LFW AW10: Basso & Brooke

Back in London for the next twenty-four hours, but racing against the clock with this McQueen beast of a book...and hence, preemptive apologies for the shoddy and curt nature of these final LFW posts.

It was basically business as usual at Basso&Brooke Autumn/Winter 2010, but this season, with hardly a designer's subconscious unimprinted by two visual feasts for the eyes gripping the public's imagination for months now. 1) McQueen's explosive Plato's Atlantis collection, it's naturalistic yet highly digitized prints adorning micro-mini shifts and accompanying structured separates and 2) say it with me now, AVATAR (i.e. adding a sort of futurstic tribal flair to the vibe, usually accomplished by a quirky and scale-like animalistic use of unexpected texture. Or by adding a tail for plugging in). Good thing for design duo Bruno and Christopher, who canvassed the ancient Silk Road and took the overdose of color, texture and tactile fabrics they encountered on their two week sojourn, were born for these influences to run alongside the mainstream's appetite. I can hear the tills of Liberty ringing now.

 

 Clever recessionistas that they are Basso & Brooke, whilst capitalizing on the fact that tis the season for mad graphic print, pared down their normally overly engineered silhouettes, instead presenting truly wearable goods. There were silken parkas beguiling for a sweeping away to the Italian Alps (eat your heart out, Pucci), delicious printed trousers, and some toned down mini prints in neutrals which were more DVF than B&B. There was uncharacteristic slew of camel wool coats, straightforward canvas military numbers and fox fur collared tweeds which could have walked right off the runway and down the Strand.

 

 My favorite number was amongst the more outrageous, a print which for some reason reminds me either of a conspiracy theory or an American dollar bill in the form of a soft, sumptuous flowing silk blouse with an exaggerated collar/hood. Need that in my wardrobe to rock with dark denim skinnies or super flares with maybe a bit of chocolate fur chocked in for good measure...ASAP.

Oh and the shoes. Half printed fabric a la mini sock. half yellow soled, diamond-shaped art deco wedged heel...they were a wonder to behold. In fact, as the recession continues to corral designers in the stables of retail safedom, it's no wonder that whilst the silhouettes revert back to nice and easy (B&B sent one or two pairs of, gasp, plain black jodhpurs cruising down the runway) and the media continues to worship at the shrine of the "it shoe," it seems that designers are continuing to cater to that need to feed one's feet and are focusing risk-taking on the ends of their models' lean pins.

The designers also used a new fabric treatment they called "a high-gloss aqua finish" to perfect their undeclared homage to Avatar.  Sounds to me like Bruno and Christopher forgot to take off their 3D glasses after three glorious hours on Pandora, wore them all the way home and got sewing.   If I were the Na'vi, I'd let them stay.