Among the London Fashion Week stalwarts whose clothes skew dressy, Roksanda Ilinčić was forced to confront new design realities under pandemic restrictions, when board meetings and social events were replaced by Zoom calls and nature walks.
A collaboration with Fila for fall saw the Serbian designer trying her hand at windbreakers, anoraks and puffer jackets, which she blew up with grandiose couture proportions, and energized with her bold colorblocking.
It’s always interesting to see someone not familiar with the conventions of a creative realm take a stab. Ilinčić let her couture proclivities run wild, yielding an anorak stretched into a ballgown with a bubble hem, and a wrap-style puffer big enough for two people and trailing long green streamers. Occasionally, the models were swamped by her clothes.
But it was fun to watch them sweep through the Tate Britain, stomping on squares of tissue paper with their puffy, vivid orange moon boots, occasionally lugging big, barrel-shaped gym bags that were strapped to their shoulders.
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The daywear had an ’80s tinge, felt in her roomy vegan leather vests layered over loose-fitting pantsuits, the pants gathered above the ankle. Ilinčić applied panels of quilting to tailored wool coats or boyfriend blazers, accentuating the outdoorsy feel of the collection.
The eveningwear included goddess-like one-shouldered silk columns with trailing scarves, and satin gowns with a coiling lattice of metal pins that allowed the skirts to undulate alluringly.
On the way to a backstage interview, Ilinčić was seen embracing her daughter, who had brought her entire class to see the show. Fittingly, they were all dressed for sports day, although their running suits bore a swoosh.