I first fell in love with Teatum Jones when I attended their presentation last season. Produced by the very talented design-duo Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones, Teatum Jones' work is impressive and groundbreaking with their collections always having a powerful meaning behind. Their AW/12 Collection entitled 'Once Upon an Innocence' was inspired by the subversive undertones of fables, the Grimm fairy-tales and elaborate Hollywood crime scene photographs of the 1940s. The garments creatively represent these tales in intricate detail, print and construction.
The palette chosen for the prints reflected upon the dual ambiguity of the fairy tale’s cautionary moral nature while questioning its role as a pedagogical tool used to impose social codes and values: bright pinks contrast with dark greens and charcoal as a way to emphasize the idea that innocence and virtuosity can be easily dethroned to reveal dark and cruel realities underneath. A powerful view in-deed; almost as dark and chilling as the tales themselves, but this just goes to show the creative genius that lies behind this magnificent rising label. In addition, each garment includes details such as secret folds, unexpected drapping and hidden pockets to evoke magical fairy-tale landscapes of woods and unexpected mounds that are faced as one delves deeper and deeper in the search for meaning.
