GEORGIE’S REVIEW: A-COLD-WALL*
Wed 23 Sep
This is the second season that A-COLD-WALL* has presented during Milan Fashion Week, its debut in Milan was a surprisingly pared-back, fabric-focused collection. For a few seasons, Ross has been riffing with the words ‘refine’ and ‘reduce’ and had been listening to what the customer likes, wants and engages with. But as Ross has such a wide demographic of customers, much like Goldilocks, some collections - while all strong offerings - veered too far one way, some too far the other.
For SS21, Ross got it just right. It was as if all the brilliant ideas that had been swirling came to rest in a concise, considered collection. This was democratic, adaptive, intuitive. Last season’s idea of designing for the artist or the curator came through in the long-line mustard belted coat, sharp monochromatic tailoring, draping collar-less jackets and the new sunglasses collaboration with RetroSuperFuture.
Younger customers and fans since ACW’s beginnings will no doubt be pleased with the cross-body bags, gently puffed vest and reworked M65. It was tactile - scrunched sleeves, sheeny fabrics - it was succinct - colour-blocked tones and sharp and fluid lines - it was strong. There was also a great balance of spectacle, early seasons saw grand, 360-degree performances and AW20 was raw and bare, this film - choreographed by London-based designer and choreographer Saul Nash - was the perfect equilibrium. An accompanying poem by Wilson Oryema was the cherry on the cake.