February 12, 2023 |
A furry frenzy was afoot at Collina Strada’s show on Friday. Chimeric creatures clawed and hissed their way past enraptured guests whose equally unsettled and pleased reactions were palpable. They came to life with animal prosthetics courtesy of Isamaya Ffrench, transforming an eclectic crew of Collina muses into humanoid dolphins or dogs with SFX snouts; others wore pointed ears or fluffy organza bunny tails, beaks, buck teeth, or reptilian horns. Skulking on all fours, frolicking and skipping, growling at, hissing at and pretending to piss on front row guests, this was the kind of maniacal content viral internet dreams are made of.
Entitled, Please Don’t Eat My Friends, it was another authentically sustainable – sometimes biodegradable – range from creative director Hillary Taymour, who took another look at the “Animorphs” trope she had dug into digitally for AW21. Now fully formed, she generously reminded AW23 showgoers that “humans and worms share 70 percent of their DNA” – a testament to the sameness of all living things.
In keeping with Collina Strada’s aesthetic, looks were layered two or three times over with mini kilts worn over lace slips, wide-leg cargo trousers beneath deadstock plaid wool overcoats and geometric-print slim-leg trousers under velvet spaghetti-strap dresses and matching sporty tank tops. There were oversized chunky sweaters too, fish scale pussy-bow blouses, supple paper maché-like mini dresses, literal hay bale handbags, cowl necks that hung from nipple piercings and cute doodled-on footwear created in collaboration with Vans.
A white, floor length, satin spaghetti strap gown worn by Tommy Dorfman closed out the show, trailing behind her and her cosmic elf ears like a ripple in the clouds as she exited the carnal spectacle. It was an optimistic vision of an alternate reality or imaginary realm where human-kind might live in concert with Mother Nature and remain true to her ancient ways.
Photography courtesy of Collina Strada.
