In celebration of Omaha’s Fashion week – I set aside some extra time to finally read the massive September and not so massive October issues of Vogue…it was the best feeling in the world, to sit in my raggedy Old Navy pajama pants and a tank that dates back to 1990, blasting myself thousands of miles away to the runway shows of the future – Fall/Winter 2009 London.
RUNWAY SHOW 09
I was wrapping up the typical experience of reading a fashion magazine. By the time I get to the back of the pub, I was covered in about 10 different perfume scents, and about ready to say DONE for the night, I turned a page that literally took my breath away. Yes it stopped me dead in my tracks and took my freakin breath away. Jonathan Saunders. This designer is AMAZINGLY talented. He has this uncanny way of creating pattern to make something new and different. Organic geometry is how I would describe it. Very much reminding me of the talent that has always come out of Belgium. The Belgian designers tend to be a bit more avant garde, thinking about shape, form and function. Sometimes the shapes are minimal but the patterns on the fabrics are exquisite and original, taking the entire design to another level.
THE OUTFIT IN VOGUE THAT TOOK MY BREATH AWAY.
Vogue had this to say: “I’M still waiting for something to wow me,” confided a Fashion Week friend earlier on Sunday. “I’ve seen a lot of good clothes, but nothing really special, you know?” We know. We know. But all that changed Sunday night at the Jonathan Saunders show, when the Scottish-born, New York-based designer sent out what is arguably the coolest collection of the week thus far.”
A designer who i didn’t know anything about previous to tonight, mixes such graphic patterns and colors together that the ensembles transform into sculptures, paintings, works of art. What’s crazy, is that he completed a line for Target. But i didn’t put two and two together because the Target line is so much simpler and doesn’t really utilize his gifts for patterns and color. They were hip and mod and simple, but nowhere near the complexity and newness of his higher end couture and ready-to-wear lines.
At NY Fashion Week:
“As the androidish models stomped by in sky-high, brightly colored platform pumps, their hair obscured by identical black head wraps, shoulders braced in graphic zigzag capelets, black leather shrugs or kaleidoscopic epaulets, one could easily envisage these strong, future-world creatures easily slaying all monsters, real or proverbial.”
“I was thinking about strength and strong women,” Saunders confirmed post-show. “I think that’s a really important thing to focus on right now. And that came out in the silhouettes and the shoulders and in the colors, as well. And then I was thinking of things that I love, because in these times you’ve got to focus on what you love, whether it’s color or print.”
RUNWAY SHOW 09
Jonathan Saunders’ Fall 09 silhouettes are very Star Trek meets Blade Runner (although the inspiration is birds), but the prints bring a softer touch to the squared off shoulders and severe lines. The prints look like they were created by martians. And the colors are BRILLIANT. The way he pairs tones and color together is like nothing I have ever seen.
This is a great place to end. and say a big thank you to Mr Saunders for taking clothes to a level of art – very much inspiring.
