INTERNATIONAL BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS
Good For Nothing
London is a mongrel city. There are more than 300 languages spoken every day in what’s become the fastest-growing capital in Western Europe. This pick’n’mix demographic’s equally reflected in London’s fashion scene. Paris has the showmanship, Milan the glamour and New York the business acumen, but it’s to London’s esteemed educational institutions that international bright young things come to learn their trade and it’s here that the most original cross-country collaborations are born.
One look at the London Fashion Week schedules says it all. Following in the bi-racial footsteps of Eley Kishimoto and Clements Ribeiro, the more exciting young brands galloping down our wonky catwalks are culture clashes. Exhibit A: design duo Swash. Twinning Tokyo with Penzance, Sarah Swash and Toshio Yamanaka met at Central Saint Martins. “Our work is really different alone. Mine’s about proportion and colour, Toshio’s is about tailoring and detail,” explains Sarah. “People automatically assume that Toshio is the crazy deconstruction person and that I do the traditional tailoring side. But in fact it’s the other way around.”
It’s Sarah’s love of eccentric English humour and Toshio’s precision pattern cutting that seeps out of their designs. Spring/Summer ‘05 showcases acid prints and exaggerated silhouettes with trousers that fasten from back to front and billowing capes that re-button to accommodate three people (one adult, two midgets). “The functions we give our clothes might be totally useless and obscure, like being able to put a child in the side of your coat, but if you did chose to do that, it would work properly. There’s always purpose. Swash can be flamboyant and self-indulgent but there’s an element of control too.”
London ’s hotchpotch brew has also cooked up Sinha Stanic. Fiona Sinha was born in Aberdeen and raised in Newcastle of Indian parentage. Aleksandar Stanic hails from Croatia but spent his formative years in Germany. Co-joining at St Martins, Stanic’s obsession with Jil Sander’s iconoclastic approach to purity and minimalism found favour with Stanic’s knowledge of Asian draping and their debut collection melts together this east-meets-eastern bloc aesthetic. Feminine and understated, silk, jersey and chiffon reference saris as they wrap and layer, allowing the body to inform the shape. Sequins, beads and raw edges add luxury to the simple forms. “We really want our collection to be timeless so we concentrate on making simple, beautiful clothes,” says Aleksandar. Surprise surprise then, that such lilting understatement comes straight outta E9. “Hackney has so many diverse cultures, it’s really inspirational. No other city has the same street style.”
GFN finds Rubecksen Yamanaka tucked away in Hampstead. Although neither designer is from London (Norwegian Hilde Rubecksen met Japanese Tomoko Yamanaka at RCA) they too call the big smoke home. The cacophony of artistic references strewn around the studio include a Norwegian knitting designs manual from the 1950s and a pair of vintage leather gloves, suggesting a global yet personal touch. “Even though we come from different countries we have the same appreciation of things that we like,” says Tomoko. “We collect objects and find out later that they’re from Norway or Japan, but it’s not a conscious thing.” Their current collection is informed by old kids’ clothes and costumes with the magic in the socks, hats and heels. There’s nothing obtuse about the muted palette and thanks to touchy feely fabrics like crochet and cashmere the garments are as softly-spoken as the ladies who hand craft them.
South of the river is Anglo-Brazilian outfit Christopher Brooke and Bruno Basso. The former jobbed as a stylist while the latter worked as an art director before the pair met two years ago and pioneered a new method of digital printing on to any surface. A succession of pornographic power prints ensued with phallic motifs and naked figures oozing all over Basso & Brooke’s first collection. Subtle it ain’t - but then neither is Bruno. “His exuberance definitely comes across in the work, as does my English irony,” says Chris. “Because of our different backgrounds we don’t always get each other but it’s good to bounce off one another.”
Inspired by London reprobates like Galliano and Westwood, Chris concentrates on the voluminous yet tailored shapes while Bruno adds the tropically coloured prints. Despite the 18 certificate, there’s also something of the romantic English countryside about the collection that results from their cultural confusion. Big cocks are universal, after all.
Story and styling Helen Jennings
Photography Elina Simonen
Make up Aimée Louise using Bobbi Brown
Hair John MacPherson using Redken
Model Robyn @ Models 1
Many thanks to Tulse Hill Youth & Play Project, SW2, 020 8674 3975