REPORT BY CLARE COULSON, FASHION FEATURES DIRECTOR, HARPER’S BAZAAR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CATWALKING.COM
Like many designers this season, Michael van der Ham explored velvet for autumn, draping, folding and wrapping it into a series of dresses in rose pink, fuchsia, lilac, peacock blue and turquoise, before exploring draped tops in the same material, which were paired with fluid silk trousers in matching colours. It was familiar van der Ham territory, even if panne velvet replaced last season’s rich silks and dévorés. Less familiar, and perhaps more successful, was his experimentation with knits. Blocks of colour, metallics and florals with an Art Deco feel were merged into simple long-sleeved sweaters paired with colourful silk pants, or into shifts worn with cardigans. Without the complex drapery, his patchworks of colour seemed much more approachable. He ended with a series of asymmetric tailoring in chunky wools and some challenging trousers entirely embroidered with swags of silk fringe, which jarred a little. Van der Ham has such a great eye for colour and he’s at his best when he embraces it.
