AS LOOK four graced the runway, I instantly thought, ‘that looks exactly like my favourite dress as a child’. I still have the dress that I’m referencing hanging in my wardrobe, and I have worn it at a festival before as a mini-dress – the only place at the time that I deemed acceptable to do so. As you can imagine, seeing it in the Molly Goddard SS22 collection filled me with excitement, ‘does this mean I can wear it elsewhere?’ I pondered.
I was watching the accompanying video prior to viewing the press release, so once it had finished and I read that Goddard had intentionally recreated dresses she wore as a child into adult sizes, I knew I wasn’t the only one to find comfort in the playfulness, the familiarity and the nostalgia of wearing clothes that remind us of our childhood.
Designing the collection during her eighth month of pregnancy, Goddard spoke of the consuming thoughts of what her child would wear, “I was fixated on smocked dresses, tracksuit bottoms and ballet pumps”. Working closely with her sister and stylist, Alice Goddard, Molly Goddard created a collection of wistful treats, designed with a certain lightness and colourful appeal.
Goddard’s signature tulle was a subtle accent for SS22 – bar the sheer princess dress worn by model Eddie Campbell–, made instead into separates, or layered into tunic-like trousers.
The characteristics of tulle frills were instead found in the clutch bags, made out of indigo denim with frayed edges for extra effect. The bows and ribbons that tied together much of AW21 were also reimagined in bag form, looping around patent and satin slouch bags to create tiers, or on second glance, stripes – a clever link to the many stripes found in the wider collection.
Marking the third season in which Molly Goddard has opted for a film showcase rather than a physical show, longtime friend and collaborator Tegen Williams and choreographer Les Child helped Goddard devise a collection film that set a new tone.
Utilising multiple video formats, a range of camera crops, and a range of clever editing, the clothes came alive, dancing across each corner of the screen as the different cameras chopped and changed. In turn, providing an energy that a digital film without an audience so often can lack.
The collection is simple compared to previous work, but where there is simplicity comes wearability. The jeans that are found swishing beneath gowns, the tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt nods, and the big cosy jumpers that are sprinkled throughout push for ease. It is a pared down yet meaningful collection from a designer with a newborn and no design team behind her, and it works.
If the last year has taught us anything it’s that there is a certain reassurance and safety found in being comfortable. It’s a similar safety that my dress hanging in my wardrobe instills in me upon wearing, offering a reminder of a less complicated existence.
“It’s a collection that already feels familiar to me, full of good memories of growing up, and the anticipation of the exciting time ahead I have with my son,” Goddard concludes.
by Lily Rimmer
All photography by Ben Broomfield.