Charlotte Wood
Deconstructivism
The collection encapsulates the notion of ‘Best of British’ heritage with a contemporary twist. Deconstructivist architects such as Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry and Neri Oxman, have inspired me to create a unique range of garments which encapsulate the notion of ‘disassembling’ and ‘breaking down what once was’ to create something new and contemporary. Deconstructionism evokes a sense of anarchy and chaos, thus naturally the collection became greatly inspired by 1970/80s subcultures such as punk and skinheads.
With a clear military undertone, the collection embodies a series of classic heritage garments such as the checked trouser, the crombie, the MA1 bomber and the raincoat and features fabrics such as gaberdine, wool, leather, tartan and houndstooth. Accents of more exotic cow hides, springbok and silks have been incorporated to maintain a opulent and sensual edge.
This concept became realised through the generation of distorted print, embellishment appliqué and cutwork fabric designs. The collection was born from the idea of using DIY to create unique, individual items of clothing like no other. The Colour palette incorporates bold tones of red and blue, with neutral hues of pale salmon and grey, and crucially a bold accent of black. Colour was influenced greatly by the Russian constructivist art movement, a period in history that many deconstructivist architects cite as hugely inspirational.
The collection for A/W 17 is daring, chaotic bold, spirited and unexpected.