On|Off SS 2010 Round-up – London Fashion Week

ASHLEY ISHAM
The Singapore-born designer Ashley Isham, who has been showing in London for 9 years, presented his S/S 10 collection on the ON|OFF schedule at 180 Strand. True to his signature style of sensual draping and strong tailoring, the theme of the collection was ‘Modern Goddess’, inspired by the Ottoman empire. Long gowns of sapphire blue and turquoise, along with white, cream and brown epitomised the goddess style and will undoubtedly be red-carpet favourites.

Ashley explained that he wants to make the ‘life of the modern woman easier. And with a beautiful dress, all a woman needs is a pair of heels and she can be sophisticated, mysterious and sensual at the same time. This is why I only design dresses!’

Very supportive of other talents, he revealed that he loved the work of Greek designer Mary Katranzou, because he ‘loves the way she does prints on bodycon. It is very clever.’

He also revealed: ‘I’m doing a diffusion line which is called ‘I by Ashley Isham’, and also developing a jewellery line, so it’s fun!’ Models on the catwalk indeed had gorgeous jewels in their hair to complement the dresses. But the ultimate accessory was the gift for the guests on the front row: instead of the traditional goody bag, embroidered cushions to take home!

BERNARD CHANDRAN
Bernard Chandran showed a collection full of ‘show-pieces’ dominated by bronze, gold, orange and green shades. He explains that he was inspired by the world around him, and simply by his living room, and the objects, which are present in it. This gave birth to floral and lantern billowing shapes as well as masks, also inspired by his travels: ‘When you travel in Asia, lots of people wear masks like this in airports‘.

But beyond the Asian inspirations, Bernard stresses his love for London: ‘London makes me different and I meet different people, when I do my research, I feel that vibe, that moment, and I can do what I want and most importantly I enjoy it.’

JASPER GARVIDA
For his first independent S/S collection, Jasper Garvida played on shapes and textures, with a focus on embellishment and vibrant colours, with a palette of vivid yellows, greens, blues and hot pinks.

The collection – called Las Meninas – plays a story in three acts: Past, Present and Future, looking at the impact of influences from the past, and how the old creates the new. The ON/OFF sponsored designer was also inspired by cubist artists Picasso and Velasquez to reveal geometric and structured silhouettes, with hand-pleated chiffon frills, bias cut shift dresses and flamboyant prints. The soft element of the gowns was inspired by his muse Lee Miller.

‘It is a very multi-facetted collection. It dances. This season for me has a carnival feel and happy vibes.’ And when asked about the design process: ‘Everything we do is handmade: the crochet, the pleats, the ethnic beading. I am wearing a sari with recycled bottle tops right now. The message is not to throw away fashion, we do ethical couture. I still have a long way to go, but I’m so delighted to be part of London Fashion Week. This is where fashion found me.‘

AVSH ALOM GUR
Avsh Alom Gur presented his S/S 10 collection with ON/OFF, on static mannequins, with the walls covered in images of the collection, along with a limited edition magazine. The publication featured a collaboration between the designer, his stylist Kate Ruth and photographer David Roemer.

Clean, modern lines and geometric shapes were the keywords for this collection, where black and white prints sat along bold injections of colours. The designer explains: ‘It’s my favourite collection so far. I am very very proud of it. In terms of inspirations, I leave it to the audience to look for the references and the mood, but it’s definitely an up-beat, positive, young and intelligent collection. I just wanted to have fun. I have always been obsessed with graphic prints and shapes and I thought it was the right season to highlight this.’

‘I did a presentation, to focus on the garments rather than on a fashion show, and also to add another way to our vocabulary of how we show fashion.’ And when asked about his upcoming projects, Avsh simply said: ‘I’d like to fly to the moon one day!’

With thanks to Alizé Morand