LONDON, September 14, 2002 – Hamish Morrow’s collection fulfilled all the promise of innovation and thrill that visitors to London hope for. In a concise and beautifully conceived show, he managed to combine a feeling for real sportswear, a sense of glamour, fantastic juxtapositions of color and—rarest of all—truly original cutting.

The first outfit consisted of a jacket made of beige mackintosh fabric with raised inside-out seaming, its futuristic cut softened by an explosion of scallop-edged embroidered fabric at the front. He sustained that level of delight and surprise with glamorous pale bronze and purple satin dresses in loose, sporty cuts; interesting wrapped tailoring; and witty elements, like Lurex tank tops and neck pieces of huge, chunky crystal. One sparkling highlight was a heavily beaded T-shirt paired with lime-green running shorts.

Morrow’s confident touch even managed to turn the subject of bright, shiny prints—often used ironically on the London runways—into something that looked like a chic, avant-garde proposition. Tempered by his cool tailoring, the foil-Jacquard bombers and tailored jackets came across as wholly desirable, a leap of imagination rather than the usual tongue-in-cheek ’80s reference.

Up to now, Morrow’s experimental shows have been confined to the realm of theory. But this collection, he promises, will actually make it to the retail floor. Once there, it will go a long way toward restoring London’s reputation as a leader in real design intelligence.

– Sarah Mower