Basso & Brooke
REVIEW
COMPLETE COLLECTION
LONDON, September 19, 2005
By Sarah Mower
Scoop! Who knew that Donatella Versace and John Galliano once eloped to Rio and secretly gave birth to a pair of love twins? They named them Basso & Brooke, and now the boys have exploded into London fashion with a carnival of multicolor, multiprint high campery that flung its astonished audience back in their seats, laughing wildly.Well, of course, we made the Don-and-John bit up. But their influence on the collection of Bruno Basso (a Brazilian) and Christopher Brooke (a Brit)—with its exuberant Latin color, theatrically exaggerated silhouettes (vast hats, flounces, and burlesque posturings), and potentially sinister subtext—is nonetheless obvious. Their show opened with a whoosh from a vast Elnett spray—one of the least subtle, yet most hilarious, fashion product placements ever witnessed—and degenerated from there into a highly enjoyable farrago of psychedelic computer-printed fifties prom dresses, hobbled Vegas gowns, and spray-on eighties leggings.
But take a closer look at all those prints—lipsticks, mirrors, roses, musical notes, and piano keys jazz with chevron stripes and polka dots in a queasy melee of kitsch—and the question begs asking: Just what are these guys getting at? A glance at the program notes explains it: The show, entitled Vanity Affair, is inspired by "disenchanted housewives … for whom bridge parties and coffee mornings have been superseded by pills and pitchers of cocktails before noon." Their comment on squiffy narcissism also includes mirror images of women as dogs. Which is not so nice. But there again, the audacious confidence of this show deserves applause. At last, in London, there's something weird on the loose, and it's a long time since we've been able to celebrate that.
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Spring 2006 Ready-to-Wear
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A.F. Vandevorst Akris Alberta Ferretti Alessandro Dell'Acqua Alexander McQueen Alexandre Herchcovitch Andrew Gn Anna Molinari Anna Sui Ann Demeulemeester Aquascutum As Four -
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Badgley Mischka Balenciaga Basso & Brooke BCBG Max Azria Behnaz Sarafpour Bill Blass Bottega Veneta Boudicca Brian Reyes Burberry Prorsum -
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Calvin Klein Carolina Herrera Celine Chado Ralph Rucci Chaiken Chanel Chloé Christian Dior Christian Lacroix Clements Ribeiro C-Neeon Comme des Garçons Costello Tagliapietra Costume National -
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D&G Derek Lam Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Doo.Ri Dries Van Noten Dsquared² -
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Elie Saab Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emporio Armani Etro -
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Fashion East Fashion Fringe Fendi -
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Giambattista Valli Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Gucci -
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Hermès Hussein Chalayan -
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Imitation of Christ -
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J. Mendel Jean Paul Gaultier Jenni Kayne Jeremy Laing Jill Stuart Jil Sander John Galliano Jonathan Saunders Junya Watanabe -
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Kai Kühne Kenneth Cole New York Kenzo -
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L.A.M.B. Lacoste Lagerfeld Gallery Lanvin Libertine Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella -
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Narciso Rodriguez Naum Nicolas Andreas Taralis Nicole Miller Nina Ricci -
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Oscar de la Renta -
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Paco Rabanne Paul Smith Women Peter Jensen Peter Som Phi Philosophy Pollini Prada Preen Proenza Schouler Project Alabama -
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Ralph Lauren Richard Chai Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rochas Rodarte Roksanda Ilincic Roland Mouret -
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Salvatore Ferragamo Sari Gueron Sinha-Stanic Sophia Kokosalaki Stella McCartney Stephen Burrows Strenesse -
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Tao Temperley London Thakoon Tommy Hilfiger Tuleh -
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Undercover Unique United Bamboo -
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Valentino Vera Wang Veronique Branquinho Véronique Leroy Verrier Versace Viktor & Rolf Vivienne Westwood VPL -
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Who Is on Next Wunderkind -
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Y & Kei Y-3 Yohji Yamamoto Yves Saint Laurent -
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Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
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