Michael Van der Ham’s new AW11 collection at London Fashion Week certainly turned a few heads. As soon as the first model came out onto the catwalk it was quite apparent that Van der Ham was taking a new direction with his new collection. Completely ditching his signature technique of combining different fabrics and patterns to create pieces, the first set of dresses are more based around playing with the silhouette rather than the fabric itself. This results in a vivid aesthetically pleasing colorful line of velvet dresses, each singular block coloured and made using nothing other than velvet pieces of no more than five, pieced together using the same collage method he is known for. A brave step by the young Dutchman in only his third collection, but one that has paid off as it is a beautiful collection that allows us to see a different side to the designer as well as seeing the brand grow in a more mature direction.
The second half sees the return of his traditional pieces with a range of winter and outerwear comprising of cardigans, jackets and dresses using his more conventional aesthetic techniques that we are more used to. His signature style of managing to combine almost opposing fabrics and colour’s to create homogenous pieces demonstrate a clear sign of progression and are done even better than in his previous collections. Generally receiving a positive response from bloggers and journalists alike, Vogue is quoted as saying Van der Ham has “upped his game”, and I could not agree more.
Personally, I like the collection. Velvet sounded a bit ‘iffy’ at first and something I could imagine being worn by regal women in the Tudor ages, but it was pleasantly surprising. The fact that Van der Ham is not scared to experiment and break the norm of what he is known for is admirable. In terms of design, I really like the collage technique used and I think it works really well giving him a little signature edge that is aesthetically pleasing and easy to remember him by. The little quirks he does like having no two sleeves the same is also very appealing. The fact that the clothes do seem literally ‘ready to wear’ and not too ‘out there’ in comparison to other collections on show is also something I really liked.
Talking about pieces made up in the form of a collage, Louise Gray’s ‘Up your look’ collection raised more than an eyebrow to say the least. Talking about her collection, Louise describes it by saying “I took a spot, a stripe, and a check, and then I played around”, and that is exactly what she did resulting in a vivid explosion of colour and a bizarre wacky cross between a catwalk show and something out of a traveling circus.
Comprising of a collection of oversized jackets, blouses, cardigans, skirts, shirts and trousers designed and made using a mish-mash of different vibrant and multicoloured fabrics pieced together. A huge use of spots and stripes is evident along with a clear influence from her Scottish roots by use of tartan and plaid, which when added to the rainbow assortment of colours, multi-layered 3-dimensional figures, complementary bizarre headgear and the stage show setup, helps in creating the most unique of places you will ever find yourself in. Although the first thought that came to mind when viewing this was the cult TV show “Funhouse” and the eventual result of a psychotic, it is actually very fun and quirky. I do not understand how this could influence fashion or people on the street, but credit has to be given for thinking outside of the box and definitely giving people something to remember her by. I did enjoy the show and collection; although I cannot seem to put a finger to the reason as to why I did.
General reviews of the show amongst bloggers and publications correlated with mine, with it being compared to something out of a kaleidoscope, a kids party and Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman commenting, “I thought it was clever how she mixes her patterns and colour in ways you’d never imagine working but it does.”.
