Wednesday, September 24, 2008

milan spring/summer 2009 - burberry prorsum



if anyone ever believed that english romanticism can only be found in the pages of the books written by the bronte sisters or jane austen, or in the poetry of lord byron needs only to look at the collections christopher bailey has designed for the house of burberry over the past couple of years to realize that english romanticism has merely taken on another form. just like the poets and writers of generations past who has written some of the most heart wrenching sonnets and stories ever told, bailey has also been inspired by the allure of the british landscape and its environment. particularly english gardens and with all the outerwear he presented it paints a vision of dewey mornings when the grass is still wet and the beauty that can be found in the sombre and melancholic feeling the rain brings. the beaten down quality of the clothes with crumpled silk dresses and trenches with an ombre finish to give the illusion of being caught in the rain only added to the atmosphere the collection and bailey's story evokes. this collection, like all of bailey's collection shared the same themes he presented with his menswear collection and therefore a lot of the same elements popped up. most obvious is a more relaxed silhouette that although still stayed close to the body, it clung rather than hugged. and just like the menswear collection, this too had an endearing nonchalance. critics might say that this might be too sombre for a spring collection, especially in one where optimism is the most used word around, but the rush of emotions this collection is able to provoke stands as a testament in how assured bailey is able to tell a story. it might not be all sunny and bright and colourful, but it is beautiful nontheless.


photo: style.com

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