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‘Bridging
the gap between mainstream media, press, industry and emerging, new and even
graduating designers’, the platform that is Vauxhall Fashion Scout, the
‘leading independent event of London Fashion Week’ has continued to deliver
it’s handpicked gems, nurturing and supporting their select talent upon
showcasing it to an international audience in a, rightly so, celebration of
design.
A
particular facet of this celebration, the One’s to Watch category and award,
described as a springboard for a new generation of emerging, innovative
designers’ was herald last season by Nova Chiu, who’s proudly chaotic play with
colour, texture and shape mixed with an ability to make heavy, unconventional
materials and fabrics appear light and free, are again showcased this year and
it is easy to see why. With a step
away from the slightly Avant Garde boundaries that were pushed last season,
Nova Chiu have produced a beautifully matured collection of designs,
‘concentrating on creating a more wearable and versatile collection, where the
minimalist tone taken embodies a clean, flattering and functional collection’.
Taking my seat
in anticipation of the show, the room grows quiet, observing silently, a
projection upon the back of the catwalk. A modest and nostalgic home video of
travels and ventures from China, through to America, four months of travelling
flickering to the audience, this which has inspired the creative minds of Nova
and boyfriend Jeff, the duo behind the label, and in turn, their Spring Summer
2013 collection.
And now,
although the film has ended, the projection continues, as the models walk, in
long sharp steps, pulsating with the intense beat of the music, carrying
abstract images of scenic landscapes, of mountains, trees and rivers, thriving
from an electric mix of digital prints and communicated by way of silk, satin,
cotton and spandex.
Hair,
parted at the centre is pulled into a bun, bound at the nape of the neck, with
long, wispy, strands, buoyant and floating, bouncing with the models as they
move forward, one by one. Heavy eyebrows structure a bright colour pallet of
makeup, potent and almost played against the clothing, a rainbow of pink, blue,
orange and purple radiating from structured shapes and clean, sharp cuts.
I spy from
the second row, trouser suits, cropped blouses and billowy dresses with kimonos
and drapery floating against beautifully printed leggings, heavily structured
blazers, perfect in detailing amongst thigh high splits and dresses with bold,
back baring cuts, a personal favourite, the slicing of the fabric, falling
along sharp shoulder blades, all tied with a modern oriental influence and finished
with sequins, beading, fringing and necklaces, bejewelled.
Copy and photos by fashiontent's guest writer Rachel Anderson
