Marios Schwab
LONDON, February 12, 2008
By Sarah Mower
London is thinking long—sinuously, serpentinely long in the case of Marios Schwab's incredibly impactful Fall silhouette. Schwab is the first to completely nail the new look in a bravely exaggerated form: smooth, tubular, hobbling stretch dresses to the ankle, with strange textures breaking through their surfaces. Some of them had patches of under-things—jeans or poufy upswellings of flesh-colored Lycra—rising through roughly scissored slits. Others were covered with filigree-fine laser cutouts engineered to look like sooty, flaking Victorian William Morris wallpaper.It was strange, it was sinister—and mesmerizing. Without doubt, it threw up a glaring issue about how anyone could wear it as is (if you wanted to perambulate across a room within five minutes, forget it). But by the end, the cumulative effect neutralized that kind of pragmatic niggle. This was Schwab's most conceptual collection yet, arguably one that is powerful enough to push the reset button in how we see proportions.
What led him here was a reading of a Victorian proto-feminist novel, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, followed by a collaboration with the artist Tom Gallant on the prints. Those influences scarcely matter to the results, though, which look new and "out there" in a way few designers dare in these days of commercial constraints. Not that there weren't salable-looking, impeccably made navy peacoats (two, tramline straight, were elongated to hit the ankle). The point is that this is one of those symbolically charged collections that may be a bellwether. Longer is beginning to feel better: It's a visual that's been moving inward from the margins since Roland Mouret and Jonathan Saunders also dropped their hemlines to mid-calf. If it seems crazy now, let's wait and see: The judgment call will only come after every other designer has had his say.
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Fall 2008 Ready-to-Wear
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D&G Daks by Giles Deacon Daryl K Daughters Dennis Basso Derek Lam Derercuny Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Doo.Ri Douglas Hannant Dries Van Noten Dsquared² Duro Olowu -
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Eley Kishimoto Elie Saab Elie Tahari Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emporio Armani Erdem Erin Fetherston Etro -
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Fendi Francesco Scognamiglio -
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Gareth Pugh Giambattista Valli Gianfranco Ferré Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Gucci -
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Haider Ackermann Halston Hermès Hervé Léger by Max Azria House of Holland Hussein Chalayan -
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Iceberg Isaac Mizrahi -
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Kai Kühne Karen Walker Karl Lagerfeld Katy Rodriguez Koi Suwannagate Kris Van Assche Krystof Strozyna -
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L'Wren Scott Lacoste Lanvin La Perla Lela Rose Limi Feu Louise Goldin Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella Luisa Beccaria -
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Naeem Khan Narciso Rodriguez Nathan Jenden Nicole Miller Nina Ricci -
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Paul Smith Women Peter Jensen Peter Som Phi Philosophy Pollini Ports 1961 Prada Preen Pringle of Scotland Proenza Schouler -
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Rachel Comey Rachel Roy Rag & Bone Ralph Lauren Requiem Réyes Richard Chai Richard Nicoll Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rodarte Rodnik Roksanda Ilincic Rue du Mail Ruffian -
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Salvatore Ferragamo Sari Gueron Shipley & Halmos Sinha-Stanic Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Stærk Stella McCartney Stephen Burrows Sue Stemp -
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Tao Temperley London Thakoon Threeasfour Todd Lynn Tommy Hilfiger Topshop Unique Tory Burch Tracy Reese TSE Tuleh -
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Undercover United Bamboo -
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Valentino Vera Wang Vera Wang Lavender Label Veronique Branquinho Versace Viktor & Rolf Vivienne Tam Vivienne Westwood Vivienne Westwood Red Label VPL -
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Y & Kei Y-3 Yigal Azrouël Yohji Yamamoto Yves Saint Laurent -
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Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
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