For resort, designer Sergio Hudson attributes his new seasonal inspiration to a recent dream that he had. “I’m not a mystical designer, but I had a dream about a dress inspired by a tuxedo,” he said. The imaginary concept ignited an idea—to configure his whole collection around reinterpreting and reinventing the formal evening suit, and make it feel fresh. “Not a lot of brands do them for women,” said Hudson, who wanted to capture the sleek silhouette in everything from structured jackets to floor-length coat-dresses.
Hudson reworked the tuxedo in both casual and dressy iterations. On the daywear side, the designer experimented with denim, creating a belted denim coat that incorporated tuxedo lapels, then paired it with a gold sequin dress. “I added gold stitching on the denim to make it more formal,” said Hudson. “I love denim, being a Southern boy and growing up at the height of urban fashion.”
The designer took the gold motifs even further with a metallic gold tuxedo jacket featuring a matching corset, paired with jeans that featured gold hardware along the sides. You may not immediately see it, but even his jeans referenced the shape of a traditional suit trouser. “I have a great pair of tuxedo pants I wear to the club,” he said. “I don’t feel like it’s a thing where you can’t wear them outside of formal events.”
But it was with his formal evening assortment that his tuxedo work truly shined. “My take on the classic tuxedo was in the fabrication,” he said. “Sometimes tuxedo fabric is very stark and stiff, so I used a triacetate for most of the fabrics; It stretches and is very comfortable.”
Some of his black tuxedo jackets also featured white satin lapels, while a standout piece was the white double-breasted coat dress with a sexy high slit. His closing look—a corseted bodice ball gown with a full skirt—was made entirely out of tuxedo satin. Turns out, it was a return to his design roots. “When I was living in South Carolina, I was doing a lot of custom designs, and I would always make these ball gowns,” he said. “I was like, ‘Let’s just go for it.’”
