Monday, January 12, 2015

Fall 2015 London.. Pringle, Moschino, Joseph, Casely-Hayford



Without going any further, this might be the time to state what might seem obvious to some and maybe not so much to others! Just because you show your collection on prepubescent, anemic, anorexic looking boys, this doesn’t make the collection young! Maybe there is a lost generation of only trust fund children who are in search of their next meal? Maybe this rail thin almost sickly look is genetic? Think of it this way: just because you dress an infant in Dior couture, the collection is not young!

With all the reimaging of heritage brands, Pringle seems to come out on top this season which celebrates the DNA of the brand and that is sweaters. Many moons ago, Pringle was the bellwether of knit manufacturers, they were the gold standard by which so many were measured against. Is the collection awe inducing… well not at all but it offers a glimpse into what can be done by utilizing and respecting what a brand stands for and here it is knits and sweaters, this season there is no question that the sweaters and knits are star quality and the rest plays to the focus. There are some superb outerwear pieces which are stand alone! Given that this is London, sweater dressing has always been of great importance and Pringle stands out for being somewhat normal in this ocean of oddities and idiosyncrasies which some designers seem to think is winning ticket to fame.



Let’s now speak of Moschino... but it is hard to imagine why! Another heritage brand and while not exactly best known for its menswear, this collection does nothing to improve that conception. WTF are these people thinking? It is like the circus has arrived in town. That Jeremy Scott is responsible for this pile, then his sense of humor has surely been lost or warped. The only way someone might confuse this as comical is in its content and purpose otherwise this is a pathetic excuse for fashion. Who wants to look like this why do you want to look like this and lastly why on earth does anyone think this is fashion worthy??? It is difficult to even apply a phrase like over the top! It is even more difficult to call this a collection of any heritage brand what merits anything other than head shaking and a lot of tsk tsk tsk!



Joseph in its original incarnation was well known for its knits, if not primarily known for them. While not a huge fan, the clothes had a place in the fashion and thru the years the band has sort of fallen back into a more secondary or tertiary tier. What I saw as appealing here is the ease and slouchy mood with some razor sharp coats and jackets. Perhaps it can be best described at the soft vs. the hard edge, while surely not a universally commercial look; there are some covetable standout pieces that fall into either camp.



Last up is Casely-Hayford where layering is de rigeur. If your eyes can peel away the layers and see them as independent units rather than a total look, you will see some amazing outerwear pieces and again, some fabulous knits. Even though these eyes can’t adjust to knee length sweater dressing and their somewhat dishabille attitude, my eyes some really NEW looking pieces. These designers exemplify what London fashion stands for in place of all the silly theatrics and shock inducing collections there is newness and independent thinking.


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