The Cutting Class

Alexander Wang, AW12.

On first impression Alexanders Wang’s recent Autumn- Winter 2012 collection was all about textures - matt vs. shiny, coated vs. uncoated, bubbled vs. smooth. The subtext however was far more interesting and by reading further into the use of all these textures there was a sense that the collection was actually much more about control.

Whether it was in the fluid soft-handling chiffons trapped in the seams of leather bodices, or the bubbled wooly fabrics glossed under a slick coating, there was a layering effect that was all about using discipline - and the contrasts were in effect just a tool for showing the control. The glossy maroon textured fabric was more interesting when seamed directly next to it’s unglossed counterpart. The wet-look ridged fabrics were nicely offset by matt press studs. Even the way that the press studs in themselves were used to hold lapels back in place were a small token of control in themselves, and also served as a punctuation mark on the garments.

Images from Vogue.co.uk».

Prada, Menswear, AW12.

It was against the background of the homogenous men’s suit, that Miuccia Prada worked touches of individualism in her recent show for Autumn-Winter 2012. The looks were comprised of carefully layered garments that were given personality by small arrangements of pocket detailing. These adornments included long brooch pins with sporting and hunting emblems, flowers, pens, pocket squares and pocket books.

They also allowed a clever play of colour through the vibrant red lensed glasses that were visible on some of the outfits as the hits of colour helped to offset the more muted and traditional tones of the suits and shirts that formed the looks.

There was a poetic sense of symbolism and tradition in the small emblems, and in the same way that an institutional or family crest will pull together simplified images to act as a representation of what the group of people stand for, these small tokens can be rearranged or switched on a daily basis depending on the mood of the wearer.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk».

Comme des Garçons, SS12.

Rei Kawakubo and the team at Comme des Garçons were able to tread a careful line in the exploration of female wedding gowns for the Spring-Summer 2012 collection. They gave us all the right clues to know that this collection was all about bridal wear with silk satin in whites, off whites and creams layered with fine lacework, beading and even some faux floral embellishments in soft greys and lemons.

But as ever with Comme des Garçons, the rebellion is in the execution. Where you would normally find carefully hand bound edges and french seams on a wedding gown, there was instead roughly cut necklines leaving exposed slabs of wadding. When giant-sized, voluptuous silken bows were used, they were used in a strangely creepy way, binding the models hands together. When boning was used to give the gowns structure it was not hidden discreetly away beneath layers of fine silk, it was instead made into an exterior cage that seemed to be constructed out of plastic boning and wadding.

The wadding in itself played a very important part in the collection - rounding out silhouettes and leaving all of the gowns looking thick and puffy. Not so much puffy in an unflattering way but more in a way that gave a subconscious reminder about very comfortable quilts.

The elements that gave each of the outfits their individual character were the headpieces that at times seemed to be mottled as though they were covered in spray on concrete. Or sometimes the headwear appeared as rubberised alternatives with strangely sagging theme-park faces. The black of these headpieces was also brought out in the glossy black and white paint that formed angular lines across the front of a couple of garments These angular marks, especially used so sparingly, contributed to the dark undertones that seemed to be simmering through the whole collection.

Images from Vogue.co.uk».

Rodarte, SS12.

The Spring-Summer 2012 collection from Rodarte centered around the colours and textures that Vincent van Gogh used to great effect in his oil paintings. The tones were at times as vibrant as van Gogh’s depiction of sunflowers, while in other garments the tones were muted and murky as in Starry Night Over the Rhone (1888).

Much of the surface texture of the collection focused on different ways to translate the artist’s brushstrokes into textile manipulations and embellishments. The circular movement of daubs of paint were translated into swirling embroideries or lines of sequins in jewel tones. The thick, glossy texture of oil paint bubbled into lines of thick organic pleating in pastel greens and mauves.

The most literal applications of the paintings, which came in the form of digitally printed silks, gave a nod to modern technology as the thick painterly marks were mixed and blurred with different sized sections of pixelation. The varying pixel sizes also echoed the metallics that were mixed in with the collection which acted as a reference to van Gogh’s use of shimmering light in his paintings.

Images from Vogue.co.uk».

Proenza Schouler, SS12.

