Shopping the MSGM Showroom with our Buyers

Milan is a long way from the Pacific Northwest but MSGM creative director Massimo Giorgetti  totally “went there” for fall ’17. Based on Twin Peaks (which took place in the aforementioned grunge-adjacent neck of the woods), next season’s collection is dark and moody, but shot through with acid tones, floral details and college references that tie into the iconic show and movies.

All images by Jessa Carter

Nordstrom was the first retailer in the United States to pick up the ruffled, sporty line and vice president of women’s merchandise Laura Janney says she and Via C buyer Joyce Lin have been loving the brand’s novelty factor ever since. From feminine dresses to bright sweatshirts they run the gamut and no matter what, the vibe is always more color, more patches, more stripes, more flair. 

 

Given this collection’s glammed-up yet psuedo-serious ’90s vibe, Sunday morning’s Paris Fashion Week challenge is already pretty tricky. How to chose from all those statement-making tops and all that bold attitude? But because they already selected lots of looks from Massimo’s pre-collection, which was shown to buyers a few months ago and will arrive in stores ahead of regular season looks, their job is even harder. Joyce needs to take in about 100 silhouettes and even more fabrication options, but she can only pick ten pieces for our stores and online.

Designers tend to create smaller stories within each overall collection; they’re often color- or fabrication-based. As in other showrooms, each story from the MSGM collection is on its own rack (a few are on mannequins) and the racks line the walls of the room. Joyce’s showroom strategy is to go through the racks one by one and flag all the pieces she has emotional reactions to. The MSGM team gives those looks to showroom models who give them some real-girl context. Joyce photographs all the options with her iPad and then sits down to review them all and start editing.

“I feel like we need this jean,” says Joyce, and Laura agrees. A midi-length dress feels necessary, too, and then one of the intarsia knits with the rose design.

Eventually a tonal, textural tale of our own emerges; deep yellows and stop-sign red with fuzzy textures that coax Italian drama—and a little low-key, small-town charm.

EXPLORE: current-season MSGM | all Via C brands

Go where we go, see what we see. Stay up to date with all our Fashion Week coverage and shop curated collections of our favorite designers at Nordstrom’s Fashion Week Central.

—Laura Cassidy

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