Behind-the-scenes photos of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette have provided enduring inspiration for Tumblr archivists and fashion enthusiasts for 15 years. Something about seeing Kirsten Dunst and her co-stars dressed in their Rococo finery while using a MacBook or smoking a cigarette really makes the mind reel. Sandy Liang had an image of Dunst smoking a cigarette on her fall 2022 moodboard, along with a picture of a deconstructed Robe à la Française, vintage Polly Pockets, and a candid photo of an anonymous person dressed in all pink and walking in New York. Girly and grimy living in harmony.
Liang describes this collection as “what I really want to make.” It may sound obvious, but it’s also easy to see how being a designer with obligations to wholesalers and clients may distract you from your internal compass of taste and whims. Liang is known for her not-too-prissy princess dresses and fun fleeces, but this season also offers boxy pants that you could easily wear to an office, a camel corduroy coat, and a riff on a trench coat featuring a Peter Pan collar. The coolest details are the two little bows on the backs of dresses and jackets, which feel like a nod to Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe without being saccharine. Liang is also offering new shoes: pointe shoe Mary Janes, available in several colors of satin and leather. She hopes they’ll become a signature for the brand. They’re a perfect distillation of her moodboard: a practical rendering of anti-utilitarian inspirations.