Hello Emmi,
This morning I managed to get up, get dressed, get lost--despite the catwalk's being just a 10 min walk from my flat--get a taxi and get to the
Bernard Chandran SS11 catwalk show in time!!
I don't think I'm that bad with direction and totally blamed
Chandran for this. He opted for a more unconventional but also more unrecognisable venue, The Old (Royal Mail) Sorting Office, to showcase his blinding bright collection. The show titled "A Modern Romance" started almost on time, at 9.30am, the time which, I believe, is considered very early for fashion folks.
BUT once the first model strutted down the catwalk with the golden rays of (spot)light trailing behind her. WHAM!! We all understand the implication of the 9.30am: the sun rises at
Bernard Chandran.
The collection is exuberantly HOT! With his inspiration, too, taken from the nature,
Chandran transforms tropical plant roots and plant fibre into linear prints using the Malay technique called Kerawang. This "Modern Romance," certainly, looks toward the East, the Malaysian tropical forest, the bejewelled sea and the sun that never fades away.
Chandran mostly uses silk in different colours--gold, silver, jade, ice blue and midnight black--adorned with metallic beads. The silhouette fuses softness and fluidity with a clean-cut, angular structure. You can expect not only lots of organza and volumes but also gargantuan shoulders and heightened skirts. The twist is that these contrasts, with the
Chandran magic, seem to become a match made in heaven.
(I almost had a photograph catastrophe because the clothes were so bright, so I've got you a video clip instead. Check it out ;))
By the way, I almost had a catastrophe while photographing because the clothes were too bright, so I've also got you a video clip. Check it out!