A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.
Biggest surprise of London Fashion Week? À La Disposition, about which I knew nothing prior to their show at Fashion Scout. It’s really nice to go to a show and feel like you’ve discovered something exciting – it’s one of the reasons I enjoy LFW so much, and especially going to the smaller shows. After all, discovering new talent is something I’ve always loved doing in Amelia’s Magazine.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.
A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory.
An American husband and wife team, Lynda Cohen Kinne and Daniel Kinne of À La Disposition describe themselves as the fusion of form and function and for The Utopian Aviary collection they looked at the social structures, mimicry and mating displays of birds. This translated into an incredibly modern silhouette based on structures of times past: tight capes, over-developed coat tails that looked like wings and gigantic neck ruffles reminiscent of the medieval era. This was a super confident collection which showcased some superb pattern cutting skills.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Emma Lucy Watson.
The Utopian Aviary opened with a stunning faux fur concoction: skirt layered more like the wings of a beetle than a bird, cape bunched around the shoulders in striped tones of greys. Black, deep green, jades and autumnal reds dominated the ensuing outfits, created in luxe fabrics: silk, taffeta and chiffon.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.
A digitalised moire print featured on dress and blouse. Red buttons provided a contrasting punch to forest green velvet and waists were high and thighs puffed out, topped with exaggerated wing-collared pinstripe shirts and accessorised with fake wool leggings. Shoulder details called to mind the layered shapes of petals on a cross fronted jacket. A shot of deepest honey yellow was a searing burst of winter sunshine.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.
Models had teased up-dos that emulated the chaotic structure of birds’ nests, red alienesque contacts and eyes deeply rimmed with black. The overall effect was nigh on futuristic.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sophie Pickup.
Gigantic breast ruffles appeared on coats and looped down the chest in marled knitwear, extending outwards and upwards until, peacock like, a model appeared bearing a stunning ruffled contraption that rose like a cantilevered architecture from the back of her neck in delicious deep copper metallic silk. Behind, the ruffles cascaded like an echo down the back of her skirt. What a revelation!
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.
Also of mention was the bulging goodie bags on the front row which contained two bottles of the new À La Disposition perfume {{intangible}}. These are composed of similar base ingredients with alternating top notes so that they can be worn alone or together. Created by boutique perfume maker Carvansons I’ve yet to be convinced of their wonder, but the press release is indeed as *intangible* as it was for the The Utopian Aviary show.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.
Addendum: I always write my first draft about a show before I read the accompanying press release because I don’t want it to influence my initial perceptions – like good artwork I feel that a collection should stand alone without any kind of explanation. Which leads me to my final word for À La Disposition: keep it simple. There’s no need for overwrought descriptions, especially when the quality of showmanship itself does the talking.
You can see more work by Zarina Liew in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration.
Tags:
À La Disposition, ACOFI, Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration, American, birds, Carvansons, Daniel Kinne, Emma Lucy Watson, Fashion Scout, lfw, London Fashion Week, Lynda Cohen Kinne, medieval, Peacock, Perfume, Ruffles, Sam Parr, Sophie Pickup, Soul Water, The Utopian Aviary, Zarina Liew, Zoe Georgiou, {{intangible}}
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