16 FEBRUARY 2013 | SCARLETT KILCOOLEY-O'HALLORAN
LAST season Jasper Conran treated us to - to use his own words - “trailer trash”, however at his autumn/winter 2013-14 show this afternoon it quickly became clear we were in for a far more considered, buttoned-up affair.
The veteran designer’s inspiration this season was the irrepressible Mia Farrow. Muse to many, and poster girl of the Sixties, her elfin aesthetic infiltrated nearly every look.
Shift dresses with crew necks and circular-panelled skirts were boxy and cut just above the knee, as were short suits, which were worn with opaque tights and oh-so-shiny patent-leather pumps. The flat has been declared back, and here it was used to good effect – complementing the boyish silhouettes and highlighting the very wearable nature of the collection.
Elsewhere all-over floral appliqué referenced that other memorable movement of Farrow’s heyday – flower power - and when hats weren’t worn, hair was pulled back into preppy side-parted buns and pixie crops were revealed.
“Farrow has always been an influence,” Conran told us just before the show. “Her style was boyish, and very easy, which is something that I like.”
But the big story today was the colour. The brightest of citrine, magenta, and orange, orange, orange (to match the lacquered catwalk) dazzled as the models made their towards the photographer's pit - the Sixties was when hallucinogens made their impact on popular culture, after all.
“It’s well mannered but out-of-control colour,” Conran enthused. Well mannered but out-of-control? Perhaps, but this has become something of a signature for Conran and London Fashion Week wouldn’t be the same without it.
