photography by shaniqwa jarvis
report by heath brown
Mary Katrantzou seems to have sparked a craze for using furnishing fabrics in fashion, which is taking London by the tassels this week. Katrantzou’s past collections have taken the interiors influence one step beyond, throwing a whole room onto her outfits; but fellow designers have sorted through the offcuts to glean remnants of upholstery and curtain fabric as inspiration for this season’s clothing prints and textiles.
“They have been emboldened to put different fabrics to alternative uses,” said Paula Reed of Grazia. “It has not really been done before,” commented fashion historian Colin McDowell. “It gives an outfit a different sensibility.”
Both Matthew Williamson and Richard Nicoll had definite hints of Margo Leadbetter’s sitting room about their prints and jacquards. Swirled roses at Nicoll, very Sixties boudoir, gave a nod to homeware styles. Williamson had classic wallpaper-cum-sofa patterns on his outfits, as well as using the latest ikat motifs, so fashionable in the world of interior decoration at the moment. He even trimmed his creations with tie-back tassels to dress his window onto the fashion world perfectly.
Sumptuous jacquards and metallic thread brocades at Christopher Kane were rather more salon settee than lounge sofa, even though he referenced council-house girls and cheap wallpaper offcuts as influences. “But it was actually from a scrap of fabric found in a pocket of a jacket from a fleamarket,” he told us.
Jonathan Saunders was more specific: “The print was all about the patterns found on old net curtains,” he explained.
Showcasing the mix, Michael van der Ham once again raided his sewing box for sofa fabrics and fine prints to create his trademark patchwork.
All very John Lewis haberdashery department. See you there.
