story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero
Boston-based designer Jackie Fraser Swan has a beautiful collection that includes two cute as a button daughters and a large handsome husband; her debut collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week under the label Emerson was a strong showing as well. She displayed not only a solid design sense but a mature understanding of how to allow the wearer of her creations to make an impact without being garish. The idea of dressing the counter culture rebel has been well explored and experimented in so it can be difficult to create something novel. Mrs. Fraser Swan succeed in her attempt for the most part primarily because she let her subtle detailing and interesting fabric combinations do the work for her.
In mixing contrasting textures and innovative use of lace she created visual interest. Her printed textiles were mottled, but retained a great balanced pattern that was difficult to take your eyes away from. Where she used tailoring structures they were made in unique ways that lent them prominence. The designer mixed sheer and solid, structured and loose, dark and light; in fact, there may be no contrasting design relationship she left unexplored. Despite all of the elements involved, the clothes never appeared weighted or busy, they bounced and drifted down the runway with ease. Her patterns and cuts were excellently expressed and married perfectly with her fabric choices. The only small misstep was the use of loose banding on some of the pieces, which because it is only anchored in two spots puckers in a very unattractive way during movement, but this could be fixed before the garments go into production.
As a brand, Emerson seems poised to grow and expand in the future, as it offers a strong choice to those who want easy pieces that can effortlessly pivot from the less formal demands of a modern professional office to a cool social scene. Mrs. Fraser Swan gives her client a cool defiance that is not so wild as to be unapproachable. Quite the opposite in fact, her work winks a subtle come hither in a very fresh way. You will most definitely want to know the Emerson girl.
