After spending the afternoon trawling around central London’s H&M stores for some serious Sonia Rykiel shopping, I headed back to Vauxhall Fashion Scout for the the Harriet’s Muse presentation. At first I thought I’d missed all the action, with fashion folk toasting a handful of dresses and a vacant gold backdrop.
About 20 minutes later, Sophie Anderton and two impossibly lithe models took part in a live photo shoot to showcase the garments. Sophie has been a regular on the front row at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout shows this season and is taking an interest in emerging designers.
Despite her ‘train wreck’ reputation, Sophie cut a statuesque, dignified figure in her photo shoot and showed off her amazing body with some angular poses. It seems like Sophie is making a statement this season by trying to shake off that tacky reality TV image and getting back to the industry that made her famous – fashion.
Harriet’s Muse was a wise choice of designer for Sophie to be associated with, as it’s strong, sexy and ultra feminine. The Autumn/Winter 10-11 collection, entitled Armoured & dangerous is inspired by the idea of body armour and the durable, abrasive shell of a beetle.
This is achieved through sharp tailoring, quilted textures and hand-embroidery in metallic thread. Each look had a different silhouette, focusing on pointed, jutted out hips, nipped in waists and volume around the legs.
The make-up was severe femme fatale (ignoring this season’s no mascara trend) and the messy up-dos with statement silver hair pins added to the spiky, insect-inspired aesthetic.
The asymmetric, scale-effect corsets were a great addition to otherwise very simple black party dresses. There appeared to be a few too many black cocktail dresses in somewhat unoriginal shapes that would have benefited from some more inspiring detailing or finishes from the designers.
Similarly, the deep teal silk dresses were beautifully cut, but they needed something extra, other than the lovely embroidered beetles to make them really stand out.
The highlight of the collection was the artfully tailored, belted tulip coat with asymmetric quilted detailing. It evokes 80s Yves Saint Laurent ‘Le Smoking’ and uses sophisticated draping with good use of volume.
This voluminous batwing dress also caught my attention for its minimal, Grecian silhouette. The shoulder bow lifts the garment and stops it becoming too dense. The dress was in deep contrast to the next look with a luxurious black satin corset and full skirt that just screamed seductive pirate girl.
Illustrator Stephen Stone was on hand to sketch the dresses and he even did some portraits of the audience before the show started. The minimal, fluid line drawings with lucid splashes of colour are so beautiful, I’d love to cover my walls in them!
Harriet’s Muse Autumn/Winter 10-11 collection is cohesive and somewhat commercial, with a strong focus on partywear. The use of luxurious fabrics and accomplished tailoring are designers Cheryl and Craig’s strong points and their following is sure to increase with this playful, vampy collection.