Freemason's Hall; Mattijs; Mattijs, Vauxhall Fashion Scout
Vauxhall Fashion Scout moved to a fabulous new location close to LFW’s Somerset House – the beautifully-ornate Freemason’s Hall in Covent Garden. The shows take place in Catwalk Hall – a sumptuous hall with highly ornate moulded and gilded ceilings. Day 1 saw Mattijs (Mattijs van Bergen), the four designers chosen as Ones to Watch (as a group show) and Kingston University Fashion MA exhibition entitled Body Lab.
The s/s 2010 Mattijs collection is entitled Florish Odalisk and is inspired by the playful attitude to the summer months, with ultra-light sunray pleated silks billowing out in simple shapes – full-length A-line or waisted dresses, colour-mix tiered skirts worn with cap-sleeve tops. Shimmering summer colour stories came from using an iridescent sheer in multi-shaded stripes reminiscent of sweet wrappers, plus the use of layered tints, such as electric blue over rose pink.
Body Lab, Kingston Fashion MA, Vauxhall Fashion Scout
The Body Lab exhibition from Kingston Fashion MA took place upstairs in an equally elegant location. The Kingston team had used the space to great advantage – shadowing the room and beaming video loops of the graduates’ work onto the huge ‘picture frame’ panels. Display cased showed the preparatory work, ideas and inspirations of the two graduates, Rachel Lamb and Niamh O’Connor. On the hour, models showcased the work of the designers using back-lightling and projections to create a dramatic play of light and shadows.
Marko Mitanovski; Hermoine de Paula, Vauxhall Fashion Scout
The four designers in the Ones to Watch show included Serbian Marko Mitanovski with a dark fairytale fantasy of reindeer-horned models in black, featuring heavy Victoriana layered capes in pleated leather, corsetry strapping, high ruffs, fishnet, filigree jewellery and long feathered eyebrows. A final model appeared all in white, in a bouncing mermaid-tail skirt.
Hermoine de Paula graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2006 in fashion and print and her s/s 2010 collection Las Venus: An Unconscious Elegance? questions who are the modern-day Venus figures – pale models with paper crowns reminiscent of Christmas confectionary. Delicate prints, some floral-based, are hand-painted and collaged as placement designs. Soft apricot, violet and greys were highlighted with poppy red and accented with the glint of intricate chain jewellery.
Ada Zanditon (London College of Fashion graduate from 2007) produced a strong geometric meets drapery collection in scarlet, white, black and grey, while Dean Quinn, winner of the Central Saint Martin’s BA Womenwear award in June 2009 created a softened 80s look in white, black and grey led by bold contrast-colour geometric strips of beading.
The Fashion Scout
Marko Mitanovski
Hermoine de Paula
Ada Zanditon
