Ann-Sofie Back Atelje Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Ann-Sofie Back Atelje

LONDON, February 20, 2011

By Tim Blanks

Last season, it was porn; this season, it was cars. But Porn 2, the title she gave her new show, clarified Ann-Sofie Back's feelings about the relationship between men and their motors. "The subject is as alien to me as pornography," she said during a preview, "but the life span of my interest becomes longer if I don't like something." Miuccia Prada has often expressed similar thoughts about her approach to design, and that's hardly bad company for Back to keep. The Swede is, however, a very different kettle of fashion fish. The launch of her diffusion line, Back, has freed her to elevate her new signature collection, Atelje, to rarefied heights that are positively esoteric.

In a mere 14 looks, Back abstracted her inspiration into elegantly strict outfits like the silvery pantsuit that opened the presentation. It was trimmed with metal, mirroring the trim on a car window, which had the same effect as the chains that Coco Chanel used to guarantee the hang of her jackets. The other auto references were as subtle: a burled wood clutch echoing a dashboard, a skirt with a pleated front that suggested a tail fin, a bag modeled on the hood of a car. The accordion pleating on a gown was apparently meant to suggest cars fresh from the compactor, but it was much too proper. In fact, a chilly, perverse precision was the dominant mood of the presentation, which turned the minds of some in the audience to David Cronenberg's autoerotic Crash. For instance, the thin metal band that gathered a sheer white organza shirt could almost have been piercing the model's flesh.

Back's clothes were undoubtedly impressive in their immaculate, almost mathematical construction. But the stately pace of the show—plus the female voice icily intoning, "She's a killer machine" over and over on the soundtrack—made the clothes seem unnecessarily severe, which was a shame. Back in the showroom, there was a dress in a random, attractive, almost-floral print that Back called "bug-splatter;" a little of that levity would have gone a long way today.

See all from Ann-Sofie Back Atelje › Timeline

A.F. Vandevorst	Acne	ADAM
A Détacher	Akris	Alberta Ferretti
Albino	Alexander McQueen	Alexander Wang
Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alexis Mabille	Alice + Olivia
Altuzarra	Andrew Gn	Anna Sui
Ann Demeulemeester	Anne Valérie Hash	Ann-Sofie Back Atelje
Anthony Vaccarello	Antonio Berardi	Antonio Marras
Aquascutum	Aquilano.Rimondi	Araks
Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Banana Republic	Band of Outsiders
Barbara Bui	Barbara Tfank	Basso & Brooke
BCBG Max Azria	Behnaz Sarafpour	Bensoni
Betsey Johnson	Betty Jackson	Bibhu Mohapatra
Bill Blass	Blumarine	Bodkin
Bottega Veneta	Brioni	Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calvin Klein Collection	Carlos Miele
Carolina Herrera	Carven	Celine
Central Saint Martins	Chado Ralph Rucci	Chadwick Bell
Chalayan	Chanel	Charles Anastase
Charlotte Ronson	Chloé	Chris Benz
Christian Cota	Christian Dior	Christian Siriano
Christophe Lemaire	Christopher Kane	Christopher Raeburn
Clements Ribeiro	Collette Dinnigan	Comme des Garçons
Commuun	Costello Tagliapietra	Costume National
Creatures of the Wind	Cushnie et Ochs	Custo Barcelona
Cynthia Rowley	Cynthia Steffe

D&G	Damir Doma	Danielle Scutt
Daryl K	David Koma	Dax Gabler
Dennis Basso	Derek Lam	Diane von Furstenberg
Diesel Black Gold	DKNY	Dolce & Gabbana
Donna Karan	Doo.Ri	Douglas Hannant
Dries Van Noten	Dsquared²	Duro Olowu

Edun	Elie Saab	Elie Tahari
Elise Øverland	Emanuel Ungaro	Emilio de la Morena
Emilio Pucci	Emporio Armani	Erdem
Erin Fetherston	Etro