Bora Aksu’s Autumn/Winter collection was a self confessed move away from his usual style. There was none of his trademark knitwear, and the bling-tastic embellishment of which he is so fond was limited to gem-studded tights and the odd bit of sparkly trim on the hems of dresses. This season was all about '70s romance, with a suitably swoony soundtrack tinkling out, and models floating, rather than stomping, down the catwalk. Billowy chiffon was the fabric of choice, and the shapes were organic and voluminous, rather than the tailored overt sexiness of previous seasons.
Romance aside, the collection also featured a number of tooled leather pieces, inspired apparently by a an old leather tool bag the designer found. In reality, these pieces took on a slightly Western feel - spools of rope were bunched around models hips, whilst a corset top resembled a saddle. I was half expecting the press release to say the collection was inspired by Indiana Jones, but evidently it was just me picking up on the Harrison Ford look.
The hippy/rock Stevie Nicks-vibe was pushed further with a sludgy palette of dusty rose pink, mushroom brown and a grey and black blown up digital print of the missing knitwear - I knew he couldn‘t manage a collection without it! Floaty layers, loose folds, and swishy cape-like shapes made up the bulk of the collection, but there was the odd piece of tailoring too. It wasn’t the structured, stiff tailoring of previous seasons though. This time, pussy-bow blouses, hooded jackets and shirt dresses were created in soft organza, with structure formed through more pleating and more of those origami style folds that we seem to have seen everywhere this season.
The only thing that killed the romance in this otherwise ethereal collection was the loud mouth woman sitting next to me, who insisted on giving me a nudge every 30 seconds to let me know which was her favourite look… loudly.
Rachael Gibson
