Central Saint Martins Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Central Saint Martins

LONDON, February 19, 2011

By Tim Blanks

If it wasn't the last show of London fashion week, it makes sense as the last review. Such is the formidable reputation of Professor Louise Wilson's graduating class at Central Saint Martins that, when you take your seat, you know you'll more than likely be seeing at least a couple of tomorrow's stars today. But more intriguing for our immediate purposes was the opportunity to take the temperature of fashion's next generation. And the 21 designers who showed had a remarkably consistent story to tell.

Neo-medievalism, neo-paganism, neo-apocalypsism, neo-tribalism…pick your -ism and stick a neo- on it. Wilson herself was cheered by what looked a definitive sensibility shift, away from the neat and tidy toward something more anarchic and defiant: young people doing what young people do best, in other words. That could mean anything from Jenny Postle's tufty voodoo scarecrows to Maarten Van Der Horst's bordello frills and Hawaiian prints, combined with a Comme-ish what-works-worst-together verve.

Still, there's something predictable about that. More fascinating was the interest in ritual. Rejina Pyo's high priestesses held life-size aboriginal totems in front of them. Helen Bullock, Yeori Bae, and Jamie Cockerill also made you think of robes, rather than dresses. And, as far as a futuristic celluloid cross-reference goes, it was intriguing to encounter not the usual Gattaca but the much more arcane Zardoz, with its fight to the death between the spiritual and the savage. Selections from a wardrobe for warriors of the wasteland might include Daniel Lee's yellow-splashed draped and knotted plaids; Pier Wu's tabards; Shaun Samson's artful hybrids of tartan and Aran knit; Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida's radically deconstructed denim; even Kathleen Kye's exploded sportswear, which, with Sasu Kauppi's designs, suggested that the influence of CSM alum Kim Jones still lingers in menswear.

As for the tomorrow's-stars-today challenge, the spotlight seemed to fall on Viktor Smedinge and Phoebe English. Far from the oversize, tribal proportions of his peers, Smedinge opted for the controlled, the precise, the architectural, scrolling fabric like an ancient manuscript—or a roll of wallpaper—over his outfits. In its quiet defiance of gravity, the effect was a little reminiscent of the couturier Roberto Capucci. English, on the other hand, flew the flag for the futuro-barbaric macabre, as pioneered by Gareth Pugh, another of Wilson's babies. Between the huge razor clam paillettes and the thickets of long, black Ringu hair, English proved that there'll forever be a place in the heart of the Saint Martins student body for the she-beast.

See all from Central Saint Martins › 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