“Things can sometimes feel very delicate, but also sometimes very bold, even somewhat aggressive… It looks at the body, but things are kind of obstructing the body at the same time.” So said Laura Fanning while previewing a collection that took multiple apparent contradictions—between protection and exposure, softness and structure, fabric and form, maybe even autonomy and desire—and wrapped them into a complicated coherence.
The designers were closely informed and inspired by the painting and quilting of Chicago artist Christina Ramberg, whose figures were sometimes bound by corsets and defined by seams. Said Fanning: “We thought the bricolage of those techniques could really come to life in fabrication.” From there, the collection took shape through collage, layering, and geometry, a textile translation of Ramberg’s forms.
Some looks were assertively extra: boxy crinolined skirts and 3D collages placed the body within shelf-like structures or created felted holes of space outside of the silhouette; these built fabric collages that looked like totems. These grander episodes were countered with much more subtle gestures that ran across the collection, including the near-constant right angled triangles that ranged across patterns, seaming, and pocket detailing.
Cotton velvet printed in overlapping colors had an inky tactility. Denim made in Japan then hand painted to highlight seams sat beside lighter wool and satin fabrics sometimes embroidered with sheeny sections of fringe. Donkey jackets and chevron paneled blousons had sections of felted wool. Three heights of thin soled boots had uppers in mesh and were tied with German-made lacing. The closing dress, a softly falling unstructured gown of blue lined with arcs of fringe, was suspended from a patterned necktie.
“We always try to push what we re discussing in femininity. Who the woman is and where she s going,” said Fanning. This creative conversation with Ramberg made for a richly wrought work of arthouse fashion.
