February 20, 2021 |
Molly Goddard is redefining comfort dressing, one hot pink flounce at a time. Her idea of it is, “something that is very special but you feel you can go and do anything in it.” For Goddard, it’s not so much about every-day finery, but finery every day. Her signature smocking and grand volumes, are worn with the ease of a T-shirt. The designer described her lockdown look: “I need to wake up and put on something colourful.” It makes her feel more productive. And, even though she’s eight and a half months pregnant, she has been busy.
Goddard is building out her brand, moving her studio into a large gallery space in Hackney, expanding into menswear (“It’s done well commercially”). She’s added denim to her line, as well as shoes and bags that have her recognisable quirk and flounce factor. She’s also bringing kilts and Fair Isle knits into the Molly world, working with traditional British cloth and manufacturers. In the end, this collection was the biggest she’s done so far.
Unable to get to the library, she dipped into the books she had at home (Tina Barney’s Europeans, David Douglas Duncan’s Goodbye Picasso and Terence Conran house and DIY books), and was inspired by thoughts of multi-generational dressing and heirloom pieces. “Each item could have been handed down through generations. Long-lasting, but spiced-up wardrobe classics,” is how she describes the AW21 look. So, the Fair Isle comes in sickly colour combos of rhubarb pink and moss green and is worn over the clashing volumes of her colourful net dresses or with tailored suiting. Meanwhile, taffeta eighties-style party dresses (based on Goddard’s own vintage collection), came with spiky bows to give them an edge. Goddard wanted each piece to be “Recognisable, but taking it somewhere else.”
Photography by Ben Broomfield.
