Jonathan Saunders: The Next Enfant Terrible?

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Originally posted by London Press Service
A new star is born in fashion

By Liz Clark
London Press Service
Thursday, Jun 03, 2004,Page 15

A STAR bursts into life at London Fashion Week every few years. During those hectic few days someone catches the attention of the media and emerges as the face of the future or the one to watch his name. It has always been a man suddenly known to all, in and out of the fashion industry.

In 1984 it was John Galliano whose obvious genius brought him sharply into the limelight, and in the early 1990s the controversial talents of Alexander McQueen were the talk of the town.

This year it is the turn of 25-year-old Jonathan Saunders, who similar to the other two designers, is a graduate of Central St Martin College of Art and Design, London.

It is the inventiveness and originality - and wearability -- of Saunderss kaleidoscopic collection for spring/summer 2004 that has caused all the excitement, particularly the vibrant, geometric, silk-screen prints that he hand creates in his studio in Brixton, south London. No computers are involved in his work - rare in these high-tech times.

Like Galliano and McQueen, Saunders is a perfectionist in his work and spends hours getting the pattern pieces and his complex, intricately engineered prints exactly right for his close-fitting mini dresses, flattering catsuits and long flowing tops. Each piece has a different print that often dictates the shape of the item.

Born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, after completing his schooling Saunders started a four-year course in product and furniture design at Glasgow School of Art (GSA) but later changed to fashion and textiles. Armed with a degree from GSA, he went on to St Martin, where, he told one interviewer: "All these colours started coming out of nowhere. It was liberation, totally."

At present, Jonathan collection can be found at Pineal Eye in London; Il Duomo in Milan; Henri Bendel in New York; Va Sara in Japan, and Shine in Hong Kong. But with the acclaim he recently won from both the fashion press and the international buyers visiting London for Fashion Week, his clothes should soon be more widely available.

This story has been viewed 371 times.

 

[Scott]

Honestly,from the vantage point I've been getting,I haven't really seen anything extraordinary from Saunders yet. While his craft may be great I don't see anything noteworthy enough to be compared to McQueen.

I think the enfant terrible in the way of McQueen and Galliano,would be Robert Cary-Williams. Too bad he doesn't get alot of attention because the guy is really quite good and he's an all-out radical too.

 

[twilight fairy]

My mum was going on about Saunders the other day, asking me to find out more about him. Thanks for the article!

 

[pinkmonkey]

I would'nt call him an enfant terrible, I'd call him a fantastic textile print designer.

 

[Spacemiu]

I don't think so

 

[Lena]

i find him too hyped for his own good,
he sure can create some cool, modern Gucci prints
but i'd need to see more before i say 'enfant terrible'

 

[Amélie]

i think he has to evolve a little bit more...

 

[Lena]

here an older FS link on Saunders

 

[softgrey]

i saw the video for this show...and it was quite dramatic...i really didn't know about this guy's work..so i was shocked to see his use of shape and colour...it's very impressive and mature...
i think he is a very talented artist...and would like to seee a lot of the prints painted on a canvas and hung on my wall...

however...i'm not so sure i want to put some of these prints on my body...i do like the clours...as i said ....and i like some of the more graphic prints...they look somehow futuristic ...like a costume from a sci-fi film...which appeals to me...it somehow feels like moving forward in a world full of retro...there's just enough of the past in the narrow tight silhouette to be familiar...reminds me a bit of montana and mugler...but the patterns are very modern...

mixed feelings...but definitely one to watch,,,,

 

[softgrey]

...

 

[softgrey]

i think this would be a nice painting

 

[softgrey]

this is more subtle and certainly better than anything zac posen has EVER done...reminds me of narciso...

 

[softgrey]

colour

 

[Acid]

oh no, not him

 

[ahhGucci]

 

[Erzébeth]

pucci-esque..