There is an odd aspect to Hamish Morrow s determinedly modernistic approach that s quite hard to make out. For a start, he delivered the first half of his show with such a brutal assault of sound that it felt like an act of aggression toward his audience. The brain-piercing noise didn t match the visual, though: There was nothing too shocking in the black asymmetrically cut coats and jackets that turned to show a hole in the back. Nor did the rubber coat that came later seem particularly calculated to scandalize, though there was a fair bit of nudging and smirking in the ranks as it went by.
What none of this conceptual posturing really covered up is the fact that Morrow s natural talent lies in designing quietly sophisticated pieces for an older woman, pieces like his padded, high-belted, subtly luxe duchesse satin jackets and the dress with a scarf-draped asymmetry at the neck (a theme that s surfacing elsewhere in London). He ended the show with a lot more "editorial" ideas about duvets, but what s the point of a down gown with a cutaway back? No one wants Morrow to stop being creative, yet he s passed beyond the stage of life when credibility comes from being edgy and angry. If he d only get over that, he might understand that people actually value his simplest design gestures most—because nobody else is doing stuff like that.
