I don't like the throw the word DYING around too much. I mean there's an awful lot of dying going on in fashion and really, we are all still well and alive right? However, I have literally been PEEING/BURSTING (why talk about morbid death when I can refer to bladder movements instead) to talk about Louise Gray's new collection which was fortunately presented as an installation at Soho House. I say fortunately because being up close with a static presentation means swooning more. You're not really supposed to openly swoon at a catwalk show (most people nod in a serious way....)I may have shrieked a little because even my boyfriend instantly commented that these clothes are very "boo-boo-like", as in they're the right colours, with the right embellishments, right fabrics and just plain rightness....for me, that is. I've been a fan of Louise Gray since... I reckon her graduate collection and I think her going it alone after Fashion East this season is her best collection yet. My love affair was strengthened when I picked up one of her dresses embroidered with her famous layered fabric swatches and was so undecided, I kept on picking it up and putting it down again a total of 15 times. Needless to say the staff in Liberty were not amused with my dirty paws going over their sole stock of Louise Gray (I believe she is exclusively stocked there at the moment but not for much longer as she will be launching her E-SHOP....EEEEK!). In the end I decided I did actually need to eat that month and so decided against the dress.
I'm determined to be Gray-ed up for next season.... what with the soft fuzzy wool, the little chainmail embellishments, the cut-outs, the combination of all the brights that are working together brilliantly, the silk devore (yes...it's there again...) that is made even better with the fact that Gray has worked two colours together in the fabric. Then there's the fact that from Gray's signature dresses, she's moved into separates that means an entire Louise Gray wardrobe is possible. I know head-to-toe is a bit of a lazy effort but I'd gladly do it in this collection.
Finally let's talk about the shoes...the shoes that you might have already seen on Jak & Jil's blog when I got Tommy Ton to chase after Lulu Kennedy to snap her feet. Grrr....as lovely as Lulu is, I am jealous that she got her mitts on these Louise Gray x Nicholas Kirkwood shoes literally hours after the presentation and had them on her feet pronto. The shape is a Kirkwood classic but in the fuschia/blue silk devore... well, like I said....head to toe wouldn't be a bad thing at all...
