronto, sat a garment rack full of colorful, red carpet-ready clothes that are easy to picture on leading ladies like Viola Davis or Octavia Spencer. This is the Greta Constantine resort 2023 aesthetic: buoyancy mixed with power.
“This season it’s all about dreams and rebirth,” Pickersgill said. But more on that machine wash-ready gown. Neoprene, which Pickersgill also described as “sweat-wicking,” is a fabric that the Toronto-based brand— which is led by Pickersgill and Stephen Wong— has employed for its most spectacular pieces this season. “It’s an activewear fabric. It’s made for bathing suits and leggings and all that,” Pickersgill said of the unexpected choice. “But we’ve adapted it for gowns and dresses.” Adapting the unexpected to glamorous effect is a key focus of the brand.
And they’ve certainly done it well. The brand leaned into its look-at-me aesthetic here, crafting clothes that feel imbued with joy. And the colors, partly inspired by Pickersgill’s Jamaican heritage, match up to the increasingly vibrant landscape of today’s fashion. There’s coral reef greens and rich blues and pinks the color of beach pebbles. “Jamaica really brings the spice and the color to Greta and then Canada cools me down a little bit,” Pickersgill said, laughing. There are also the signature voluminous shapes and high-level details one expects from the brand at this point.
And while the designs of the resort collection are certainly intended for all, Pickersgill said he and Wong are inspired by strong, powerful Black women. Think Angela Bassett, Ava DuVernay, Oprah, and figures of a similar ilk.
The diverse perspective of Greta Constatine even shows up in practical concerns. “A lot of fabric has to have some kind of stretch to it when you’re dealing with a body and body types,” Pickersgill says. “We always try to find something with some kind of stretch so you’re not neglecting a certain body shape.” Still, Pickersgill resists being boxed in as only designing for one specific type of person or customer. As he put it, “I’d love to be the poster child of someone that only represents Black people and Black culture, but there’s so many other cultures out there. There’s so much diversity in numbers.”
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