All-In’s Uptown Girl. by Eliya Weinstein

Dear Shaded viewers,

All-In’s Collection N5, titled “Uptown Girl”, is all about the duality of a ‘Working Girl’, inspired by Mike Nichols movie of the same name. Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø explore the push and pull between genuine self-expression and aspirational dressing, merging them with a joyful sense of naivety. Their goal for All-In moving forward is to continue designing for industry insiders while broadening their conceptual range for wider appeal, imagining clothes and accessories for their own closets and those of their friends.

“You can bend the rules plenty when you get upstairs, but not while you’re trying to get there… And if you’re someone like me, you can’t get there without bending the rules.” It is this Tess McGill line, towards the end of Working Girl, that perfectly captures the energy of the Uptown Girl collection. All-In’s best-selling Level Boot, a refined ballet flat connected with lacing to a slouchy boot, has become a staple for city-slicking It-Girls. It is reintroduced as a more practical flat for those always on the run around town. This vision for refined DIY continues in the latest Double Pump and Double Boot, which combine ballerina flat shapes with sandal straps. Through variations in color and material, different elements of the shoe receive the limelight – hot pink sandals are highlighted against a white boot, or, on a matte monochrome brown boot, the satin of the ballerina flat shines. By introducing high and low styles into one shoe, All-In plays on the tropes of Tess McGill, the working girl who hasn’t yet got the hang of power dressing.

Barron and Vestbø want to introduce more bags into All-In’s universe, offering styles that are fun and freeing, but practical and dependable. Capturing the hurried energy of city life is The Carrie Bag, named in aspiration of another New York icon who has better mastered the seamless transition from day to night – Carrie Bradshaw, of course. Continuing All-In’s game of mismatch, a chic office bag is stuffed into a slouchier gym bag. A smaller bag, clutched by fingers decorated with oversized pearls, was created by attaching floral, metallic, and pastel coin purses – a nostalgic purse party, if you will.

All-In’s clothing collection was achieved in collaboration with Guess USA, taking “business in the front, party in the back” to the extreme. Glamorous and 80s power dressing elements seem to burst at the seams to reveal wildly feminine authenticity. Slashes in peplum and pencil skirts reveal the upper thighs and loosen movement, while tulle and fishnets create unexpected silhouettes on shoulder padded dresses. Like the working girl, All-In’s uptown girl has got a sprinkle of bimbo, but all the brains to back it.Distressed denim jackets and leather biker details are deconstructed and combined in imaginative ways like a pencil skirt and a triple-layered Guess USA jacket.

In between playful polka dots and peeks of tutu, there’s a sense of unavoidable, yet lighthearted, desperation that comes with dressing to play a part that simply isn’t you. Oversized pearls, and slivers of silk in blouses and scarves signify styles of an upper-class woman, but the back is left wide open, and pieces intentionally fit not-quite-right. When clothes don’t appear half-off, there’s excess on – with oversized silhouettes stuffed into meshy bodycons, or sequin skirts over tulle ballgowns over sequin pants. Other than pearly pastels and sparkles, there are layers of black leather and khaki, deconstructions of trench coats and belts cut from jeans that emphasise a stylistic mishmash – perhaps not traditionally defined but an accurate representation of genuine personal expression. The looks are full of life, just like the lovable character Tess McGill, as relatable now as she was in the 1988 movie.

All-In maintains a joyful expression and a playful DIY quality that makes it relatable for all with big girl goals. Bleached brows, bright blue eyeshadow and peachy pink lips remind them never to give up their spirit, not for any boardroom or top floor office at least. Backed with Cyndi Laupers “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (duh), the show was hosted on the 40th floor of Tour Montparnasse. Nothing could be more fitting than the best view of Paris to set the dream-scene of professional ascension.

Later,

Eliya