House of Holland designer Henry Holland tuned to Nineties rave culture this season, his presentation providing a taste of the Haçienda, the famed nightclub in Manchester, England, that was at the epicenter of that scene. In one warehouselike room, a film of models dancing against a flashy, fluorescent background played on a loop, while in another live models hung out in denim dungarees, logo T-shirts and track pants.
Like the rave gear of yore, Holland’s logos cheekily played on big brands. To wit: The Marmite logo became “All Nite,” and the logo for Quavers chips “Ravers.” The designer also tapped embroidery artist Scott Ramsay Kyle to embellish the collection. Holland printed photos of Haçienda clubbers onto T-shirts, jeans and sweaters, and Kyle embroidered those images with a graphic, modern hand. One T-shirt, Holland said, bears a print of a raver’s face “looking a bit messy, but then we’ve embroidered over him to make him look really pretty.”
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The collection — Holland calls it season 003 — went on sale Friday on Holland’s e-commerce site. And in keeping with this instant-gratification model, the designer partnered with Visa Europe’s innovation initiative, Visa Europe Collab, and the augmented reality app Blippar, to make some items immediately shoppable. Guests at the presentation — including select consumers — could use their smartphones to hover the Blippar app over select pieces, which would direct them to buy the item with one click on Holland’s site, for delivery the next day. Holland noted that the technology means House of Holland clothes could now potentially be scanned in the street, or on the pages of a magazine. “We’re calling it ‘always on,’” he noted of the retail model.