#2016 – Hillier Bartley

December 17, 2016July 22, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

Hillier Bartley, formed by Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley, is a label offering womenswear created by real women. The brand is already widely recognized for its Anglomania attire: at a first glance, the idea’s based on the wardrobe of an English aristocrat, who belongs to a classy gentlemen’s club. But then, the elegance goes Absolutely Fabulous non-chalance. The designers’ eternal love for 70s West London bohemia is oozing in every single piece of their spring-summer 2017 look-book. Discussing their inspirations, Luella named everyone from Zandra Rhodes to David Hockney, who were the quintessence of colour, partying and fashion back in the times. It’s absorbing to see how these two female designers evolve during their design process, and succeed in keeping it true to their style.

We’ve got Savile Row-inspired tailoring, all covered in multi-colour ostrich feathers; those thick knit sweaters became even softer with fluffy, purple fur sleeves; loosely fit, pink shirt was a nod to David Bowie’s legendary style. The musician’s spirit, who passed away in 2016, is present in these beautifully decadent, yet alluring clothes. As Luella Bartley told Vogue, “Talking about Bowie’s influence on myself or any other creative person is like talking about how oxygen influences the breathing process. Bowie, as the Thin White Duke in a double-breasted linen suit, felt particularly apt to illustrate a vague idea we had to imbue the Hillier Bartley woman with a louche ’30s glamour.” Just like the legendary musician, the Hillier Bartley woman has a style tendency for androgyny – note the importance of English tailoring, from cool blazers to high-rise trousers. Hillier Bartley isn’t about styling, though – if you separate the clothes from the looks, they appear to be (slightly eclectic) essentials of your on-the-go, everyday gear.

For autumn-winter 2016, the designers went for flea-market cool, which is so timeless and eternally relevant in London. One of the coats virtually looks like a re-cut and re-shaped Persian rug. A satin robe is worn as an evening dress according to the designers, with a pair of moccasins. Icy blue, velvet suit with a black, ribbed turtleneck underneath is a total-look worth investing. The intricately embroidered gown is a cherry on the cake – I’m obsessed with the way the oriental motif contrasts with the entire collection filled with feather elements, leopard spots and romantic, Fleetwood Mac flair. Oh, and the bags line is blooming, which is mostly on Katie’s part. From ‘Bunny’ clutches to collar-box bags with lilac tassels, the range is… yummy.

Looking forward to see Hillier Bartley’s next step in 2017!

Hillier Bartley AW16

Hillier Bartley AW16 & SS17

Hillier Bartley SS17

#2016 – Molly Goddard

December 8, 2016July 22, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

Molly Goddard left her M.A. course at Central Saint Martins, where she’d studied under the late professor Louise Wilson, a year earlier to focus on putting together the spring 2015 collection. Her hope was that it would help her get a job. While she always wanted to have her own label, she assumed she’d work for someone else first. However, her real dream came true. Molly is one of the most exciting and fresh talents from London thanks to her super power – the neo-princess, statement tulle dresses. Obsessed with frilly outfits her mother and grandmother made for her as a child, Goddard finds inspiration while looking at old family photographs and visiting her favourite Portobello Market.

2016 was a break-through for Goddard – winning British Fashion Council’s Emerging Talent award; her sweet-like-candy dresses became street-style phenomena across the four fashion capitals; and the collections she presented this year were both equally brilliant. It’s exciting to see how Goddard extends her range, keeping it true to her unique style. The model cast of spring-summer 2017 show consisted of real women, who danced, twirled, spiralled and walked the runway in pastel-pink tops, pistachio mini-dresses, full neon-green skirts and grandma knits. Delightful.

It’s simply impossible for me not to mention Molly in my list of the years’ edge-cutting designers. Can’t wait a minute to see what’s coming for her in 2017.

Your wardrobe needs… Goddard’s ‘Jordan’ dress in pink.

