September 19, 2017 |
The Marques’Almeida girl is, like Chaka Khan, every woman. Maybe not every single woman, that’s probably best left to Chaka herself, but certainly a lot of them – in spirit, at least. Lovely Marta and Paulo talked about this thread that connects women everywhere – from retirees in the mid-west to teen girls in London – expectation. To have a career. To do well in that career. To have a family. To look after that family. And to look fabulous whilst doing so.
So think of this as their “enough” moment. There were no constraints. They called it “free”. The show was dedicated to different amazing women, who each inspired them in different ways. One of those, going off the soundtrack at least, is Dolly Parton. There aren’t many more amazing women than her, and she closed things out with Coat of Many Colours. In that song, young Dolly has but nothing to wear, until her enterprising mother stitches together a multi-coloured dream coat from nothing but rags.
No rags here, per se – but there was this idea of collage, of pulling things apart and piecing them back together. And the combination were unexpected – cow print trousers and tops, armour-like bodices that sat over baggy striped shirts, Chinese silk jacquards, puffs of marabou that made for the most incredible jackets. These are things that the pair are feeling. That they like. That they want to wear, that their friends do. And, quite likely, any woman in the assembled Brick Lane space who has a pulse. It was seriously good.
