Nicole Farhi really went for the English rose look for spring 09. Showcasing watery prints and girly dresses. I am starting to wonder if all of this nostalgia for pretty little dresses is at all influenced by the current credit crisis. Is it nostalgia for more innocent times?
Emma Cook managed to link most of her 1920s inspired collection together through what some may describe as excessive use of scallop detailing on her dresses. One stand out look was the zebra printed doily dress. However I’m not sure how many people will be brave enough to leave the house in a dress festooned with table-wear. The rest of the collection featured this safari theme by way of animal prints and the colour palette of khakis and beiges.
Eley Kishimoto was probably the designer that got most into the ‘return to innocence’ nostalgia trip. The models wearing prim dresses that would not look out of place on school children from the 50s. I can really imagine some of my quirky girlfriends getting into this collection, and perhaps I’m going overboard, but I just think that it infantalises women a bit too much.
Christopher Kane’s collection is the one that I’ve really gotten excited about across NY and London fashion weeks. Looking at the magnificent scalloped dresses, you can see that he is aware of the past but is not doing “a 1920s” collection. He is a real auteur of his collection. The one shouldered grey chiffon dress was exquisite, and I am desperate for the gorilla dresses. I think they’re fantastic and show a great sense of humour.
The other big Tuesday show was Giles. His runway concept was fantastic. He ran with a pac man theme, putting yellow spots on the catwalk and had the models wear pac man helmets. The standout dress was a swarovski encrusted Pac-Man dress, although whether it makes it into production remains to be seen. The rest of the collection showcased a bright collection of dresses. Beginning with fairly simple block coloured dresses and then moving into short dresses in the water colour prints that are everywhere this season. He made them his own through the judicious use of ruffling. I believe his black dress would be an investment piece which would remain stylish forever (helmet optional).