London Fashion Love Letters: Craig Lawrence

Hi Perm,

I quite like the pieces of Jayne Pierson, especially the colourful ones: they look almost as if they were drawn. Looks like you´ve gotten to see quite a variety of different styles! I´m afraid I haven´t - I´ve been haunted by mermaids!

This morning, I successfully managed to find my way to the showroom of Craig Lawrence (without a map - yes, I had to mention that just to give your the ego of your inner compass another hit). Once I got there, a lady at the door handed me a press release. "Ooh, this is handy," I thought and started to read:

"Craig Lawrence´s Spring/Summer 2011 line marks his 4th consecutive season as a British Fashion Council NEWGEN winner. This season´s collection promises to be more dramatic and visionary than ever. Craig leaves the seaside towns of where he grew up in Ipswich, and moves into the fantasy world of mermaids and the seductive mythological sirens of ancient Greece..."

The words "siren mermaids" made my mermaid sirens ring, but I bravely stepped into the room to see not one, but FOUR of these fashion creatures from the underwater kingdom. These mermaids didn't have scales, but wore impressive nets of knits made of Japanese metallic yarns. The combinations of textures, silhouettes and colour breathed serenity that turned off my mermaid alarm. Yes, the sirens of Craig Lawrence were seductive and I fell for them like a good ol' sailor.

Having spotted a visitor who was undoubtedly dressed according to the theme (maybe she mixed Fashion Weeks up with Halloween?), I simply had to take a picture.

I also managed to snap a photo of The Great Designer Himself being interviewed. I might not have a clue where Ipswich is, but at least I can show you that this is how an ipswicher looks like:

I also attended two runway shows today, discovered the muffins at the press lounge and saw someone Famous with a capital F. I'll be annoying and will not reveal who it was, will tell you more about it later! Until then: good night!

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: Jayne Pierson

Hey Emmi,

I am sorting out the photos of Bryce Aime's SS11 collection that has just been shown at London Fashion Week and I have realised I am yet to share my thoughts on the Jayne Pierson catwalk show I attended last night.

Pierson's catwalk show was preceded by a brief film screening "Twin Parallel" by Justin Anderson. Highly conceptual, the short film starts with the break of dawn, light, a cuckoo clock, fruit, a dead goose and models adorned in Pierson's clothing. The models soon become doubles of one another, carrying edible items in one by one. The press release says, "Pierson expertly observes observes the existence of gravitational time dilation and engages with the notion that one could change the past to re-create a different future." I'm all over the fence about this. The film, overall, just reminds me of some 17th century Dutch painting of everyday life. That's it. It has its own significance but I'm unsure how it could be translated into clothes.

Pushing the concept aside, the collection is quite eye-catching. Pierson is noted for structured silhouette and in this Spring Summer 11 collection she shows her admirable skills of leather drapery. The collection arrives in printed taffetas, in sky blue, black and gold, the colour of dawn.

"Regal," I think, is the term that perfectly describes Pierson's collection. To me, I see, in Pierson's women, the mixture of princely consorts in ancient South East Asia and European noblewomen. It is not to everybody's liking but it is still a very strong collection. You can't deny that her leather pieces isn't stunning, and this innovative take on a biker's jacket is cool, too!

Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Perm