He may be a neoteric presence on the fashion scene, but his tendentious flair for the tawdry has made his relevance anything but juvenile. And while the young Glaswegian’s not the first (or the last) designer to have observed a dramatic rise to top, his ability to discern a signature from a gimmick is quickly setting him apart. So while his London contemporaries continued to explore last season’s body con dressing, Kane delved into the world of acid wash and python printed chiffon. Arguably not the most refined aesthetic of the season, it represented a quantum paradigm shift for Kane; that is, perhaps, the greatest accomplishment a young designer can hope to achieve.
9. Prada
It’s no secret of the fashion world’s tractability to the whims of Miuccia. From the fashion firmament, she coalesces contradictions with a preemptive MO that surprises even the most ardent trend spotters. This season, that acumen saw promise in marrying the late sixties/early seventies with some sort of madcap Freudian virtuousness. The resulting collection featured graphic, pajama-style shirting with cropped, flared trousers, finely knit long john two-pieces, and diaphanous, tea length frocks splashed with swirling watercolor prints. And once again, Miuccia’s madness becomes the sought after bane of our reality.
10. Nina Ricci
Since taking the reigns last season, Theyskens has transformed the Ricci woman into an unashamed parvenu, of sorts, trading in ‘old money’ -style refinement for the Belgium designer’s coaxing vision of feathery nonchalance. And when the clothes are as innately cool as this, the transformation seems hardly forced. This season, he continued to explore the themes of dishevelment and airiness, although introducing some much needed grit into the froth. And so he paired cropped blouson pants with deconstructed bias-cut Tees and delivered satin cropped bomber-style jackets. The finale dresses echoed some of Theysken’s earlier work at Rochas, but I’d bet even the oil money is going to those delightfully awry petrol-hued camis.
