Helen van Rees' SS/13 collection was a celebration of ‘technical craftmanship’ through her manipulation of fabric making her catwalk show one of the stand out collections at LFW. The collection was made out of an ultra high shine tweed-like material, with glitter flecked plastics and rubber that shimmered as the outfits took to the runway. Grey-blue and yellow tones dominated, the clashing tones at times interjected by orange like the wires of a circuit board. Throughout her clothing, headwear and accessories, van Rees crafted oversized 3-dimensional cubes that stacked upon hemlines and across the head and wrists – the effect being part-robot, part-architectural landscape, part-armour.
CHARLOTTE SIMPSON - BEAUTIFULLY FEMININE, DELICATE PIECES
Couture-like gowns encrusted with miniscule sequins and beading sat alongside evening jumpsuits with jeweled sleeves. Lightweight, luxurious fabrics in oversize cuts gave a relaxed, tailored feel, with colour block pastels the perfect sorbet shades for Spring Summer. Sleeveless tuxedo jackets and pleat front trousers in the opening looks had a masculine edge, which gave way to glamorous eveningwear as the collection progressed. Stand out pieces included a form-sitting maxi dress in dusty blue, subtly embellished with yellow beads across the torso. The final look was something of a crescendo – full length golden sequin gown (pictured above) with a plunging V-neckline that rustled with the weight of thousands of hand-sewn paillettes.
