One reader has already cleverly predicted my love of Richard Nicoll's latest collection. (Sidenote: Nicoll's site ranks highly in my books along with Rodarte's...me thinks it's the use of backstage imagery...geekout moment over.) Spot on, my friend, spot on. What were the obvious signs - the clever references to corsetry, yet another take on underwear as outerwear which I shall never tire of, the amount of that perfect shade of blush pink and nude, the brilliant cut-outs that could so easily have been superfluous tricks but actually give proper shape and structure to the clothes? All of that? Well, yes I guess those were the obvious signs. Actually though, it was the fact that Nicoll collaborated with Manchester-based artist Linder Sterling on the prints in his collection which sealed the dealio for me.
If you don't know the name Linder, you'll at least recognise the photomontages she has been creating for the past thirty years or maybe her associations with the punk/post-punk scene in Manchester. The prints she has created of the soft porn pin-up girls collaged against blown up images of flower details is a fantastic continuation of her exploration of female portrayal in society. More importantly, they add an aspect to Nicoll's collection which suddenly makes me look beyond his reputation as a perfect shirt-dress designer.
Kate Rodgers and Patrick Lindblom shot some brilliant backstage images that captured the print, especially the trench piece covered in that slick PVC. I know I keep saying"Oh I'm hoping to wear this next season...." - an empty statement that could turn out to be a waste of time... I am however making a conscious effort to at least attempt to acquite SOME of the things I type words about. Saving up for quality, less chaff, more craft, less chat, more action and all that. Still, if I don't quite make it, I could always use the invite for Richard Nicol's collection which features Sterling's print and some Dylon Image Maker to print onto a t-shirt dress.
