FrostFrench
LONDON, September 22, 2003
By Sarah Mower
Scattered around the room during the party that preceded the FrostFrench show were Kate Moss and Jefferson Hack, Sam Taylor-Wood, Dan Macmillan, sundry It girls, lots of babies on knees, and some cool grannies (Kate’s mom among them). On the white tablecloths, sugar-iced cakes sat side by side with killer cocktails—a juxtaposition of the sweet with the wicked that typifies the taste of the FrostFrench London girl in more ways than one.Sadie Frost and Jemima French opened the proceedings by sending out Jacquetta Wheeler in a cherry-sprigged white swimsuit—all fifties innocence—with a pink rubber Mackintosh shrugged on top. That knack for meshing the pretty with the perverse is what they’re all about: less a complex design process than the act of whipping up some fun with what happens to be in the wardrobe. “I don’t have the time to think out what I wear every morning,” said Sadie Frost. “But I always like that mix of feminine and tough, things you can pull on day or night.”
On the ingénue side, the girls offered forties-inspired sweetheart puff-sleeved print dresses, balloon-sleeved chiffon blouses in Ossie Clark–like seventies swirls, and outsize wooden-handled purses in the shape of granny’s knitting bags. Watch how they sex it up, though: adding perverse black inflatable arm-bands to an evening outfit of a sheer black camisole and silk knickers; or imagining how a lace-trimmed satin romper would do for daywear when pulled over a striped Lurex sweater. Throwing in some grounding pieces of rumpled cotton khaki—the odd jacket or cropped pant—did no harm, either, steering the show away from theatrics and making it simply a practical inventory of useful stuff. “We don’t want to be overshadowed by gimmicks,” said Jemima French. “We’ve moved on. We want the clothes to speak for themselves.” Even the much-publicized breakup of Frost’s marriage to Jude Law hadn’t disrupted their focus. “Sometimes,” said Frost in the face of a barrage of TV reporters’ questions, “You just have to get stronger and face situations.”
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Spring 2004 Ready-to-Wear
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A.F. Vandevorst Alberta Ferretti Alessandro Dell'Acqua Alexander McQueen Andrew Gn Anna Molinari Anna Sui Ann Demeulemeester Anne Klein As Four -
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Badgley Mischka Balenciaga BCBG Max Azria Behnaz Sarafpour Betsey Johnson Bill Blass Blaak Boudicca Burberry Prorsum -
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Calvin Klein Capucci Carolina Herrera Celine Chloé Christian Dior Clements Ribeiro Comme des Garçons Costume National -
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D&G Daryl K & Kerrigan Derek Lam Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Dries Van Noten Dsquared² -
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Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emma Cook Emporio Armani -
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Fendi FrostFrench -
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Gianfranco Ferré Giorgio Armani Givenchy Gucci -
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Haider Ackermann Hamish Morrow Helmut Lang Hussein Chalayan -
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Imitation of Christ -
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Jean Paul Gaultier Jens Laugesen Jill Stuart Jil Sander John Galliano Jonathan Saunders Julien Macdonald Junya Watanabe -
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Kenneth Cole New York Kim Jones Krizia -
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Lagerfeld Gallery Lanvin Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella -
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Marc by Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs Marni Martine Sitbon Martin Grant Matthew Williamson MaxMara Michael Kors Miguel Adrover Missoni Miu Miu Moschino -
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Narciso Rodriguez Nina Ricci -
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Oscar de la Renta -
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Paul Smith Women Peter Som Pierrot Prada Preen Proenza Schouler -
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Rachel Comey Ralph Lauren Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rochas Roland Mouret -
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Sebastian Pons Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Stella McCartney Stephen Burrows -
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Temperley London Tim van Steenbergen Tommy Hilfiger Tuleh -
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Undercover -
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Valentino Vera Wang Veronique Branquinho Versace Versus Viktor & Rolf -
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Y-3 Yohji Yamamoto Y’s Yves Saint Laurent -
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Zac Posen Zero Maria Cornejo
