London Fashion Week with Jena.Theo Feb. 2014 - Somerset House
Fashion Week is/was upon us again. London Fashion Week that is, or as we “in the know” affectionately call it #lfw. Every 6 months, Britain’s finest descend upon Somerset House and surrounding venues to celebrate British design, tailoring and craftsmanship and also the very British love for queuing.
This season we managed to avoid any of that annoying queuing, as there was no show to attend. Not that that’s necessarily good, but rationalising a lack of an invitation to any catwalk shows is a rare talent of mine.
Our very dear friends Jena.Theo were showing their Autumn/Winter 14PRE collection as well as pieces from their Autumn/Winter 14 Denim collection at The Designer Showrooms in Somerset House, so naturally we flocked down to have a closer look. I already had my eye on a few pieces, so I couldn’t wait to have a face-to-face with their exquisite silk prints, Japanese denims, leathers and neoprenes.
As we walked in, the first thing that caught our eye was this
A breathtakingly striking and dramatic fuchsia neoprene dress. It’s a showstopping piece in a most unusual and bold colour!
Colour was the name of the game through most of the collection. Everything is very vibrant, fresh and just happy! Happy clothes for happy people. Florals and metallics, combined with leather and denim to emphasise the soft/hard juxtaposition, present in nature and people alike.
I couldn’t take stuff off the rack fast enough to have a closer look and while contemplating trying something on, I was presented with the idea of actually walking around Somerset House in one of the designs. Walk around, as in publicly. With people. Looking. At me. I started having small panic attacks and respiratory failures and/or mini seizures at the idea. After making an almost full recovery, I realised that they weren’t actually kidding.
Now, I’m not what you’d typically call “model material”. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Unless we’re talking about a “before” picture. Throwing a very real possibility of ridicule and defamation, rather than brand promotion to the wind, I decided to put myself "out there" as it were and to be a good sport and friend. Some emotional blackmail might have also played a small part in me reaching that decision.
So dressed we got (my dear friend Panoula looking gorgeous in the photos below, and I) and off we went, released into the fashionista wild. We started walking around the showrooms, stopping by fellow exhibitors and soon enough we got the first question about our outfits. I made sure to mention who they were by and where they we exhibiting, putting my best game face on. After a few more enquiries and a slowly growing confidence, we made our way outside, to the Somerset House courtyard, where the fashion victims become prey for the fashion lions, i.e. the fashion bloggers. Apart from the big names, like Facehunter, The Sartorialist and Hypebeast there are the ones furiously snapping away on their iphones, taking photos of everyone and anything they happen to be wearing. Yes, we did get quite a few looks and people actually asked if they could take pictures. That was both surprising and weird, but also strangely amusing and kinda fun.
After about an hour of what I’d considered to be a job well executed, we retreated into the safe confines of the loo to change out of our exciting garments and back into our boring old clothes.
My head was filled with images of sudden stardom, catwalk shows in Paris and Milan and photoshoots with Patrick Demarchelier in New York until an actual 6’2” model walked into the loo and I went back to feeling like a stumpy, mediterranean hobbit. Nothing like a skinny blonde to help you keep it real.
We had one last drink in the cafe outside and headed out into the sunny and bustling London streets, but not before we promised to be back next season, a little bit thinner, a little bit bolder and a little bit “don’t give a fuck”-er.
80's inspired or just plain genius, we are happy to see a pop of colour for Autumn/Winter 2013'. Jena Theo took an old school look and modernized it, with all the prints and shapes that we have come to love.
'The girls stood in a group, wearing bright lipstick and the blank, wary expressions of half bright souls turned mean and nervous from too much bitter wisdom in too few years...'
Hunter S. Thompson
Hell's Angels
Slowly, London Fashion Week grinds to a close. Selected pieces of my small contribution to the whole carnival can be seen here. I created artwork for silk-screening, foil printing, jacquard weaves and digital print. The most I've ever done for a collection with Jena.Theo.
Already looking forward to working on the next collection.
Long time friend and collaborator of rockGroup, Eric Surmont provided the soundtrack to the show, working under his Dig or Die identity with Noki. Tres cool.
The collection will be showing in Paris at the Trace Showrooms from February 28th until March 3rd.
6 Cour Bérard
75004
Paris
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The Spring Summer 2013 Collection from Jena.Theo debuts tomorrow as part of London Fashion Week. I worked with them on embroidery detailing, screen-printing leathers and silks and the design of their digital print collection.
Taking influence from tattoo aesthetics, anatomical drawing and scientific diagrams I worked up a series of hand-drawn treatments, which were then combined with imagery taken from my abstract paintings to produce nine different digital prints.
It's been a deeply involved process, Jena.Theo put progress and experimentation at the forefront of their design ethos, working with them so closely has yielded some really compelling results.
I also painted four installation pieces to act as backdrops for the salon show, you can see them showing at London Fashion Week tomorrow, Tuesday 18th of September.
15.30pm and 16.30pm
The Portico Rooms
Somerset House
WC2R1LA
Ticket requests: [email protected]
The collection will also be exhibited during Paris Fashion Week at ZipZone.
ZipZone Paris
28th September - 1st October
Musee des Art Decoratifs
Louvre Palace
103 & 111 Rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
Appointment requests: [email protected]
