Celtic Cuts
Scottish designers flew the flag at London Fashion Week. Nadia Scullion reports
Jonathan Saunders
London Fashion Week, which took place in February, passed in the usual whirlwind of shows, parties and designer presentations. While all the collections showed innovation, three stood out for their creators’ clearly defined aesthetic, uncompromising vision and sheer individuality.
The work of Jonathan Saunders, Louise Gray and Christopher Kane may be easy to differentiate between. However, the three individuals have something in common. They are all Scottish.
Jonathan Saunders graduated from Glasgow School of Art before honing his individual approach to print while studying for a Masters at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. It was his vision of modern printed textiles, incorporating brash colours and bold geometric shapes, which initially attracted press attention. However, recent collections have seen the designer push himself in terms of cut and silhouette, as exemplified by his Autumn/Winter 2011 collection.
The show began with a fresh look at colour blocking, with tailored skirt suits executed in blocks of blue. Flashes of barely visible green shirt collar hinted at the riot of colour to come.
As the collection unfolded, Saunders gave us repeat prints in eye-popping colours which seemed to move and vibrate, similar to the feeling one gets when standing in front of a Bridget Riley painting. A red tailored jacket over a turquoise shirt may sound like a faux pas, but this actually proved to be a stand-out look from the collection, acting as a testament to Saunders’ skill when it comes to the balance of colour and print within ready-to-wear.
Christopher Kane
Saunders also showed menswear as part of the collection in the form of geometric patterned knitwear, which was kept young and fresh by being paired with jeans and plimsoles.
Print is also an important facet of the work by Fraserburgh-born Louise Gray. This is often embellished and layered up to create a chaotic, lively and youthful look. While Gray’s latest offering utilises tartans, mohairs and the Arran jumper, this collection was not intended as a homage to her Scottish roots. Instead, the fabric acted as a canvas, allowing her to go to town with an experimental, offbeat mix of embroidery, overprinting and smocking.
The resulting layered and textural garments, which playfully utilise colour, reflect Gray’s own flamboyant style. Famous on the London scene for her ever-changing hair colour and loud, neon make-up, often applied like war paint, she could be imagined wearing every look in the collection.
References to the ‘90s were apparent in Gray’s Autumn/Winter 2011 offering in the bomber jackets and slouchy jumper shapes and even in the large, yellow spots on the catwalk, which put one in mind of the smiley faces so closely associated with that decade.
The addition of sculptural, balloon-like hats, the result of a collaboration with up and coming milliner Nazir Mazhar, coupled with the brightly coloured dots adorning the models’ faces, only further enhanced the fun, celebratory feel to the collection.
Louise Gray
Glaswegian Christopher Kane is building his reputation by the way he translates his inspiration into fully realised collections.
Kane’s rise to fame has been well documented. He has been showing since 2006 when Donatella Versace bought his Central Saint Martin’s graduate collection, and recent successes include a collaboration with Topshop and his appointment as designer for Versace’s diffusion line, Versus, in 2009.
Kane has a knack for taking something bordering on bad taste, reworking it and somehow making it desirable. Take his Autumn/Winter 2011 collection, for example. Opening the show was a tweed skirt suit constructed from moss green and brown crotchet. This was steered away from the frumpy, crafty image usually associated with crotchet and made to feel modern and fresh by being plasticated in areas and pared with a bare leg.
As the collection continued, Kane added more unexpected elements to astounding effect. Coloured liquid enclosed in squiggly plastic trims, inspired by pencil cases which were all the rage when Kane was growing up, was initially used in a subtle way. It trimmed pockets and emphasised necklines, creating perhaps some of the most commercially viable garments in the collection. The dresses which followed boasted full top sections crafted from this liquidy technique, creating visually exciting showpieces.
This collection shows Kane’s sheer skill at turning an idea which would appear not to work in a fashion context into garments which are current and innovative and feel right for now.
