Louise Gray A/W ’12

Season after season Louise Gray never fails to thrill the eyes of the fashion world, and her latest Autumn / Winter collection is no exception packing a magnificent punch that that will undoubtedly be turning heads worldwide. Now, although I neither have the brains nor balls to put together an outfit as ‘out there’ or ‘fashion forward’ as Louise Gray, I do have a special place hidden away in my heart for these boundary-pushing designers: after all, don’t opposites attract? Anyway, Louise Gray’s Autumn / Winter collection killed it (in the good way).

So, after we’ve established that I’m by no means a daredevil when it comes to my style stakes, I am however, a huge fan of the art of layering, and this is what Louise Gray does best. Louise layers vibrant clashing prints, contrasting hues of colour and numerous items of clothing…and undoubtedly……it works! There’s definitely a hint of 90’s revival, which can only ever be a good thing right? She has used a QR code print for a lot of her designs, now for those of you who are a little less techno savvy, the QR code is the strange looking square barcode thing you see everywhere nowadays that you scan with your blackberry and things come up on your phone…..I think… (I have an iPhone: it’s the future I swear!) However, the print looks far from strange in the collection.  It’s an interesting and very current idea, and it works. It makes the clothes busy yet almost minimalist with the monochrome colour tones used. Layering these printed garments with bright clashing prints truly brings the collection to life. The silhouettes are clean-cut and feminine, leaving the prints and embellishment to speak for themselves…and they really do! If you are more of a ‘safe’ dresser, don’t sweat: after a carefully dissecting the collection, there are some really wearable pieces that you could easily place within your own wardrobe and mix and match to your heart’s content.

When recently showing at London Fashion Week, Gray put on a show and a half, the models looked edgy, punk, and polished. They wore wacky headpieces courtesy of Nasir Mazhar. These were absolutely crazy…and I loved it! They were what I can only describe as Mohawk-style helmets that looked to be made from hair. Blond hair at that! Others looked like lengths of hair extensions stretched vertically into oblivion! A soundtrack mixed by Hanna Hanra set the mood for the tantalising display of brilliance and the models walked with ease. These finishing touches really showed the thoughts and inspirations behind the collection and gave the viewer a real insight into Gray’s mind. And what a mind it must be. I’m sure I’m by no means alone when I say I’m already sat on the edge of my seat in anticipation of another perfectly executed Spring / Summer collection from Louise Gray, as I’m sure it’s going to be epic!