COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — Looking at the seemingly endless stream of runway shows and presentations during the course of Copenhagen Fashion Week, it’s possible to lose sight of the fact that all this creative conundrum and fantasy and glamour is centred around an act as quotidian as getting dressed.
Contemplations aside, much of the seasonal clothing marching down CPHFW’s catwalks was made in the hope that someone will stumble out of bed, bleary-eyed, and choose that they want to be this character for the day. Hillary Taymour doesn’t lose sight of this. For many seasons, the designer has designed quirky, wearable staples with subtle and differentiating details that don’t always come across when looked at from afar.
However, there was a somewhat lived quality to the collection, by way of clashing motifs and patent textures that mixed the designer’s technical know-how and flamboyance in equal measure.
“This collection is really about staying true to the Collina Strada universe while pushing the craftsmanship further,” the designer told GLASS in a preview. “We experimented a lot with weaving, fabric layering, custom ribbon-making, and building textiles from scratch. Some of these garments took over a month just to create the base fabrics. I was able to take my boards from past collections over the years and use swatches of techniques and create really intricate appliques,” she says.
“Each piece is so unique while staying true to the aesthetic of the brand. I am not a huge fan of inspiration boards and references. Basically I get obsessed with making things I wasn’t able to make in previous seasons so that was my starting off point. You will be seeing all sorts of techniques that never made it to the runway in the past,” she says. Within the lineup, there are lots of layered tunic tanks, rich colour stories, and plenty of texture.
“I wanted everything to feel very craft focused,” she shares. “Showing in Copenhagen also gave me the freedom to slow down and focus on those details in a really intimate way while not worrying about end price points since we are showing our commercial collection in NYFW on 9/15.”
While many labels make promises of versatility and numbers to take a customer from the beach to the ball, Collina Strada’s pieces cogently deliver their slice of self. It indeed felt like this Spring outing could be chucked on with flip-flops (one of Spring’s most sought-after trends), a blazer, or a swipe of lipstick, making the case for a (rather) unfussy delivery across the board. Cheers to that.
by Chidozie Obasi
Runway images by James Cochrane