Ann-Sofie Back, Fall 2008

Ann-Sofie Back, AW 2008, Over-sized Boyfriend Blazer and Shredded Black Thong Gown.

If public banality is the cornerstone of celebrity culture, then the French situationist, Guy Debord got it right in his critique of the media-dominated western society when he described the celebrity as “the spectacular representation of a living human being”. Kick starting London’s Fashion Week, Ann-Sofie Back’s A/W 08 collection pays homage to an unlikely source—-the pervasive presence of celebrity culture in our every day lives. Drawing inspiration from her three muses, Britney, Paris, and Kate, she re-imagines the spectacle by reworking silk lace drawn from thongs as decorative motifs on the shoulders, hem lines and knees of tops and camisoles, classically cut gowns, and tights.

Asymmetrical 1930s bias cut satin gowns, reminiscent of the Kate Moss v. Courtney Love fashion mishap at the V&A gala last year, are paired with an equally exaggerated asymmetric motorcycle jacket or tempered by an oversized grey peacoat. Back brings a slice of the voyeuristic world of tabloid culture in the pixelated prints of the OK! Magazine and Heat logos on t-shirts, dresses, and gloves, as well as in the accoutrements of piercings, à la Ms. Hilton, found on dresses and shoes. While the line was loaded with a dissonance of fantastic shapes, particularly with the over-sized boyfriend blazer teamed with a shredded black thong gown, there was also an element of the predictable…in the appearance of the cringe inducing, light stone washed jeans (go back to the 1990s!), raw hemmed tailored trousers, and strapless dresses. All in all though, Back infallibly delivers on making the sensational, a commercially appealing success.

Patty Chang

Ann-Sofie Back, AW 2008, Pixelated Shirt & Skirt

Ann-Sofie Back, AW 2008, Deconstructed Thongs Shirt