The gardens and graveyards of Savannah, Georgia served as inspiration for Chris Benz for his upcoming Fall season. After several mentoring trips at the Savannah College of Art and Design, he found the area to be a “strange place” because of the ironic happenstance between the old school southern dignified manner and the contemporary creative design pupils, among a backdrop of charming mystique.
The Fall ’11 Collection was presented as a gallery show (rather than a runway show) giving on-lookers a chance to closely examine the imaginative use of line, texture and the influence of a particular time period. The notion of squares–whether in the basket-weave of Alejandro Ingelmo‘s round toe platform wedges or the cozy earth tone flannel patterns–provided a different take on geometry in designs, straying away from the triangular shape we have been seeing for a couple seasons in countless other collections.
Floor length chiffon dresses are still on trend with ever flowing multiple tiered ruffles (from the sleeves to the skirt) where prints of hydrangeas, in shades of cream, lilac, pale blue, and mauve created absolute romanticism. And although we have become accustomed to Chris’ kid-at -heart personality, he steps into a more mature-feeling of fabrication like nubby tweed and floral jacquard in mellow yellows but still playful and romantic with sequins and silk.
Benz explains, “I’d call my work instinctual design. I like to find the spirit of a piece that defies time, age and occasion. My clothes give the wearer the chance to develop their own voice within a wardrobe, and I think of them as curators of their personal style. I like to create an approachable line that goes beyond the cocktail dress. We call it dinner wear.”
Each piece works singularly and plays well with others, adaptable to one’s own definitive expression. Others present clean shapes and oddly balanced configurations of classical whimsy, reminiscent of silly spooky spirits on the haunt.
It is the kind of style that The Sartorialist would be inclined to capture. You know what we are talking about– that gal you see every morning while grabbing your vanilla soy-latte, wishing you could have put it together as well as she did. Chris Benz helps you along with no-fuss-no-muss carefree options in this collection, sure to make anyone look the part of a stunning southern bell, polite and courteous as can be. 
Chic.TV gives us a walk through the show here.
