ON/OFF
Designer book
Guest Editor of the Autumn/Winter 06/07 book for this prestigious London Fashion Week initiative.
Download: Designer book (pdf,3Mb)
Website: www.thedoll.org/onoff
TURN ON TUNE IN GET OFF
Trumpet blowing time: the London Fashion Week landscape would be a poorer place without On|Off. No other new enterprise currently hosts work both on and off the catwalk and both on and off schedule from new and established names alike. And this February On|Off celebrates its fifth season at the Royal Academy with its strongest roster of international designers yet.
London royalty Ben de Lisi is back for more after past successes at On|Off. Jean Pierre Braganza, Julie Bérubé, Allegra Hicks, Kristian Aadnevik, Aimee McWilliams and Gardem Paris also make welcome returns while debuts come from New Generation designers including enfant terrible Gareth Pugh, crochet queen Clare Tough and the East meets West edge of Avshalom Gur. And after a decade away from the limelight, Caroline Charles has chosen On|Off as her platform to dive into the fashion fray once more.
The exhibition space will yet again come alive with pods of fashion joy. Peruse the apparel brilliance of Jennifer Lang, Delphine Wilson, Emilio de la Morena, Rui Leonardes and Marcus Wilmont. And for that all-important retail fix, the On|Off / Urbanjunkies.com Boutique is here to tempt you with catwalk pieces whispering ‘buy me, buy me, buy me’.
Fashion does not live in a vacuum and neither does On|Off. Art, product design and interior installations also fill the Academy of Arts space to the rafters. This new initiative takes On|Off to even greater heights of artistic expression. An illustration by Marc by Marc Jacobs collaborator Will Broome welcomes you to the exhibition walkway. Wendy Daws’ memory blankets feature images from On|Off’s recent glories. Helen Amy Murray brings lighting innovation to the reception. Zoe Bradley’s site-specific paper piece dominates the central atrium. And Sinta Tantra contributes one of her intricate and decadent collages made from a mass of ready made materials. Everywhere you look, from the catwalk to the press room; there is creation to delight your senses.
It’s hard to believe that three years ago On|Off was just a twinkle in London Fashion Week’s eye. In its short but illustrious life it’s already been responsible for some truly memorable fashion moments. Tea and cakes followed by Karen Walker’s Spring/Summer 05 collection transported us to a 70s down town Manhattan where we rubbed slouchy shoulders with Annie Hall. Gardem Paris brought its brooding, deconstructed visions to London for the first time at On|Off in September 04, helping to take awareness of its shabby chic aesthetic to the next level. After coming runners up at the inaugural Fashion Fringe competition, Rubecksen Yamanaka found On|Off to be a natural next home for its touchy feely, hand crafted collection last year. Similarly, Swash explored form and function, combining trompes prints and innovative shapes for its On|Off Autumn/Winter 05 show.
All of these fashion firsts were made possible by the professional mentorship and support On|Off gives to young fashion enterprises. The love keeps on coming after the models have trotted off the white runways of Burlington Gardens to ensure that fresh faces have the infrastructure to meet orders and take London’s reputation as a fashion capital forward. Trumpet blowing time: don’t miss On|Off for the world.
Words Helen Jennings