“I like the idea that something as conservative and traditional as a cameo brooch could become subversive in the right hands. From here we referenced my acid colour blocked SS09 sportswear influenced collection and added old-fashioned elements like pointelle cardigans and mother of pearl laurel brooches for branding. I also mixed sport jersey with lurex piqué and brocade cottons to create a clash of sport and traditional 50’s couture elements in dynamic but recognisably 50’s colours such as eau de nil and peach” - Richard Nicoll, 2010
When you add all the above to the main instigator - Ken Russell’s iconic portraits of 1950s teddy girls - you get Richard Nicoll's first collection for Fred Perry's Laurel Wreath collection which all in all is a dynamite combination. I vaguely remember Tweeting from a Fred Perry press day how excited I was to see Nicoll's sketches for this collaboration and him re-iterating his influences and seeing the final results beautifully photographed by Paul Weatherell. Nicoll has injected so many delicately balanced contrasts into one collection that makes it seem he has gone the extra mile to ensure this isn't yet another sportswear/designer or high/low collaboration. I've always found the way designers such as Raf Simons, Ann Sofie-Back and Jessica Ogden have played with the Fred Perry codes and I think this Laurel Wreath collection might top it yet... especially since it made me compelled to whip up a collage because ALL of those things that Nicoll listed plus some extra fanciful images just seem far too delectable not to illustrate...
I love that Nicoll has re-referenced his own work, focusing on the colour-blocking of his S/S 09 collection which I forgot that I was bonkers for at the time...
The resulting collection has inflections of the tomboyish side of the 50s that references teddy girls and beat movement chicks rather than house-wives or Hollywood icons. It's an underbellied take on the decade which of course suits Fred Perry well with its own association with mods and skinheads/suedeheads. Selfishly this all translates to silhouettes and pieces that distill the powdery pastel colours of 50s haute couture without the New Look shapes that I have never been able to wear. I also love that delicate fabrics like pointelle (which always reminds me of my old Damart thermal vests) and lurex have been thrown into the mix when cotton jersey normally reigns supreme.
The collection goes on sale on Monday 10th Jan 24th January in Fred Perry stores and the lurex pieces will definitely be my first point of enquiry. May even have to find a cameo brooch just to see if I can subvert the context.
**EDIT** Due to 'Computer says Noooo' error, the collection won't be going in stores until 24th January.
