Delighting in Relighting

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I was struck by how SPOILT we are in London for exposure to fashion and creativity itself as I was reminded how good an idea it is that Victoria and Albert Museum puts on events such as Fashion in Motion where they invite a designer to show a "retrospective" show in the beautiful Raphael Hall, all entirely open to the public – past designers featured have included Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier and Erdem. 

I love that the audience comprises of people who are not necessarily fashion lovers but are looking at the the pieces on show as objects of design.  Within the context of a show retrospective, you're able to just relax and assess the longevity and overall 'achievement' of that designer as opposed to trying to place clothes into fluxing transitionary trends. 

I've personally been to the Boudicca, Gareth Pugh and Giles ones (actually I stumbled into the Boudicca one by mistake!) and yesterday, I went to the Osman Yousefzada Fashion in Motion.  I don't go to every one of them but I was hell bent on the Osman one because he is a designer which I was exposed to in person in the infancy stages of this blog.  His show was also one of my first London fashion week shows ever, back in S/S 07 where supremely well-cut dresses mingled with neck ruffs.

So much has been made about his route into fashion – banker turned designer, inspired by his mother's dressmaking business in Birmingham.  The tale is a good thing to take away but more importantly, Osman has been quietly working away since 2005 to create clothes that have longevity about them.  That was emphasised even more to me yesterday when I saw the breadth of his work spanning at least eight seasons.

You've probably noticed I've been on a minimalist/maximalist rave that has been building up from looking at the work of Anne Marie Beretta as well younger guns such as Matthew Ames and Christophe Lemaire.  I see Osman's sitting somewhere along that tract as he takes very subtle elements of ancient costume or global cultural traditional dress to fuse them with a precision and cleanliness so that the minimal is never too sterile and the maximal is never too extravagant. 

It's funny how people might take a look at this and say "This isn't very Susie at allβ€šΓ„ΒΆ"  because apparently I'm some mixed-prints/crazy-coloured/sequinned barmy maven.  On the contrary, it's ever so satisfying to see this 'flow' in Osman's work, a curvy line that you can draw from one season to the next that physically translates into beautiful silhouettes.  I can only hope that some of those lines find themselves in amongst my unstable and flitting fashion ways.

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24 comments

  4. Wow! Each piece is so wonderfully constructed. So simple, but so much labor and thought must have gone into every piece. Beautiful!

  6. Loves it but the accessories are so damn good i love the envelope pink clutch! And the shoes.. oh my!
    xx,
    Dimogonda blog

  8. The V&A does such amazing stuff. I can’t wait to be back in London full time and able to make the most of it! Awesome clothes and pics. Thanks! Xxxc

  11. oooh i like this, feels fresh and new. first time in a long time i haven’t looked at a designer’s work and said “oh, this looks like what so-and-so did a few seasons ago”

  17. That asian model is Carolyn Geh from Vancouver! i really love her! and I love it when asian models get coverage anywhere~ thank you for that!

  18. ^ Ah yes, I knew her name was Carolyn but didn’t know who she was repped by…. I LOVE her… saw her at some shows in New York…

  19. Oh my goodness gracious God/Mary/Jesus… all of those holier than thou characters!!! I want to live inside of these pictures and never come out!!!
    Suzi- I REALLY feel strongly that you will love these women and this interview and so I want you to read it and look at the fabulous photos. I promise, I won’t let you down.
    http://morningpassages.com/?p=73197565

  20. Is that Ben Grimes I spy? I didn’t realise “proper” models *cough* did the fashion in motion events. Amaze. Wish I had gone, I looked at it but I was going to be busyyy
    xx
    Duck

  21. Like the breastplate and the “bedazzled” longsleeve cowl dress in deep burgundy. I really like the “new Roman” aesthetic a lot of these looks seem to emulate. Toga-tastic!

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