On a faded stretch of West 37th Street, designer Tom Scott held his fall winter presentation yesterday in an old garment district storefront. Just a hop from the glitz of the Bryant Park tents, but worlds away, Scott’s conceptual attitude towards fashion strangely but perfectly fit in with the seedy street which is home to zipper shops, delis and knockoff handbag stores. The collection was appropriately titled, “things I don’t like,” and is meant to be a playful stab at his working through the aspects of design which he is normally uncomfortable. Scott who works with knits primarily attacked his fears of cable-knits, popcorn ball stitches, and “Golden Girls” type sweaters. All pieces were given Scott’s unique treatment - the enlarged cable knit became a caricature of its once humble beginnings and found its way onto a voluminous and vibrantly hued vest. A loud thrift-store striped pattern was reinterpreted into an oversized dropped sleeve sweater with an exaggerated neckline. However funny these pieces may have seemed, the irony was not lost in the intricate details along with the plush yarns that Scott is known for.

While the back room of the space resembled a dry cleaners with metal racks floating hundreds of plastic garment bags and pieces displayed on “We love our customers” hangers, the front room resembled a scene out of the Twilight Zone’s The After Hours episode, where mannequins come alive in a department store and take turns leaving for a month. Here the “girls” seemed content to hang out - “Priscilla” relaxed in the front wearing a colorblock mohair sweater and large alpaca earmuffs, listening to her record player. “Tom,” the only male mannequin hid in the back and wore a “polka dot” sweater - the “dots” being the negative space in the knit. “Shirley” in a strapless alpaca dress which resembled the tufted bottom half of an ostrich pressed her hands up against the storefront and gazed outside - possibly ready for her month leave.

–Joyce Tota

When some designers want to use humor, they usually end up with M.I.A.’s Grammy performance outfit. Designer Tom Scott, takes his wit and talent to a less overt level where it becomes more of an inside joke. This season for fall ‘09, Scott stayed true to his completely wearable, modern, and just plain cool knitwear, by being open to the upside down and unconventional manipulations of the average sweater.

Scott takes his reluctantly intellectual approach to fashion and has fun with it. With hairy cuffs on alpaca sweaters, drapey cashmere tube skirts, a fishnet mohair dress, and quirky sweaters with colorblocks or just plain holes, Scott creates key pieces that quietly evolve knitwear for the modern age. He effortlessly pulls off beautifully draped knits, like a heavy zip-front cardigan with an enveloping back, or the knit blanket with sleeves, that doubles as quite the warm coat.

–Hillary Rocker

All images c. The Totam

Tags: Bryant Park, conceptual, dry cleaners, Fall 2009, Fashion Week, garment district, knits, knitwear, New York, Tom Scott, Twilight Zone