Sleeve shapes and panelling are a subtle yet directional way that designers are controlling the feel of their collections. The raglan sleeve in particular has enjoyed a renaissance over the past few seasons as both a reference to the couture and the athletic. Raglan variations have been visible on broad kimono style sleeves as well as on raglan sleeve styles that cut in close over the curve of the shoulder, often using a seam up the outside of the arm to take in the shaping over the sleeve head, where a traditional set-in sleeve would look more square.

For the Proenza Schouler Spring-Summer 2012 collection, the raglan sleeve panel was made more jagged and angular, and this was then carried through into the panels in the torsos of the tailored garments. This angular use of panels was then also reflected in geometric prints, and picked up in angled seams, folds and pocket angles on other garments.

More examples of raglan sleeves can be seen here: Raglan Sleeves at Richard Nicholl».

 Below is an overly simplified version of a set-in sleeve pattern being turned into a raglan pattern. This is purely to show how the sections of the front and back patterns become joined onto the top of the sleeve head. The dart section that appears at the top of the raglan is to shape the sleeve over the shoulder - but this line can also be split all the way down to the sleeve hem to split the sleeve into two pieces. This will allow for closer fitting across the curve of the shoulder.

Visualising patterns in a basic way like this can often help you to understand the fundamentals of a pattern change, before following more detailed instructions in a pattern reference book. If you can understand and picture what the end pattern pieces will roughly look like, it will help you to make all the steps in between. 

Catwalk Images from Vogue.co.uk». Technical images by The Cutting Class.

Gareth Pugh, SS12.

The Spring-Summer 2012 collection by Gareth Pugh built in an interesting way, especially through the disciplined black and white pieces. While there are basic forms and silhouettes that are being continually remoulded by Pugh season after season, the treatment of the shapes is always very different on a structural level. So much of what creates the interest as the collection unfolds is in the comparisons - Pugh will give you both extremes of the one idea, so you can compare the effect of the rich black and the stark white, or watch as the most rigid structure is turned into flowing self stripe chiffon.

In this particular collection the pieces came out as opposites of each other at times, identical pieces presented in both black and white, with the two opposite tones merging towards the end of the collection into stripes and grid patterns. The use of black and white striped fabric seemed newer in this context - more representative of the positive and negative spaces in the cage structures, rather than just a simple stripe. By comparing the black and white versions side by side it is interesting to see what your eye is drawn to first in each version, how it effects the shape of the body and what becomes more or less flattering in each of these extremes.

The cages themselves appear as though they could have been made of carefully constructed channels of fabric made rigid with boning - though a closer look would definitely be needed to examine this as boning typically has all sorts of issues with curling and bending, not generally characteristics conducive to hard line stripes and grids.

Images from Vogue.co.uk».

Junya Watanabe, SS12.

The Japanese designers seem to have a way of conjuring up new fantasy headwear each season and pairing it with delicate models and deadpan facial expressions. This season was no exception with Junya Watanabe displaying feather hair sculptures with flashes of unusual tones and hues to offset the floral repeats that embellished the garments. The use of the colours within the feathers echoed the off-kilter colour palettes that have been the norm for the last few seasons. These colours added a contemporary edge to simply draped floral dresses and trademark double breasted tailoring by throwing unexpected highlight colours into the mix.

Danielle Scutt, SS12.

There was an interesting mix of high end / lo-fi street references in the recent Danielle Scutt collection for Spring-Summer 2012. On the one hand there was a certain youthful quality to the vibrant polka dots and disjointed checks and on the other hand this was balanced out by the more conservative monochrome tailoring. It felt very wearable and very street, from the hipster denim to the t-shirts and bleached out jerseys, but at no point did it feel scungy like an unwashed teenager. At the points where the subculture references could have crossed into a naive, coming of age territory, the crisp shirting and considered drape of the folds and tucks helped to reign the collection in.

In a quote on Vogue.co.uk, Scutt described the collection as being very personal and perhaps this was best reflected in the varying levels of complexity that were seen in the pieces. We can only assume that while a younger teenage Scutt may have been satisfied with a slogan tee, the older Scutt would get a kick out of the more complex pattern cutting. Which is probably why the low/high references tied together - the basic idea of rebellion was the same whether executed in oversized metallic cocoons, mid grey suiting or rope dress overlays.

Images from Vogue.co.uk».