Monday morning saw the return of Brit designer extraordinaire, Luella Bartley. One of the most eagerly anticipated shows of the season, she has opted to spend the past few years showing in New York. With the opening of her first London shop, she made the decision to return her much loved label to the UK, and boy, are we pleased to have her back....
The collection featured her usual mix of covetable party dresses, snappy tomboy suits and oh-so-cool graphic print rock chick tees. This season’s show seemed to take its cue from comic book turned indie flick, Ghost World, with models wearing green plaid pencil skirts and oversized Enid Coleslaw specs – there were even spooky bat masks as sported by the main character, with the same bat motif also appearing on t-shirts and in a foil print Batman style trouser suit.
Also present were the label’s signature party frocks, in pink, gold and black. With layers of ruffles, lace and shiny satin fabrics, they could easily have looked twee, but worn with Doc Martens and dog-tooth print ankle boots, they edged nicely into the grunge side of pretty. A ditzy floral print was particularly cutesy, but again, paired with totally unsexy librarian specs, 'bovver' boots and black trim, it managed to look suitably rock and roll, whether on blouses, ruffle dresses, or flippy mini skirts. Other garments were even dip dyed in a murky black on several occasions, lending a certain toughness to otherwise cutesy numbers.
Bartley’s talent lies in taking the geeky, the grungy and the pretty, and mixing them together in her own unique style. In the wrong hands, it could look like a jumble sale raid. In hers? Totally cool, and totally covetable.
