Style & Design
Bernard Chandran
Originally published on Monday, 23rd February 2009
Bernard Chandran
Inspired by the romance of the Far East and ‘the very scent of a rainstorm’, this was an intense, glamorous and decadent collection. Luxurious fabrics, dramatic shapes and an inky palette of navy blue and gunmetal combined with glistening metallics to create a captivating show full of impact (or as everyone kept saying ‘major’).
One outfit shimmered with tiny strands of beads that looked like raindrops. There was a floor-grazing cape of black feathers with a blue and green tipped hem, and some wonderfully innovative sculptural dresses apparently based on an umbrella silhouette.
Sparkle and shine ruled – iridescent trousers, dazzling chokers and a glittery pair of spiky-heeled platform boots that had everyone salivating.
And then there were the prints: beautiful, ‘rain-stained’ prints, images of a sky on the cusp of turning into a storm, cloudy prints over diaphanous billowing capes and dresses, all adding a moody and romantic feel to the designs.
Some of the garments looked more like couture than ready-to-wear, echoing Pierre Cardin or Philippe Venet. Even the more basic designs whispered luxury. In Chandran’s hands a simple wool-jersey t-shirt dress becomes a thing of beauty thanks to the quality of the fabric used.
This was defiantly grown-up fashion, for grown-up women. Grown-up women who coo like babies over sparkly shoes, that is.
