For Autumn-Winter 2008, Julia Jentzsch’s collection felt warm, dark, and mysterious. Her show space further exemplified the richness and cool, simple elegance for which the young designer has quickly become known. New York City’s Chelsea, where Ms. Jentzsch is based, with its wonderful enclave of showrooms and galleries is one of the more inspired offsite locales for an intimate runway presentation. One by one, the models sauntered out from behind an ebony mesh veil down the L-shaped path. Quite effectively the space was made to feel larger with the placement of oversized mirrors. This staging also helped to highlight the designer’s impeccable tailoring from all angles, coming and going. The strong showing of 21 looks was an extremely wearable and accessible collection of romantic blouses and voluminous separates for day with sexier keyhole and one-shoulder dresses for evening.

The program notes more than delivered on their promise, with “a thoroughly modern collection for a timeless woman, choosing never to subscribe to any one trend, instead focusing on the permanency of simplicity, elegance, and a celebration of the female form.” This season, Ms. Jentzsch was heavily inspired by the artists and bohemianism of the Expressionist era between the First and Second World Wars. Artistically, the life and style of pioneering American photographer, journalist, and model Lee Miller, and the controversial first film of Jean Cocteau— Blood of a Poet—were most influential while technically, the war-time work-wear, bias experimentation (as seen in the fabulous cocktail frocks), and fabric painting (as demonstrated with her slip dresses) of the time are inspirations that are directly reflected in the collection.

Nature also played an important role with a subdued color palette reminiscent of “dark forests on a moonless night.” The organic range of black, smoke, grey, moss, leaf, bark, camel, and sand allowed the design details to take center stage here. But more than the warmth of rich earth tones, these pieces were chic, translatable separates that could easily be incorporated into most any woman’s lifestyle for work or play. New seaming methods and innovative fabric treatments were evident in the double-face coats with spiral seaming from front to back, the use of refined cashmere, felted wool jersey, elasticized wool crepes, and high-performance cotton polyurethane, cleverly contrasted with delicate hand-dyed mohair knits and wool gabardine for day. For evening, bias-cut dresses were painted using an experimental salt treatment and layers of super fine silks and fluid crepe back satin-silk. The collection was tied together with trademark belting in feather/onyx stone ball and double wrapped leather.

I especially enjoyed Ms. Jentzsch’s experimentation with textures (crepes, silks, jersey); shapes (belted, blouson, wide-leg); and techniques (spiral sleeves, salt-painted, pleats.) The designer did a beautiful job of balancing her more loosely constructed separates by keeping her silhouette flattering and feminine. My favorite looks included: the belted spiral volume coat, for its mystery; a military tunic paired with a turtleneck and wide-leg pant, for its ease; the bow-tie blouse layered under a sweater atop classic trousers, for its romance; the cocktail dress with an onyx ball belt for its modernity; and an off-the-shoulder long sleeve cocktail dress for its drama.  

According to her biography, German-born Julia Jentzsch graduated from the Royal College of Art London in 1994. Her graduate collection captured the attention of fellow German, Jil Sander, with whom she worked with for several years. After stints at Wolfgang Joop and Yves Saint Laurent, where she worked under Lanvin Creative Director, Alber Elbaz and later Tom Ford; she moved to New York to become Design Director at Calvin Klein. In 2004, Ms. Jentzsch launched the label Naum, which was widely received by both press and retailers. In early 2007, Naum went on to win industry recognition by receiving the Ecco Domani® Fashion Foundation Award, where she was selected by an illustrious group of judges including Barneys New York and Vogue. That same year, Ms. Jentzsch debuted her eponymous collection, establishing her studio and showroom in Chelsea.

Ms. Jentzsch designs with the intent of providing her clients with a complete wardrobe that embraces an effortlessly progressive elegance with timeless pieces. Clean shapes and ultimate comfort is what makes her collection truly modern; this influence is evident in every element. From luxurious military style A-line coats featuring small square shoulder pads to fluid silk blouses with voluminous sleeves to impossibly refined felted wool trousers, every piece has been designed with meticulous attention to detail and a poised elegance.

I had the opportunity to catch up with the designer post-show.

Lisa Martinez: First of all, congratulations on such a lovely collection!

Julia Jentzsch: Thank you.

LM: A couple things come to mind: first thing, the cape trench, is that reversible? Because it looks like the underside is khaki and you could wear it on the other side/inside out.

JJ: Yes, it’s reversible. You can wear it two ways; however you feel like.

LM: There were a few pieces I saw that had a contrasting underside, were there any other pieces that were reversible in the collection? Are several of the pieces reversible or just that trench?

JJ: No, just that, but I worked with a lot of double-faced materials, so maybe that’s why you thought it was one layer.

LM: I noticed (on the run of the show) that some of the pieces were named for writers or literary characters, for example the Bronte skirt? Was that a coincidence? How did you choose the names for your separates?

JJ: No, it’s not a coincidence. Each season, I have a certain theme; this season, it’s mostly about artists. This is how I remember the pieces; I can remember Bronte easier that skirt #37. They’re also my favorite artists.
LM: It’s nice to pay homage (to these artists); then it’s as though they are having a new life or a rebirth in your clothing.

JJ: Exactly.

LM: The palette I noticed had a lot of dark undertones—greens, blacks, and browns which is perfect for autumn. Was that also intentional? Do you prefer to stay with a more neutral palette?

JJ: I usually work with masculine colors more. My design lends itself better towards (that), but I love color too, especially for evening; most of the time it’s saturated.

LM: It’s very dramatic.

JJ: Yes, it’s very dramatic. For the day, it’s mostly subdued, because I design also for the working woman. I design into her lifestyle. She is a very busy working—a career woman, a strong woman, a real woman.
  
LM: What I liked was that even though the palette was subdued and not overly feminine. There was a loose construction, everything was well-cut, but I didn’t lose the sense that you were dressing a woman. My favorite piece was the tie blouse. You have a hint of sensuality, but it’s not overt. I really like that!

JJ: Thank you.

LM: Tell me about the Julia Jentzsch customer. Is it Jentzsch?

JJ: It’s more from the back for the throat, so it’s hard for Americans to pronounce, but you did very well. Do you have a German background?
 
LM: I lived there as a child, in Frankfurt. What part of Germany are you from?

JJ: Berlin.

LM: How do you find New York Fashion Week?

JJ: I’ve been here for a while. I came to this country to work for Calvin Klein.

LM: I can definitely see that influence in your design.

JJ: I started my career with Jil Sander (where she learned her meticulous work), then onto Wolfgang Joop, Yves Saint Laurent—all different stages during my design career. I felt very strongly that I wanted to branch out on my own, have my own voice. It’s a great experience!

LM: Danke schön

JJ: Bitte schön.

LM: Choos and congratulations again!

Images provided courtesy of Exposure Communications, LLC