Like many, I often attend cultural events showcasing the work of friends with more than a little trepidation. Understandable given that I’ve fallen prey to that dreadful trap: the good friend’s bad gig that you’re obliged to praise in the name of all that is amiable.
Attending the London Fashion Week S/S ‘09 show of designer Scott Ramsay Kyle however was marred by no such reticence. His two prior collections the stuff of “can I borrow it if I’m really, really careful” fashion friend dreams; being collections that have garnered this young Scot quite the reputation as a burgeoning British fashion talent.
Indeed, Glaswegian Ramsay Kyle, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art and the revered womenswear MA at fashion star factory Central Saint Martins is becoming quite the name to drop amongst the fashion cognoscenti. His work appearing in Another Magazine, V Magazine and Italian Vogue and garnering this unassuming designer a reputation as yet another young Scottish designer to watch.
With his sculptural shapes and luxe embroidery – a skill put to good use in his work for Biba and Boudicca amongst others – Ramsay Kyle makes the kind of clothes you can imagine flying off the racks at arts and crafts – and latterly fashion – Mecca Liberty. Even more so in that his untitled S/S ‘09 collection was at once more understated and assured than previous ones, bringing new meaning to that term beloved of fashion editors, ‘stealth fashion’.
With a studied palette of subdued gold and sand tones, inspired by the opulence of the Riviera and the psychedelicism of seventies pop, Ramsay Kyle’s S/S ‘09 collection marked a clear departure from his one time affair with kaleidoscopic colours and statement shapes in its muted tones and decidedly pared down silhouettes.
And in a firm nod to the unapologetic eighties in the form of a plethora of playsuits, jumpsuits and all-in-one’s, Ramsay Kyle’s clever juxtaposition of his signature couture quality embellishment with of the moment shapes resulted in a clever fusion of exquisite craftsmanship à la Dries Van Noten and the avant-gardism of the best of British fashion.
Highlights of Ramsay Kyle’s untitled collection included a micro mini with fluid black and bronze fringing, a long-line tuxedo style jacket with exaggerated lapels and fringing, and a lavishly embroidered jumpsuit in metallic shades that quite possibly achieved the impossible in rendering the all-in-one chic. Hoxtonites take note, the eighties may be back but this time they’re beautiful.
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