Baby Boom. Simone Rocha AW16

February 21, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

I am always praising Simone Rocha for being a young and independent designer, who doesn’t fall into the trend of having pre-collections. And that’s truly rare in today’s fashion industry – even though there are a few exceptions in this case, like Gareth Pugh or Vetements collective. Two collections a year give Rocha the time for the creative process, which is so in need at the moment, and lets the designer convey her vision to the fullest. And, as her gift keeps on giving, it’s a good occasion to congratulate the designer – she has just given birth to her baby, Valentine! And, to a surprise, this event gave Simone a creativity boost this season, looking deeper into the meaning of “baby-boom”. “I started to do this wrapping and swaddling with stoles. There’s something a bit surgical and matronly going on—sick-y nudes, the lilac of the uniforms that nurses used to wear. Medical aprons; knitting as women do when there’s a baby coming; schlumpy, relaxed shapes—and a little bit of trauma!” Yep, this doesn’t sound like your average post-pregnancy reflection.

Indeed, the autumn-winter 2016 collection had a lot to do with nurse uniforms, being psychedelically revamped with a various shades of pink. The fur stoles and fluffy Mary-Jane flats gave the feeling of babyish innocence, but that can’t be said of the darker dresses and coats – Rocha’s “matrons” with strict black bows lurk from the Victorian history of hospitals that up to now haunt Irish tales and stories. The woman behind AW16’s plot is both, sweet and sour – she might be Lolita, Mary Poppins or Jane Eyre one day – and she is blooming just as the designer herself.

I Love Fashion. JW Anderson AW16

February 21, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

The autumn-winter 2016 collection delivered by J.W. Anderson is a playful continuation of the designer’s spring collection and pre-fall look-book – and it proves that Jonathan Anderson wants to have fun with fashion, too. “I love fashion! It should be fashion” is what he declared backstage of his London fashion show, perfectly stating the nature of the new season – there was something about the 60’s, looking at the mini-skirts with curvy, leather cut-outs and multi-colour ruffles. There was a sense of softness in these fluffy “clouds”, while the fur hoodies were like a Anderson-revisited nod to hip-hop music. Yet, the chain mail-like studs had you wondering about the much more harsh, punk side of the designer, which we’ve experienced in his last menswear outing. The collection didn’t have a one, straight line of references or inspirations, however it had a humorous, Pierre Cardin-ish outer space character. To conclude, these voluminous, edgy clothes made it clear – Jonathan is taking us to his playground.

New Girl in The Hood. AV Robertson AW16

February 20, 2016September 19, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Do you remember those exquisite, playful embroideries from Marc Jacobs’ spring summer 2016 collection? They were designed by his design assistant, Amie Robertson, whose speciality is embroidery. The blond designer from the Northern part of England has stormed the first day of London Fashion week, supported by the New York-based designer and Katie Grand, the editor-in-chief of Love Magazine. Although she’s a pretty new girl in London’s fashion week schedule, her debutant fashion show was walked by such supers as Edie Campbell, Molly Bair and Anna Cleveland – moreover, seeing her rare talent in a full line-up showed how skillful she is in sequins and artisanal craft. The autumn-winter 2016 collection is based on multi-coloured, pin-stripe pencil skirts, tops and leg-exposing dresses. Noting, that all of that is ornamented with delicate embellishments, which resemble flowers. Hand-made, sequin flowers, which are time-consuming in their process, but look so modern on these wearable silhouettes. Surely, the A.V. Robertson girl will make an entrance in one of these masterpieces.

Elusive Glamour. Hillier Bartley SS16

February 20, 2016February 20, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

The beginning of London Fashion Week for autumn-winter 2016 season begins with… a spring-summer 2016 collection coming straight from Hillier Bartley‘s studio. The brand, formed by Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley, breaks the fashion system with the philosophy of “see it now, buy it now” – but don’t mistake this statement with Jeremy Scott’s Moschino sweatshirts which appear on-line a few minutes after the fashion show. Hillier Bartley looks at retail in a very realistic and smart way – the summer collection appears right now in the stores, and it feels just as fresh as the AW16 outings we see now from the other designers – the thing is that you don’t need to wait six months for one of these divine silk blouses or adorable tassel bags!

The London-based label’s second collection is as desirable, as inspiring One thing’s sure – David Bowie is present in these beautifully decadent, 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 fashion tendency of androgyny – note the importance of English tailoring, from the linen blazers to high-rise trousers. However, the designers behind the brand introduced something much more feminine, like the satin skirts and fringed crepe dresses we’ve seen in AW15 look-book. Hillier Bartley redefines “sexy”, but in a totally different, very elusive way.

The collection is available here.

Men’s – Future Vamps. JW Anderson AW16

January 11, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Jonathan Anderson takes his brand, and his creative vision, to a totally undiscovered and widely misunderstood field. You can love it, hate it, ignore it or praise it – but still, J.W. Anderson is the most absorbing brand coming from London. The city buzzed about the menswear show for autumn-winter 2016 season a long time before the show-day – it was reported that the brand will live-stream the fashion show on a dating-app, Grindr, presenting the show within a few seconds to about seven million people. Just like that. Without much effort.

Maybe the PR of Anderson are genius – but surely, the brand knows how to excite in the media sphere. However, streaming the collection on a dating app is not such a strange idea. The codes of the brand are focused on “future”, and “perversity” – somehow, a dating app is all about sex and modern way of life, right? And the collection for men definitely didn’t lack any of those. The looks, which fused the everyday basics, like a chunky cardigan or a simple, British mackintosh coat, had something modernistic about them – new, over-sized silhouettes, high-tech fabrics (take a look at this transparent, organza-like piece, printed with a dog called Bonzo from the 20s) and the seriously ugly planet-Zenon trainers with pastel-pink toe. But still, these techno vamps had something to do with a perverse, clubbing manner – the models’ hair, which was held back, looked dirty from a hard night out. Some wore perspex chokers, modestly ornamented with silver studs – and some had those cheesy hoop ball earrings on. To make even more extraordinary, one look was focused on a camel coat, worn over a naked body, and a pair of, again, Zenon shoes.

But looking back at the animals in the collection – everybody noticed the turquoise snails, which were lazily stuck to a rabbit-fur jacket and a white pea-coat. Was Jonathan trying to convey a message? SLOW DOWN? The frustration of fashion’s speed, which made Alber and Raf say “bye” to Lanvin and Dior, is a struggle for most of young designers, as they need to be creative for 24/7, do their best to afford pre-collections and have a perfect, on-time stock for the retailers. Or maybe, Anderson ironically said “catch me if you can” to all the others in the industry? This guy is a real propeller of ideas, so why not show it off in the most bright and bold aspect of the collection?