"More, More, More - how do you like THAT?" Part III
It's taken me about four months to get my arse into gear and conclude the analysis of the "More, More, More" series of seminal London fashion week collections, that got my eyeballs enlarged, goosepumps tingling and hands clapping last season. Actually it's taken me nearly a year to say that it shook me to the core when Meadham Kirchhoff did what seemed like a 180 in their A/W 10-11 show, taking their deconstructed craftsmanship and shedding its utilitarian shell to reveal a Christmas tree decoration explosion that took place on the catwalk, set to a Bedouin tent backdrop. It was a jolt that spoke so specifically to the side of me that can't resist layers, adornment, too much, textures, complexity and femininity that satisfies you and you alone and doesn't play up to the pressures of flirtations with other people. Basically, what Meadham Kirchhoff have done in their past two collections is sum up my ideal vision of attire in a hyper reality where parks might look a little like their set for their S/S 11 show as seen below. I also say it's a hyper reality because wearing pieces as beautifully made as Meadham Kirchhoff's everyday might be a little dizzying, a drug-like experience if you will.
I guess Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff don't need the seal of approval from myself when they have since been recognised in an official capacity with an Best Emerging Talent award at the British Fashion Awards as well as winning Fashion Forward sponsorship for the first time. Therefore, it seems like the perfect time to extol what will be hitting stores very soon and look forward to what they have in store for A/W 11-12 collection which apparently will involve "Revolt, texture and feminism" - in other words, more of the same, except with a little more added on top?
If the A/W 10-11 was initially clouded by onlookers' reactions of confusion followed up by eventual delight, then I was definitely come over with instant lust for the S/S 11 collection, beginning with the glittering headpieces by Nasir Mazhard and ending in more sequins and embellishment at the feet courtesy of the shoes designed by Nicholas Kirkwood for Pollini. I remember speaking to the boys at their A/W 10-11 show and asking about their seeming 180 degree swing, and they said that they're still just young designers who can't be boxed in yet. Those words have put in a swig of perspective into how I view young designers and their career trajector, and by young, I mean with less than five years of consistent collections under their belt - how can we expect designers to find their niche immediately and limit them in terms of aesthetics in such a short period of time? Because fashion requires jam jar labelling immediately? Because we heap pressure on young designers (especially those in London) to reach dizzying heights in one season?
Still, looking back at Meadham Kirchhoff's past collections, the details of deconstruction were always there except they have now burst into a colourful passage, creating a genre and signature that is uniquely their own. The 'grunge and utilitarian' box has been bust open and instead we have something that alludes to aspects of princesses, punk, lolita, goth, My Little Ponies, defunct labels like Biba and Granny Takes a Trip, Victoriana, Fruits, New Romantics... and you can go on, but you certainly can't pick a singular description, noun, music genre or era to sum it all up... and you wouldn't want to...
The thing that is consistently emphatic though is the beautiful make which yes, means prohibitive prices but would it make sense if this colourful chaos was let down by shonky handiwork? Nope... and in a perverse way, I like that the dreamy aspect of the clothes is further impounded by the fact that they're beyond my reach...
Well...except... I'm still crossing my fingers that somehow a pair of these will magically appear on my feet with the click of a finger. Actually, with the rub of a finger as I can't click them properly to make a noise. Will someone hear my silent finger rub? Let's hope the designs that Nicholas Kirkwood did for Studio Pollini will all be commercially available...
(All catwalk detail shots from Vogue.com and backstage shots taken from Dazed Digital)
If dreaming is all that can be done about the bona fide thing, there's no stopping me from accessing the spirit of Meadham Kirchhoff's collections that affected me from the beginning of that A/W 10-11 show and all the way through the S/S 11 one. It's a spirit that means that there is a higher element of 'play' when getting dressed. There's a trial and error with layering different things together because I'm not about to give it all up for the easy-to-reach option of flinging on the simple formula of shirt + trousers + jacket. So it will take longer. My bed will become a disarray of vintage slip dresses, old pieces that I hardly ever wear anymore. It's a my idea of a fun puzzle to solve, piecing things together until I feel that there's a smidgen of the sort of uncompromising feminity that Meadham Kirchhoff get so spot on. I say a smidgen because of the absence of the real McCoy but I'll settle for smidgen. Any excuse to stare blankly at clothes on my bed until a eureka moment comes along.
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