Sea’s Monica Paolini gave herself a big challenge for resort 2023: Design a collection without ruffles. It might not seem like much, but Sea has helped lead the comfort-meets-cottagecore look throughout most of the pandemic. How can a brand so associated with cozy, girlish frocks with the right percentage of cut-outs or scooped-out backs evolve?
Paolini took the ’70s and its sepia-toned, hand-made pieces as a jumping off point. Flare jeans with a coordinating denim safari jacket—cinched tight by an oversize rubbery belt—count as some of the brand’s most polished, sleek pieces to date. “I wanted to be clean, slick about it,” said Paolini in her airy Canal Street store, which was bustling with customers shopping her summertime sale during our appointment.
To add more depth and quirk, she added hand-done ruching and tucking in asymmetrical patterns—nothing too too pretty this season—and crochet separates with dropped stitches to reveal a sliver of skin. Velvet trim, collaged fabrics, and a tiny bit of rickrack (recently seen at Prada’s menswear outing) finished off many of the looks. It’s a moodier version of how the Sea girl might like to dress, but a smart step towards a full wardrobe offering.
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