Joanna Sykes womenswear debut for Aquascutum was called English Icons, in reference to the label s long and illustrious outerwear history. Like Clare Waight Keller at Pringle of Scotland, another company dense with heritage, Sykes opted for a little light iconoclasm as her way in. She touched the classic bases—trenchcoat, field jacket, peacoat—but she toyed with proportion, layered things oddly, deconstructed, reconstructed. The collection had a slouchy, loose, tacked-together quality, like Sykes argyle, which wasn t much more than a few squares of fabric loosely engaged with one another. Or a silk smock, whose pattern might have been a very abstract take on an Art Deco motif, which was peculiarly paired with a bonded leather gilet. A herringbone coat had a puffer shrug attached; the combination of the ultra-classic and hyper-sporty could be shaping up as Sykes signature contribution to the collection. But she s going to have to turn down the volume. There were droop and bulk when there should have been snap and litheness. Still, that s what opening nights are for.
