Duro Olowu’s collection offered a refreshing alternative to the influx of colour-blocking that hit so many of NYFW’s catwalks. Putting forward the beautiful Renée Perle, renowned muse of early twentieth-century photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue, as his own muse for the collection.Olowu played around with prints, fabrics and silhouettes that had latched on to his memory from the numerous trips he paid to Nigeria as a child. Sample-sized strips and patches of lace, florals and lames met highly over-worked floral and clashing leopard prints to create a tropical touch that screamed careless, retro chic. Dresses were aloof with ruffles and playful flared hemlines.
The designer referred to his designs as ‘practicality combined with the need to look right!’ Seeking nothing but ‘allure’ in its rawest form to give a sense of ‘smiling through the hard times,’ Olowu’s vibrant cocktail collection of colours and prints twirled elegantly down the catwalk to drum-beats. Off-setting the retro feel with tuxedo blazers reeled the collection back into its contemporary setting.
Fashion Week Coverage Directed by Indira Cesarine for XXXX Magazine
Photography by Jeffrey Gamble
