Headwear made a statement feature at both Marc Jacob’s and Thom Browne’s A/W11 show on day 5 of New York fashion week: the former in Stephen Jones’ vinyl berets complete with chin straps and the latter in nun’s white habits. However the similarities stopped there. Marc Jacob’s collection was kinky with latex, figure-hugging silhouettes, wedge heel patent boots and racy polka dots. Thom Browne, on the other hand, created a convent in the middle of the New York Public Library with a makeshift altar and altar boys. Models appeared as nuns in full dress who one-by-one removed their uniforms to reveal an excess of check and outfits of exaggerated proportions, with a caged skirt even on show. Covered from head to toe, there was no element of sex or seduction as models’ figures were hidden under a profusion of layering.
Meanwhile, American luxury brand Woolrich, founded in 1831, debuted its Black Label by Paula Gerbase during an intimate presentation. London-based Gerbase, who trained in bespoke tailoring and was former head designer at Saville Row's Kilgour, designed a collection which explores femininity and masculinity and references the rich heritage of the brand. A silent film evoking the mood and minimalist, powerful aesthetic of the collection, by Ben Dunbar-Brunton, was played in a black space surrounded by 16 girls wearing the collection.
Text by Lucia Davies and Laura Bradley
