brisbane fashion festival: ep by easton pearson
(images via fashionising)
even though i'll readily confess i'm no expert on the archives of brisbane-based label easton pearson, i've held an affection for them all the same, as i've confessed in the past, thanks to some absolutely awesome hair and the casting of the then-rising model gemma ward on their s/s 2003 catwalk. well. since that time, we here at opt have had the opportunity to check out designers lydia pearson and pamela easton's work on a handful of occasions around the country--see a/w 2010, s/s 2011, and s/s 2012--but now i've also had the good luck to happen upon their secondary line, ep by easton pearson, which showed its charming s/s 2013 range at the brisbane fashion festival!
unfortunately, as i said just yesterday when discussing the scanlan & theodore collection, brisbane receives hardly any of the love its big sister sydney does, and in turn, we don't get much in the way of back stories on the collections we're looking at. however, as we know the label at hand a little bit, i think we can pretty much deduce that we're seeing a more youthful and flirty (and, of course) cheaper version of the globe-trotting colourful and (and i really hate to use this term, but it seems to apply rather well here) free-spirited feelings of the house main line.
certainly the designers didn't mean for us to take the collection wholly seriously, anyway, when they plied their models with playful props like ukeleles, plastic (or was it paper?) fruit that evoked carmen miranda, castanets, and pom pom-ed necklaces and head garlands. of course, that isn't to in any way suggest that the clothes weren't completely wearable or charming--just that they seemed to impart a laid-back, summery flavour that thanks to bright pops of colour (cobalt, chalky pink, black, lime, aquamarine, white, and tangerine) and plenty of zany motifs (checks, zig-zags, stripes) was meant to be more fun than deeply penetrating.
anyway, although i wasn't able to uncover much--or anything, really--in the way of critical reviews on the subject of the collection, i did unearth a little snippet on the label's facebook page that revealed that the designers see the range as "'(a) Retro-Futuristic Roman Holiday' featuring quirky mix & match prints, hazy sunset colours. For the Audrey Hepburn in all of us!" indeed, there was probably a certain fifties-sixties overtone in the silhouettes of the dainty little shirtdresses and shifts, babydoll frocks (that to me read a little more mia farrow in rosemary's baby, but then, i'm usually predisposed to see the horror film in all things), and sweet little onesies and shorts.
in all, there wasn't much to complain about (save maybe that i wish the designers hadn't repeated that checkered black-and-blue or black-and-pale pink motif quite so much), because they did a fairly good job of mixing things up and providing more than a single type of look, something that haunts the annals of fashion sites these days--when designers hit on a particular, um, hit, and no one wants to buy (or, indeed, design) anything else, but no, i'd say there was enough variety here to make up a good summer or vacation wardrobe, if one was looking for the lot of it in a single sweep of purchasing power.
like many of the more affordable lines, however, if there is one question left to beg, i'd say it was this: why do they always feel the need to cater to the early twenty-somethings? to be sure, those girls have less money than their counterparts in their forties or so--generally speaking, at least--but let's not forget that even the lesser-priced, contemporary labels aren't known for being affordable to most, anyway. thus, it always leaves me to ask myself whether they've caught on the right formula here, or what might happen if they indeed designed for older girls, or perhaps even the same customer, just one with less cash money?