PAINTERLY FASHION:GUESTS AT the Harvey Nichols fashion show in Dundrum last night were not only privy to the season's latest offerings, but also to the store's first creative collaboration with artist Helen Steele.
Steele created the stage-set, music and video performance that preceded the catwalk event, her visceral paintwork running from the stage right along the catwalk. Playful and colourful, it reflected the upbeat spirit and cosmopolitan mix of the spring/summer collections styled by Paula Hughes and presented by brand rather than by specific trends.
Fashion and art also combined in some of the standout, if expensive, digital print dresses from Mary Katrantzou, Peter Pilotto and Christopher Kane – hot stars of the London fashion scene.
Kane’s maxi dress featured an image of an erupting volcano or was it a nuclear explosion? Prints pervaded every collection from Sonia Rykiel’s cherub motifs to DG’s snakeskin patterns along with new takes on polka dots. Rykiel and Paul Joe, two popular French labels, mixed stripes, prints and slouchy knits with typical insouciance at affordable prices. Shorts were everywhere.
For tailored daywear, shapely gold brocade or navy jackets, the latter with pretty enamel buttons from Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label (€765) could be worn equally with jeans, shorts or Westwood’s sleek angular skirts. Black pants were the foil for tunics, short dresses or draped fine knit cardigans.
The show’s highlights included layered organza evening wear from Malene Birger striped with gold sequins and New Yorker Philip Lim’s lace cocktail dresses. As for accessories, Louboutin’s peep-toed stilettos in neon patents made perfect pedicures the season’s imperative.