(Late) SS15 gawking, with a view of colour and sculptural tailoring

 MOSCHINO

(JEREMY SCOTT)

I can't deny that my initial attraction to this collection was its overt kitschiness and shades of pink; I love a good tongue-in-cheek concept delivered in a stylish way (something I think ended up seeming disappointingly gimmicky with Scott's previous use of McDonald's branding). Although what's really impressive here is the sheer scale of looks - Scott seriously committed to depicting Barbie in virtually every situation she'd find herself, and clearly in every single one of these she'd look eternally glamorous. So maybe the appeal here is giving a certain attainability to living the "glam-life"; providing flawless solutions to, say, when you next go to aerobics, find yourself at a roller disco, or just need to take a bath. 

It's also notable that it wasn't ALL pink, but revolved around a colour palette that sometimes moved away from the more obvious Barbie-inspired looks (such as in the image below) whilst maintaining the overall theme effectively. With regards to sculptural elements, there's a few interesting pieces that incorporate swimwear into garments in quite a wearable way (as above), which felt an interesting way to interpret usual Spring/Summer pieces. 

YOHJI YAMAMOTO

The engaging thing for me was the placement of the clothes on the body. Doing this in a largely 'unusual' way made everything generally more sculptural and added overall depth to the collection. I think it sometimes takes shows like this to uproot your dressing patterns and think more laterally about clothes; it's definitely possible to experiment and create wearable outfits that incorporate sculptural elements just by altering scale or placement. Also, that yellow really got me excited. 

What I've learnt: 1) Looking sculpted and a bit dishevelled equals understated sex appeal.
                           2) Wearing things 'wrong' is actually right. 

COMME DES GARÇONS

(RAI KAWAKUBO)

At first glance this collection seems to unite elements of violence and sex beautifully, the models appearing like strong, almost other-worldly creatures. I'm not sure why exactly, but it feels like quite a feminist statement to me, maybe because of all that red, maybe because I've read Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber about a hundred times (and there's a red riding hood thing going on here). 

The layers of each garment build impressive volume and shapes, making these almost like wearable sculptures. I was especially drawn to the sleeves; some were too long, giving an almost childish appearance to the models, but also an eerie sense of extension to the arms, and the very sculptural examples were intriguing, as they unusually integrated the arms into the main body of the clothing. 

Sculptural link:

LUCY ORTA

Refuge Wear Intervention London East End 1998

Besides being innovative and attractive creations, the political messages behind these are really stimulating. These pieces explore the limits (or lack thereof) of what a garment can be, providing instant shelter and freedom of movement to those in need of it. Made in the time of the 1st Gulf War and its economic consequences, focus was particularly given to Kurdish refugees, and the growing levels of homelessness in Paris. These are almost more socially responsible sculptures than garments. 

"Throughout the 1990's Lucy + Jorge Orta staged a series of interventions to challenge acts of social disappearance and to render the invisible populations, visible once more. Peripheral urban spaces such as squats, railway stations, housing projects, bridges and subways were chosen as arenas for simultaneous happenings. These interventions – warnings, alarm bells, distress whistles – signal out social issues that the media were ignoring at that time." - http://www.studio-orta.com/en/artwork/86/Refuge-Wear-Intervention-London-East-End-1998

  

AYA TSUKIOKA

...and then obviously there's this

Fighting street crime one outfit at a time - genius.

Moschino collection photographs by Lea Colombo

Yohji Yamamoto collection photographs Jacques Habbah

Commes des Garçons collection photographs by Susie Bubble

Lucy Orta photographs by John Akehurst, and interventions were commissioned by Dazed and Confused 
Aya Tsukioka photographs by Torin Boyd/Polaris, for The New York Times