A while back I did an interview with Swedish designer Camilla Wellton for Dazed Digital and I was happy to hear that among her favourite designers/labels there is also Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair.
Founded in 2004 by Astrid Olsson and Lee Cotter, the label first produced delicate knitwear pieces for women and later on developed their style further focusing also on menswear.
Olsson has a background in pattern making and tailoring, while Cotter is a self-taught designer who has worked for a while as a buyer and freelance designer for different men’s brands.
The emphasis in all the collections the duo produced so far has been on modern designs characterised by perfect tailoring, after all the slogan of this label, as you can read from its site, is “a dedication to traditional tailoring, pattern making and the old ways of the trade”.
The attention of Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair’s for perfect tailoring, quality and quirky details makes me often think about Boudicca’s designs. Like the British duo, Olsson and Cotter’s main aim is to experiment on basic garments, trying to dramatically alter the silhouette of the human body by breaking the forms of their post-modern designs.
In their latest collection presented at Fashion Week by Berns, an event that took place last week in Stockholm, the design duo perfectly explored this alteration in shape and form.
Using their favourite colour, black, FASR sculpted dramatic silhouettes out of their fabric: ruffles, huge fan like motifs and concertina pleated folds jutted out of shirts and skirts; soft woollen fabric was used to mould soft architectural shapes around the body; draperies created pannier skirts or evoked the polonaise style of dress; coat dresses were characterised by cinched waists and ample skirts; asymmetrical knitted dresses were carved out of soft wool.
FASR’s menswear was also very interesting and featured tailored suits with short trousers, sharp trenches with multiple pockets, ample drop crotch trousers with fluid silhouettes and jackets with draped fabric forming interesting shapes and motifs.
Different shades of burgundy and grey were used as an alternative to black, paired with occasional check fabrics used for skirts and tops that cleverly incorporated scarves.
The best pieces of the whole FASR collection though were the ones in which Olsson and Cotter completely broke the human anatomy and created oversized dresses and tops with looped up draperies and complex constructions of pleats and folds that helped them achieving a remarkable effect. (All photographs from Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair A/W 09 collection: copyright Kristian Löveborg).
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