London Fashion Week: Giles Show and Backstage

Show Giles, as last time, was held in the vaulted building of the Royal Court. But few of those who entered the building, holding a silver invitation mask in their hands, expected to go to the Carnival in the spirit of Charles de Bestegey.

When models came to the podium, it became clear: the main topic here is swans. Of course, Darren Aranofsky’s Black Swan could become the most banal association, but Giles’s designs had more subtle allusions.

Giles Backstage

The main colors of the collection - red, flesh and black - brought to mind the fragments of "Leda and the Swan" by Michelangelo. The predominant silver reminded of the 1773 Silver Swan jukebox that was exhibited at the Bowes Museum. Well, it would be logical to assume that Giles, a great admirer of Elsa Schiaparelli, kept in her head her purple evening suit with metal embroidery and swan-shaped ornament at the waist.

While everyone was wondering what was the matter, there appeared giant Stephen Jones masked hats in the shape of swans, as well as a series of dresses, tops and trousers with a print in the shape of swans, and the silver accent immediately turned into a hint.

Creating silver tunics, jackets and strict dresses with laser perforation and Peter Pan's innocent collars, Giles clearly had in mind the portrait of Cecil Beaton's sister of his own work. Yes, it is easy to find and notice all these vague allusions in the Giles collection. But it was even easier to find less artistic and more pop cultural references. For example, the main palette of his collection recalled the one used in the Kraftwerk Kling Klang Machine No 1 ipad screensaver application (Giles loves it), silver — of course, Barbarella’s space suits, in general, there was a certain atmosphere of the category B movie in everything.

There was definitely some duality in the collection: on the one hand, the sublime beauty, the tenderness of white and purple feathers, on the other - the aggressiveness of huge hats. Swans are elegant birds, but they can also be quite violent. Models, sharply broken arms-wings during the final release, reminded everyone of this.

Text: Anna Battista. Backstage photos: Julia Vydolob. Photos from the show: Catwalking.com.

The editors thank M.A.C Cosmetics for their assistance in preparing the material.

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