Commas Resort 2027: Clothes to wear on holiday, every day
Vibes
By 
YOU HAVE TO hand it to Richard and his wife, Emma Jarman of Commas – they’re committed to the bit. The pair held their first runway show in four years on the sands of Tamarama Beach. Rain or shine, the show does go on. Not even a wayward local inadvertently joining the train of models down the nearby stairs, or sudden, sudden rain, could dampen the pleasure of seeing one of this week’s most considered collections of Australian Fashion Week.
Arguably, these added to the show’s charm in the end. Fashion doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it does get caught in the rain and we will run into people we don’t expect.
The DNA of Commas has always been an idyllic sense of leisure, where clothes tend to cocoon the body in soft billowy layers as opposed to more formal tailoring’s encasing armour. The philosophy has been honed to such a fine point that Jarman seems able to effortlessly apply this aesthetic to every kind of clothing.
The key it seems would be to embrace the elegance in the essentials of a wardrobe. Shirting, cut loose, paired with trousers equally generous and allowing the quality of the fabrication to elevate it. Roll call of variations on this theme from all-white, tan, blue.
There were “suits”, or at least the kind of suiting that are suitable to wear poolside and barefoot, with little structure but free to follow the natural contours of the body. Three-quarter cut trousers, still retaining their tailored origins, made their mark in the collection. One particular monochrome look in rich russet with a safari shirt was a standout.
Having spoken to Jarman multiple times, the designer has regularly mentioned how water plays an important part in the life of his family. They swim, daily, nearly every day of the year. It’s a communion with the world around them, to float, drift, to think and to meditate in a way, immersed in its saltiness. It has informed the way he designs, too, clothes that are fluid with no hard edges.
The softness is still front and centre, but Jarman’s clearly happy to play with those edges a little more. New additions to Jarman’s language of leisure were also welcome changes of pace. A rugby shirt, two colourway options, offered a genteel addition to a wardrobe built for downtime, as did the all-but hidden pastel striped shirt worn beneath.
When you discover that the inspiration for the collection came from cricket whites – the ultimate gentleman’s sport – the subtle preppier codes begin to fall into place. The deep V neck sweater, the linen shirting and all-white ensembles. Several of the heaver knits were all created by hand by John Macarthur of Purl Harbour.
Workman pants, cut wider, provided some weight to the collection. Knitted vests, a regular detail from Commas, in new patterns also walked out into the morning’s weather along with a curious shag version. Also, if those blankets that wrapped certain lucky models are available consider us sold.
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