When Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard open the doors to their first Paris boutique this Thursday in the Triangle d'Or, they are bringing more than just another American export to the French capital. They are bringing the dickie jacket - a piece that, in its clever layering and structural play, echoes a tradition of undergarment-as-outerwear that lingerie historians will recognize from the 18th-century chemise à la reine to the modern bralette-as-top. The dickie, originally a detachable shirtfront worn beneath a jacket to suggest a full blouse without the bulk, is a direct descendant of the modesty panels and false chemises that Victorian women used to transform a single bodice into multiple looks. Here, the Beards have updated it with knit zip-ins, turning a historical underlayer into a statement of practicality and polish.
Titled "Shape Shifter," the Resort 2027 collection is designed for a globe-trotting client who demands transition - not just between climates, but between identities. A breezy polka-dot tie-back blouse paired with a taffeta tech anorak in bright blue speaks to the tension between softness and protection, while a white tweed jacket with internal quilting and a scarf-like "necklace" suggests the intimacy of a robe layered into public life. The Beards understand that lingerie's influence extends far beyond the bedroom; it is about the architecture beneath the surface. Their exploded tweed and plaid motifs, accented with cobalt and emerald cable knits, flirt with the idea of revealing and concealing - a double-sleeve knit dress tied at the waist, for instance, echoes the wrap-and-tie closures of a vintage girdle.
Suiting gets a similar treatment: a white bridal look cinched with gold and pearl hardware, a cropped gray blazer with removable shirting cuffs. These removable elements - gilded buttons, bejeweled collar bars, gold chain hardware - invite the wearer to adjust her silhouette as easily as she might change a garter or a corset lace. In a nod to the brand's growing international momentum, the collection proves that the most sophisticated shape-shifting is not about disguise, but about the freedom to reveal what lies beneath, one layer at a time.
Originally reported by WWD