LONDON FASHION WEEK

london fashion week: nicole farhi

(images via style)

perhaps the most exciting thing about the spring 2012 nicole farhi show, presented at london fashion week as part of the beginnings of the celebration of her brand’s 30th anniversary, was how easy it might have been to dismiss.  things started out rather simply, from the first prim almost sixties look in a brilliant shade of goldenrod trimmed with cream and a big bow—cute, but not much of a shakeup from what we’d already seen dumped upon us like so many day-old bridesmaid bouquets. 

perhaps it was the designer’s inspiration points that seemed a little droll—she told lfw that she drew from “(f)lowers, ice cream and lightness.”  that got a little fleshed-out wwd(“inspired by an Indian garden in bloom”) and the wsj, which quoted ms. farhi as saying “It was one of the most fun and light-hearted collections I’ve done.  I wanted to use flowers, but I didn’t want it to be in a romantic way.  I wanted to use it in a very modern way, and almost sporty.”

if pretty, the palette wasn’t drastically different from what we’d seen elsewhere—the aforementioned canary, a softer rose-yellow shade, goldfish orange, crisp white, rose pink, lime, and brilliant bubblegum—but some of the almost graffiti-like floral prints and tamer varieties rendered in almost neon shades (a’la peter som) kept things fresh and interesting, if there were also some watercolour-like renditions of flowers as well that were perhaps a shade too tame.

as style aptly points out, though, the real story here was the texture: “Farhi likes to experiment with her textiles, and the first hint that she had a few of those tricks up her sleeve this season appeared in an oversize mesh tank top covered all over with sequins. Then there was the micro mesh, printed in a rich floral pattern and layered over colored fabrics that made the flowers pop. Mesh-faced garments such as a greenish pair of boy-cut trousers and a fuchsia-toned top looked beautiful from afar, and a little blurry and strange up close; the effect wasn’t unlike coming upon a pointillist painting by Georges Seurat, and watching it take shape and dissolve again before your eyes as you shift perspective.”

there were occasionally some hints of the japanese as well, the stiff belts folding like obis and sculptural lines of a dress folding out to resemble architecture or perhaps origami.  both vogue and wwd got a little snappy when the designer shifted too far in this direction, however, although the latter tended to be a little more forgiving, opining “(w)hile at times the cocoon shapes and dramatic volumes overwhelmed the models, sculptural coats and trenches with full sleeves and cinched waists were fetching.” 

the show’s beauty looks recaptured that exuberant sportiness we’ve been seeing elsewhere, with grazia reporting that ms. farhi’s runway has been the second to give models freckles this season (after jeremy scott).  my daily adds that makeup artist charlotte tilbury tried to keep the aesthetic simple and away from fighting for attention with the clothes, but opted to give the girls  a “matte coral lip (made up of three shades: red, orange and white)”, says grazia.  meanwhile, hairstylist sam mcknight pulled hair back into a sharp ponytail, affixed away from the face and completely frizz-free. 

there may have been a few complex messages in the collection, but what i find rather humorous is in the way some critics react to it.  after cathy horyn complained about designers not taking enough risks with regards to the peter som show, we’re now faced with some lamenting (as vogue quotes alexandra shulman as saying, “I prefer it when she sticks to what she does best”) ms. farhi ought not have taken some edgier avenues.  in truth, it wasn’t always a success, but at least the show retained one’s attention, and therewere plenty of good and wearable looks offered here, probably speaking to more of a range than most (read: young) do.