September 19, 2020 |
Edward Crutchley makes the sorts of collections which make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck and the bows in your hair levitate above you. Quite literally.
For SS21, the designer turned to on-going collaborator Stephen Jones, who crafted floating ribbon headdresses inspired by Chinese temple guardian statues. Always one to give a little history lesson with his continued modernisation of traditional dress, Crutchley’s latest collection was inspired by the avenging Yakuza bosses in Hideo Gosha’s 1986 film Gokudô.
Showcased within an audience-less catwalk, the designer’s glamazons wore Mariachi jackets and Irish dancing dresses made from houndstooth, Prince of Wales check and gingham. Lavish gowns with puffy kimono sleeves came covered in acidic magnolias (a re-working of a pattern from the designer’s SS17 collection), or a metallic hand-foil version of Crutchley’s wheel logo – which appeared on a series of boyish shorts and pyjama collared shirts, too.
Channelling an eighties sort of decadence, both the mens– and womenswear merge global craftsmanship with British textile heritage to create a wardrobe that lavishes in sheer opulence. Dressed in Edward Crutchley, you own everything.
