Basch is much more subtle with Wesley Badanjak at the helm for its fall/winter 2012 season

| March 7, 2012

Two scarlet finale gowns—a glazed, architectural floor-length piece and a gathered cap-sleeved jersey dress—created a statement that made this season’s Basch collection worth taking a second look at. Unfortunately, those were the last two dresses, and there was a lot of filler, including a Bianca Jagger–esque fur jacket (which seemed to chew up and spit out the rather cute chiffon dress underneath) and a black chenille jacket with a weighty pleated apron. Basch was formerly designed by Project Runway Canada alum Brandon Dwyer, but gone are the days of crotch-bearing gowns and sagging mini-dresses. Check out how Badanjak updated the brand in our full runway gallery after the jump.

Much like in his own line, Badanjak veered away—for the most part—from anything too ostentatious. We liked a graphic-print dress with a fluttering skirt that looked like a combination of brushstrokes, and a simple one-sleeve and one-shoulder black jersey dress that’s much more wearable than Dwyer’s disco-inspired version from the fall/winter 2011 collection. Apart from some great graphic pieces that are perfect for spring, the run of finale gowns and a lone crimson pant, Basch is very much a collection of cocktail dresses that people may gladly buy off the rack. Just not this one, this one and this one (please).