LONDON, February 18, 2003 – Emma Cook builds her collections around a time-traveling character named Susan, who, in her few seasons on the periphery of the London scene, has assumed the guise of everyone from Joan of Arc to Barbarella. It’s a cute way for her inventor to comment on current trends, and this time around "Starboard Susan" drifted naively to Earth as a sweet-toothed, girlie version of the space-age look. That meant jersey aviator helmets, cutout minidresses and jumpers with white tights, and clunky, low block-heeled patent pumps attached to ankle socks.
Some of Susan’s dresses and A-line skirts were pieced together with leather and suede into a pattern of the planets. Others were in a black and white shell-and-starfish print done on jersey, a couple of which were cut with wings of fabric attached to her wrists by plastic bracelets. At still other moments she appeared ready for countdown in bibbed overalls and hooded jumpsuits. The starship trooper’s more charming escapades came when she switched from monochrome into pink or yellow and decorated her shifts with real shells and a necklace of mother-of-pearl. All the same, though Susan was one of the first to go ’60s-futuristic last season, her wardrobe this time had a limp quality and never really took off.
– Sarah Mower
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