The Birds and the Bees

Back in the depths of freezing cold January, I had a catch up with Amy Powney, director of design at Mother of Pearl, which as a brand has been fascinating to watch evolve as a sort of insider-nudge-nudge-wink-wink label that doesn't always quite get the spotlight it deserves.  The internal set-up is partly the reason for this.  Powney, has progressed through the ranks, starting off as an intern and at present shapes the design direction of the label, alongside Maia Norman, who has historically been the "face" of the brand, and is responsible for finding the artists to collaborate with on each collection.

What's interesting is that, that particular USP of Mother of Pearl has almost become secondary to the design, which can be put down to Powney's work.  "Maia (Norman) finds the artists," explained Powney.  "That's her world.  It's her ethos of the brand.  She isn't a trained designer.  That's where I stepped in and really nailed the aesthetic of the brand.  I very quickly realised that this product and brand has got to have its own identity all by itself and then the art collaboration is a bonus on top of it.  We've worked hard on establishing the aesthetic."  

Therefore it's no surprise that the word of mouth chit chat about Mother of Pearl, in amongst buyers last season for S/S 13 wasn't necessarily focused on the art collaborations but on the easy-going, sports-luxe aesthetic married with great visuals.  As brilliant as Mother of Pearl's selection of artists has been, the clothes have to stand up on their own as well and Powney has successfully carved out a specific mood for Mother of Pearl.  Like I have said before, they're non-precious ease-led clothes that are still intrinsically interesting, complex and layered (both physically and metaphorically).  They intrigue without shouting out their origins, hence the "cool underdog" box, which the label ticks.  

There's a potential to really build a whole universe around Mother of Pearl, something which Powney is aware of.  She's not a flamboyant designer of whimsy but thinks of herself as an astute product designer, who takes into consideration what's selling, what works, what doesn't to better evolve the brand.  It's great to see British brands thinking on scales of ambition where the likes of Prada and Marni are potential end goals.  

After seasons of straight forward artist collaborations where people like Francescco Simeti, Fred Tomaselli and Fiona Banner have lent their artwork to be used as prints, A/W 13-4 sees a shift where Mother of Pearl worked with British taxidermy artist Polly Morgan not just in prints but on an overall concept.  For instance Powney, took influence from Morgan's taxidermy process, by illustrating tools on silk scarves.  Likewise, where Morgan uses dead bees in her work as physical objects, Powney has translated that into a reccurring print motif in the collection.  "With Polly, we have a really great relationship.  This has been the nicest collaboration I've done," said Powney.  "It opened up a set of creative freedom.  All the hand drawings on the scarves are something I did myself.  It was the first time I got my hand in and created the visual print."

Powney has also changed it up with the silhouettes, taking a more polished swerve towards the elegance of the 1950s.  Fitted pencil skirts, wide-legged trousers, shirts and oversized coats are balanced out with slip-on Vans-esque shoes that retain the sportiness that Powney is fond of.  The mix of prints is also a lot more playful than previous seasons where the artist's work has really dictated the visual direction.  This time solid stripes, stark animal print and rococo swirls worked in with leopard print are all clashed together, referencing the animalistic element of Morgan's work.  More literal translations of Morgan's work are worked into the collection such as a woven jacquard of her 2009 piece Dead Ringer as well as a group of parakeets pecking at a heart on a striped knit top.

It's a quiet evolution that has slowly but surely grabbed the attentions of stockists with an increasingly impressive list that now includes Net-a-Porter (always a useful stockist barometer).  You get the feeling though that Powney is in it for the long haul and has even bigger ambitions in mind with Mother of Pearl and that's something to get excited about.