Peter Jensen and Emma Cook Autumn/Winter 2007

Peter Jensen AW2007. Photo: Marcio Madeira (from style.com)

(Yesterday morning, I took some time off my teaching schedule to attend a couple of London shows...Below are my findings!)

Emma Cook produced a film installation “Screen Test Suzie” in lieu of a traditional fashion show, where the model’s jerky movement reminded one of stop motion animation. In its refreshing simplicity and offbeat tempo, It looked a bit like a student’s animation short or an early film shown at the wrong speed…The model jumped around in quite a cute manner and some of the clothes-particularly the 20s-looking cloches, the wide pants and the Charleston-like dresses (some of which in feathers) gave the film a rather chaplinesque character.

Peter Jensen’s presentation was also humorous in a subtle way.One of the model wore a paper crown—which read as a reference to the Emperor’s new clothes. (Most likely it had to do with the show’s inspiration—a northern Renaissance princess, Christina of Denmark.) There were jackets, skirts, trenches, and dresses made of rubberized black and dark green nylon—the latter were gathered in front rendering a voluminous silhouette reminiscent of bygone eras. A “rubber” trench was placed on top of a an ensemble whose grey fabric made of interlocking rings was reminiscent of chainmail, thus juxtaposing a medieval reference to a rather “futuristic” fabric and giving the impression of a contemporary Joan of Arc of sorts. Another futuristic reference was hinted at by a hooded sweater from which little “prosthetic” horns peeked out. Ultimately, these disparate elements were well integrated and made for subtly funny and pretty garments.

Francesca Granata