“The base of R13 is denim, jeans, but maybe I’ll become a dress designer,” pondered Chris Leba at his SoHo showroom, clutching a floral frock from his pre-fall collection. Except it wasn’t your regular sun dress—it was made with two layers, one plain and wooly and the other silky and sheer, printed with a floral Leba described as “pretty but a little dark.” It was somewhat Tim Burton-esque, and certainly grungy. “I mean, that’s my roots, right? the designer quipped.
These florals carried over in multiple color-ways on a variety of dress silhouettes that were more compelling the weirder they got, like an ochre velvet A-line slip and a muddy wallpaper-like cocooning shirtdress that happened to reverse into one of Leba’s signature plaids. This rather practical—and new for R13—concept of offering double-faced styles was one of the designer’s key ideas here. Another standout here was an oversized twill camel coat that was faced with another plaid, this one more classic. Its seams and hems were all left undone, adding to its punky appeal. “It’s really always about the fabrics,” said Leba, explaining that the idea of having these reversible styles came from finding just the right materials and designing around them.
To Leba’s credit, it’s really not all about the fabrics, but about knowing what to do with them. For instance, he took an utterly strange hole-y silk with a mesh backing and turned it into a cool shirtdress and an even better handkerchief skirt, and tailored a soft blazer out of a very supple knit with its hems joining in the front in a casual twist. This hem idea came up once more in a sweater and evolved into the way Leba cropped some denim shirts and cardigans by making them slimmer at the waist so they catch on the body and curl up. Also clever was the way he rounded the hems so the plackets loop completely around the body as opposed to stopping at the bottom.
About those roots Leba was discussing, this season he looked into his own archive to unearth the shaggy black shearling/motorcycle jacket hybrid that opens this lookbook. He changed the fit, he said, to make it more relevant for today, but the essence is the same. He iterated its material-blocking throughout a range of truly special outerwear styles. “I’m into staying with things now as opposed to chasing the new,” he said. He was talking about carrying over some of his best-sellers, like those roomy plaid shirts and distressed knits you’ve seen on everyone from Charli XCX to Travis Kelce. It’s this spirit that makes Leba one of New York fashion’s truest grunge proponents. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