Molly Goddard SS17

Female Power. Dilara Findikoglu SS17

November 29, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Although fashion tends to misinterpret the term feminism, it’s good to know that in London, there are designers who can pull off the topic in the right way. Born and raised in Turkey, Dilara Findikoglu knows what it’s like to live in a place, where political and social stability is constantly on its verge of collapse. The frequently ignored problem of women’s rights, and how they are treated back in her homeland threatens Dilara, and intensely affects her creativity. As a teenager, the to-be designer discovered young John Galliano’s work in one of the glossy magazines – for her, that was the dream. Although the plan of studying at Central Saint Martins wasn’t appreciated by her relatives, Findikoglu already decided what’s good for her. So here she’s today – on everybody lip’s, yet far from mainstream (she dressed Lady Gaga and FKA twigs, yes, however she isn’t into going the easy path).

Findikoglu presented a mind-blowing presentation for her spring-summer 2017 collection back in September. In a very naughtily appropriate place I might say – a neon-lit Soho strip-club. Dilara’s model-friends (like the women’s rights activist, Adwoa Aboah) wore clothes that overlapped different decades and eras of both restraining and liberating womenswear: from Tudor sleeves and terribly tight corsets to very Vivienne Westwood SEX punk garments, this collection isn’t even a bit close to other brands’ outings that we’ve seen before. But the goal behind Findikoglu’s latest line-up wasn’t making a collage-like mix of historically significant clothes. “It’s about how women’s bodies have been treated in different societies – what they were wearing and what they were doing, what the limitations on them were.” While the models wore Victorian collars and PVC boots, it’s quite visible – the set, the one-of-a-kind pieces and the dominant colour of pink (all good girls wear pink, right?) weren’t all here by coincidence. Dilara enjoys messing up with stereotypes, and this brilliant collection suggests it’s the time of women. Make space for female power. These girls don’t care what you think of them, or whether you’re appealed by their feminine / perverse looks. If I would to choose a collection that colloquially ‘slays’, then Findikoglu’s gang tops the list.

Photographs by Frederico Ferrari and Lillie Eiger.

Men’s – That Guy. Stella McCartney SS17

November 11, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

I can’t remind myself the last time I have written anything about Stella McCartney on my blog – her women’s fashion doesn’t appeal to me that much lately – but her first menswear collection is just too good.

Men’s fashion at Stella McCartney? That’s quite unexpected, honestly. The look-book dropped yesterday, just a few days before first spring-summer 2017 clothes hit the stores. Without any fuss, any special announcements. A great surprise for men, who felt close to Stella’s aesthetic, but didn’t find their sizes on the racks. The clothes aren’t presented on typical models, but on a pack of street-casted guys and cool-creatives, which is totally different to McCartney’s main line, where we’ve got hot names and top models in advertising campaigns. If I had to choose from this collection, I’m sure I would catch every single piece – from those chunky knits to over-sized trench coats. These are contemporary essentials, I guess. Pajama look is so me; lovely knitted sweatpants and slouchy cardigan are on my list since right now. Stella, Stella. I’m hopelessly in love with your vision of men.

Fashion Crocs and Boudoir. Christopher Kane SS17

September 21, 2016September 21, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

We live in 2016, the time, when trends aren’t as important as they used to be. Of course, there are people who still seek for the 60s motifs or “major” animal prints moments. Some glossy magazines still keep on looking for those similarities, as if that was the most important part of every season. But isn’t it much more fun to absolutely forget about categorising fashion?

A way of keeping diametrically different ideas in a disorganised, collage form appears repetitively at J.W. Anderson, Proenza Schouler and Raf Simons. Christopher Kane is another designer, who isn’t following themes in his collections, but prefers to scatter them around like toys. He experiments with everything, from texture composition to styling, in order to achieve something “new”. In his spring-summer 2017, Kane does cheerful florals in various ways, from easy prints to haute 3-D embellishments. There’s something wild and undomesticated in his collection, too, with midi-skirts made of fur, and leopard prints covering the tops. Cool PVC raincoats. Seductive lace. There’s a conversation going on between Catholic innocence (see the Christian iconography on the sweatshirts) and ‘good girl gone bad’ attitude, just like at Simone Rocha‘s latest outing. The trompe l’oeil evening gowns shared a frivolous peek at the boudoir part of wardrobe – I guess those sensual pieces will sell within a second when they hit the designer’s flagship boutique in London. Ultimately, the “most out of the blue” prize goes to Christopher’s choice of footwear. For spring, the brand collaborated with Crocs to produce a range of hilarious, man-repelling rubber flats, covered with colourful stones and studs. Nobody would have expected that.