Phoebe English at London Fashion Week AW13 | A sight for sore eyes

Phoebe English? I feel like I know that name. Pat yourself on the back if you do, English is a sickeningly talented Central Saint Martins graduate whose MA collection was sold at Dover Street Market back in 2011. Phoebe English Ltd is ran by the designer’s business partner (and ex-The Shop at Bluebird buyer) Rose Easton. Check out the Crane.tv interview snippet where Phoebe talks about her creative process.

Enough about the talent, tell me about the clothes. For AW13, Phoebe showed her collection at the Freemason’s Hall as part of Vauxhall Fashion Scout. Shunning the traditional catwalk space downstairs, her AW13 efforts were presented to a packed house in the dark, moody and grand Vestibule. It was one of the more focused and cohesive collections of this season’s London Fashion Week with a largely muted colour palette (apart from some royal blue) and in the materials, gauze, raw cotton and taupe getting their moment to shine.

I spy some latex too? Well the invite was a clue but yes, models wore strips of it as skirts and all over the heels – just about the only movement as the looks stayed just-so hovering against the models’ bodies as they stiffly navigated the wooden structure, created by set designer Robert Storey, in the middle of the space. We say navigated as they were blindfolded by black fabric masks.

Blindfolded? Sounds saucy. Far from it. The collection is said to be an investigation into sightlessness so it’s a little more serious than plain old bedroom shenanigans. And there was something about the raw edges, seams and threads that made us think the garments on show had been manipulated into being by the designer rather than sketched out in all their precise detail first.

I take it the models didn’t look like they’d got dressed in the dark, then?
Hell no. English isn’t the most obviously commercial of designers but there’s a simplicity and elegance to this stripped back take on AW13 that we really think will stand her in good stead to enchant a sizeable proportion of the fashion pack. Most of the shapes perhaps wouldn’t look any good on anyone with curves (i.e. lumps and bumps) but they’re ideal for those slim, louche kind of girls who care more about lovingly crafted clothes than being on trend.

More images, videos and stockists at Phoebe English.

Photos credits
in story: Faraz Pourreza-Jorshari, in gallery: Christopher Dadey (thanks to Purple PR)

The V&A ‘Ballgowns: British glamour Since 1950’

If you haven’t yet hop-footed it down to the V&A this summer, and you call yourself a fashion fan, then where exactly have you been?  Not only have the long-standing Fashion Galleries been revitalised and remodeled, boasting an amazing array of fashions from the last few hundred years (seriously, I doubt even Victoria Beckham could fit in some of the 19^th Century corsetry on display), but the ‘Ballgowns: British glamour Since 1950’ exhibition has proudly opened up along side it. 

Running until the 6^th January 2013 (so you still have time people!) the exhibition spans 60 years of strong British design, and proudly boasts an eclectic collection of ballgowns (and one token jumpsuit if you can spot it) that have attended some of the most prestigious events in society.  We are talking proper dresses too.  Like the kind you fantasise about wearing as a child playing dress up and imagining you are Cinderella.  While the collection features outfits worn by the Queen Mother, Princess Diana and other (less famous) royalty, dresses by Vivienne Westwood to Peter Worth litter the ground floor, while the upstairs Mezzanine holds more modern delights.

And this is where is gets really exciting (and shiny).  With designers now being as, if not more famous than the movie  stars and shlebs who get sewn in to their creations, the ballgowns of the 21^st century are really something to behold.  Hussien Chalayan, Erdem, Mark Fast, Craig Lawrence and Jenny Packham all have their masterpieces displayed along side Alexander McQueen, Giles Deacon and a specially designed Gareth Pugh creation produced purely for the V&A.  Oh, ff only these dresses could talk!  So, if you have not yet visited the exhibition, take an hour out of your schedule and go and be dazzled by our country’s incredible designer talent, old and new.

Eudon Choi – spotlight on the WGSN Global Fashion Award winner

One designer that we didn’t get chance to cover at September’s Fashion Week is Eudon Choi. The South Korean designer, whose label is stocked at boutiques like Browns Focus and Hervia Bazaar in Manchester, worked for All Saints and Twenty8Twelve before launching his own label in 2009. The nonchalance of those brands has stayed with his look, combined with his previous experience in menswear.

Choi has just won the Lycra Style Emerging Talent Award at the WGSN Global Fashion Awards 2011 but anyone keeping their eye on Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s schedule over the past few years will know that the Royal College of Art graduate was selected for ‘Ones to Watch’ in February 2010 and then progressed to Merit Award winner last September. Choi will now get consulting, marketing and technical support with his next AW 12 collection.

For SS12, Eudon Choi showed round frames on sixties sunglasses and long, loose pastel coloured separates. Playing to both feminine and masculine aesthetics, these were combined with graphic sports jackets, stripe motifs and the occasional jumpsuit. And it was all so wearable, we wouldn’t be surprised if we spotted a high street collaboration before long.

Eudon Choi at the WGSN Global Fashion Awards 2011