The possibilities offered by plastic and its applications in fashion always fascinated me.
Synthetic plastic materials currently remain among the favourite ones of many designers who employ them not only for accessories such as necklaces, earrings and bangles, but also to add a touch of colour or edgy details to their designs.
I mentioned in yesterday’s post for example the celluloid jabots Marc Jacobs incorporated in the lace dresses from his Autumn/Winter 2011 collection (a trick already employed by Schiaparelli actually...).
During London Fashion Week there were interesting applications of synthetic materials in Holly Fulton’s collection.
The optimistic message behind Fulton’s new designs arrived first on the speakers through Adriano Celentano’s 1972 single “Prisencolinensinainciusol”.
So, while the catchy rhythms of the track were playing in the background it was just impossible not to enjoy the tweeds in acid colours decorated with beaded trims, trousers with appliquéd spikes and Art Deco details creating intricate motifs on the dresses.
Fulton’s trademark skyscrapers reappeared on shirts, coats and ankle-length dresses, though this time there were some playful elements added such as lips sipping from plastic pearly straws through the roof of the Empire State building, manicured Auntie Mame-like hands holding smoking guns and boleros covered in plastic pearls matched with extremely long and streamlined lip print skirts that called to mind the verticality of skyscrapers.
Fulton’s jewels and accessories integrating Swarovski elements and Perspex components and Noel Stewart’s leather hats completed the looks in an elegant and stylish way.
In the first part of his collection Christopher Kane moved instead from classic crocheted squares using them to create geometrical motifs in navy and black on tops and skirts or printed them on leather designs.
Inspiration then moved on with a series of simple and basic crepe and cashmere dresses decorated with plastic strips.
Trapped inside them, coloured vegetable oil and glycerine liquids in bright orange, red, green and blue moved and bubbled, calling to mind two of the main inspirations for the collection, lava lamps and the plastic pencil cases and bags with liquids encased inside that many of us found absolutely irresistible as kids in the ‘80s.
Plastic strips were used to decorate plunging necklines and frame veiled breasts, the liquids encased inside them creating waves of bright colour.
The traditional craft element that opened the collection contrasted with the modern plastic trims, creating a cosy domestic Vs modern plastic dichotomy, though the plastic elements made you wonder why Kane and inseparable sister Tammy didn’t set onto a wider research if they were on the lookout for a material that had never been used before.
Indeed, while the liquid plastic effect was fun and used at its best to create alien-like designs with armoured plastic bodices or to give a further touch of colour to dresses covered in iridescent sequins, this trick wasn't entirely convincing.
It's indeed easy to wonder what will happen once these dresses (or Marc Jacobs' latex designs...) will make the transition from catwalk show to retailer floor and if it will be right to consider high end a product so reminiscent of cheap plastic bags from 25 years ago à la Fiorucci.
Kane didn’t seem to disappoint the expectations of most fashion critics at London Fashion Week, yet, while his maestro Gianni Versace always managed to walk on a tightrope suspended between the good and the kitsch, balancing these two aspects pretty well in his designs, in this collection Kane seemed to be perilously walking on a tightrope suspended between the good and the cheap. Maybe carrying out further researchers into the possibilities plastic can offer wouldn't have hurt Kane.
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Profession has traditional element, which has opened a collection of the opposite of the modern plastic finishes and creating a cozy home of modern plastics divisions, even if the item is made of plastic.
Posted by: שיפוץ בריכות שחיה | November 28, 2011 at 05:10 PM