Joanna Sykes is mesmerized by math. "It s all about the triangle," she insisted, pointing to the construction of her new collection, which was shaped by the geometries of Islamic textiles. There may indeed have been a good deal of craft involved in their creation, but in reality there was nothing so esoteric in the clothes themselves, which made a feature of bold proportions and exceptionally tactile fabrics, like the wool alpaca with a ponyskin feel. Sykes cut it into sexy little shorts, shown under a black jacket in leather so fine it felt like lambskin. Those same shorts would probably look good under the parka in a camel wool cashmere.
Sykes used black tape for drawstrings, a striking touch. Her draped dresses—cool in lilac, hot in orange—had a twenties feel which, with the mathematical undertow, brought Vionnet to mind. It s not such a bad echo for a designer on the rise. As before, Sykes showed her clothes on different generations of women. Daphne, aged 81, wore a black suede biker jacket very well.
