LFW Spijkers en Spijkers A/W 2012/13 Vauxhall fashionscout

I was not quite sure what to expect from the Spijkers en Spijkers A/W collection sponsored by Fashionscout. Pronouncing their name was proving to be a bit of a conundrum requiring experiment! From the Netherlands the blond blue eyed twin sisters have been working as a team with great success. Building an innovative instantly recognisable style is not an easy feat in the competitive fashion industry. Launched in 2000 their partnership has gone from strength to strength. Called ‘Birds of Paradise’’ the name the Dutch give to eccentric colourful people and inspired principally by the fascinating story of Edie Bouvier Beale and her fall from being a socialite beauty to a recluse living with her mother in their dilapidated Grey Gardens Estate in fashionable East Hampton outside New York. The collection had all the verve, innovation and quirkiness we would expect from Miu Miu. Known for their use of graphic detail and outstanding use of colour the Spijker en Spijker woman is kookey, confident and bright. The ‘old money’, Ivy League glamour was represented with good style breadth and excellent garment category coverage from tops, skirts, jackets, elegant trouser suits, day dresses and pretty cocktail dresses with a vintage 1920s ‘Great Gatsby Twist’ style twist with pretty scalloped hems and matching wave deco style tailored bodices. The eclectic but very wearable clothes would look perfect on Carey Mulligan’s gamine figure.  Fabrics included silk dupion, silk satin samudra, silk wool blends, crepe de chine, printed wool maple and striped wool jersey crepe to add an eclectic flavour. Flamoyant accessory details of Ostrich and bird feather trimmings and exotic bird embroidery added the finishing touches to this impressive collection. These girls are talented with a big T. There was a real buzz back stage after their show as I waited in line to congratulate them.

http://www.spijkersenspijkers.nl/ 

A version of this can now been found in Plastik magazine- out now internationally in all good news agents and Selfridges in London.https://www.facebook.com/plastikmagazine

Words and Photos Schelay McCarter pls credit