Fam Ivroll by Claire Kearns
After a morning of delightful yet quite dark and monochrome shows, Norweigan-born Fam Ivroll jolted me and the rest of the audience wide-awake in her London Fashion Week A/W 2012 catwalk debut. As the lights darkened, a model walked out with a menacing-looking ‘monster’ pose, snarling and thrashing as if she was a woman possessed while a strobe flashed on and off. As I tried to guess what was going on, the lights were suddenly turned up to sunlight-bright and the original Ghostbusters theme tune thumped through the room, setting the mood for one of my favourite shows so far.
All photography by Amelia Gregory
Not many people could combine super-bright pastels, crazy prints and 3-D knitted monster characters into a wearable collection, but Fam sure can. Sweaters with massive cartoon eyes and jagged teeth, 3-D knitted monster arms that models swang around like tassels as they sashayed down the catwalk.
As a lady that likes her monochrome, I tend to steer clear of colour, but Fam Ivroll could be a designer that turns me to the bright side. While tapping my foot in time with the awesomely trashy pop music, I felt like Fam had taken the sort of clothes you’d love when you were a kid and made them work for grown-ups. When you’re a kid, you’ll grab something with cartoon monster eyes, want a dinosaur-green pair of trousers and beg for that huge octopus toy with the really long tentacles. Fam Ivroll’s clothes let you wear these all over again, but on a simpler scale. Clever colour-blocking, simple outlines and softly innocent feminine shapes make this collection work as non-commercial but accessible womenswear.
Fam Ivroll by Gemma Cotterell
The victory-roll hair, pastel makeup and accessories packed a sunny visual punch. The footwear in particular got me in a bit of a spin; creepers with printed pastel panels? Oh yes please. This is how I know Fam Ivroll would turn a monochrome-lover like me. I’d start with the shoes and then would be wearing a massive knitted monster sweater complete with 3-D knitted eyes by the end of the week.
Although there was a lot of out-there styling, colours, and prints, what seals this upcoming designer as a pro is the underlying beauty of the clothes and intelligence in the design. Black outlines kept the sherbet-sweet colours in place, cute shirts with sharp collars set off the pyjama mini-monster prints and expertly crafted layers of scalloped fabric added texture.
Fam Ivroll by Mitika Chohan
This Central Saint Martins graduate has won over many a fan since her student days, including Lady Gaga, long-term muse Marina Diamandis, and our own contributor Florence Massey after her interview and review of Fam’s graduate show for Amelia’s Magazine. Working with designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Gareth Pugh and Norwegian designer Peter Løchstøer evidently gave Fam a taste for the dramatic, but she gives each collection her own upbeat spin.
One thing that this collection certainly delivered was positivity and entertainment. Even the most stony-faced editors had to smile when three of the cutest little girls brought the show to an end by skipping down the catwalk in printed onesies and custom-made outfits (Fam of course happens to design a range of children’s clothes too). By the end of the show Fam came out and gave a sweet little bow to rows of smiling faces, all a little lighter and brighter after a bit of fun courtesy of this talented lady.
Fam Ivroll by Deborah Moon
http://www.vimeo.com/36972155Tags:
Alia Gargum, Amelia Gregory, Amelia's Magazine, Claire Kearns, Colour Blocking, Crepe Sole Creepers, Deborah Moon, Fam Ivroll, Florence Massey, Gareth Pugh, Gemma Cotterell, Ghostbusters, Lady Gaga, London Fashion Week A/W 2012, Marina Diamandis, Mitika Chohan, Monsters, Peter Løchstøer, shirts, Vauxhall Fashion Scout, Vivienne Westwood
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