>> Following on from yesterday's denim bonanza, or more specifically, denim frights that I've yet to conquer completely, I now turn to patchwork dark denim. Many a jacket/bag/jeans from Camden market have undergone the patchwork treatment to go perfectly with the knitted rainbow hemp jackets and smiley faced t-shirts of 1992. It's the crazy tiling of the denim world.
The London-based Thomas Wakeford, which is created by both the namesake Thomas Wakeford and Raphael Castelmezzano has taken raw denim and spliced it up into exactly the sort of formation which should have me running for the hills. Actually, there's a lot of 'wrongness' in this collection – oddly coloured lambskins embossed with python and croc, raw edges that fray not with purpose but as though they were accidentally left unfinished and hankerchief hems (remember when they got a bit out of control and started appearing in multiples of ten in one skirt?). I'm not exactly selling this in to you, am I?
I'm tempted to turn to everyone's favourite line – "Oh that's so wrong, it's so right!" said with overly-aware facetious irony. However I've not concluded whether Wakeford has got it 'right' yet. There is something here to grasp at though. His contrast of the obnoxious with the luxurious – the raw denim with the lambskin, rubber with delicate silks – is definitely bold and the colours for me jarr quite nicely. The shapes are another way of retrogazing back to the boxy shapes of certain strands of the 90s which I suppose is due for a rerun although I do recall a denim skirt with a hankerchief hem that I wore once and never again. If you want to go through it all with a toothpick, there are indelible touches of Margiela and Raf Simons dotted about. Still I find it interesting that a young designer hasn't concerned himself with pandering to an audience that might go "Oh my! That is so pretty!".
When I get excited I start talking in the third person but I shan’t for the sake of people who are easily irritated, but I must just say, that is rather special, I love raw edges, I love things that feel authentic and not commercial, I just like the quirkiness of it like you say how it shouldn’t work but it kind of does! genius. I’m on the Thomas Wakeford site right now though I think most of this collection you’ve uploaded here, I’ll have a look at the older one. I love it!
I absolutely love your blog and this post is really cool. Thankyou so much for posting these pieces; i like his quirky looks and im working on pieces inspired by the post. The different shapes are really cool especially. I’ve just started by blog:
http://the-fashion-wardrobe-x.blogspot.com and seeing your posts have really helped me. If you have any tips that would be really useful. Thankyou and keep on inspiring! x
I love this. In particular the chain handle on the tote bag (industrial chain?).
loving these Thomas Wakeford pieces at “second” glance though not first. Your description of his pieces is so perfect- “obnoxious with the luxurious – the raw denim with the lambskin, rubber with delicate silks” love it! at first they look wrong to me and weird but at the second look, these pieces look bold and exotic and pretty!
love the detail thats gone into these pieces!
http://TheFashionDrugg.blogspot.com/
Im not such a big fan of the raw edges…..but thats what lifes about .. different opinions!
love the first three pics, might have to get used to the raw edges tho!
http://pinklemonsorbet.blogspot.com/
Meena x
Lovely post, you have a very inspiring blog 🙂
http://chicgeekblogger.blogspot.com/
Please take a minute to look at my trunkshow;
http://iouproject.com/tsh/jessica-karen/
not really my taste, i think i would not like to wear these outfits.
romanticsthe.blogspot.com
i LOVE how big everything is.
http://www.suspironews.blogspot.com
Oooh… I like this Marmite effect this collection is having – LOVE IT HATE IT…. who knows though… perhaps Wakeford is on to something and pre-empting future trends with his deliberate choice of materials….
Love love love look no2! Not totally convinced on the rest but I am a believer that the best designers are those who take risks and cause a bit of controversy!!
http://www.my-cherry-picker.com
Don’t get offended, but I find these quite ugly. Interesting, but ugly. There is no silhouette or…. I don’t know, what else is absent in this design, but is missing a lot, if you ask me.
In particular the chain handle on the tote bag (industrial chain?).
wow very quirky, not liking the raw edges so much but the designs are very interesting!
http://eighteengramsofglitter.blogspot.com
Hi I actually attended their presentation during London Fashion Week and felt I should post part of their Press Release after reading this post. It gives a good description of why they did a lot of what you’re talking about..
“Autumn/Winter 2011/12 began with the rethinking of conventional garment construction and contrasting textures. The collection combines minimalistic silhouettes with obscure fabric ideas to create a vision of modern luxury. Mixing raw materials like denim, leather and silks with rubber, python and croc embossed lambskin, the collection creates an unusual and rich fabric story. Forest green, petrol blue, plum, off white and iridescent reflections create a mature colour pallet. Geometric shapes and inverted finishings influence garment cut and construction. Accessories are hard with steel chain handle bags in embossed iridescent lambskin and denim, and high-heel cowboy boots. It is the product of Southwest references, crude deconstructive construction, atomic shapes and contrasting textures.”
x Giorgette