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| Mark Fast backstage looking calm before his show! |
I loved Mark Fast's body con knitwear collection for SS2014. I didn't know that knitwear could look so sexy. Mark Fast is a charming guy but then aren't all Canadians?
We have a Canadian running the Bank of England at the moment!
There will be more on Marks great show collection with photos later. The full interview article will be published in a hard copy magazine and online soon.
London
Fashion Week
Spring
Summer 2014
Mark
Fast
I
talked to Mark Fast on Day two of London Fashion Week back stage as
preparations were underway for his Spring Summer 2014 collection runway show in
the BFC tent in London’s prestigious Somerset House location.
Mark
Fast
is one of British Fashion’s bright young fashion knit design innovators. Born
in Winnipeg Canada Mark grew up surrounded by beautiful Canadian countryside.
Winnipeg has the largest Filipino population in Canada, Tagalog after English
the most commonly spoken language.
Mark
did his BA and MA in Fashion knit design at the world renown Central Saint
Martins fashion college in London England. Alumni include Stella McCartney,
Alexander McQueen, Mathew Williamson, Christopher Kane, Ricardo Tisci and John
Galliano.
The
interview
After
taking a few photos of the creative mad house back stage that would I knew
miraculously transform itself to sublime calmness for the runway his PA had
managed to track Mark down for my impromptu chat. He was delivered to me
looking a little disheveled - apparently he had been gasping for a cigarette
for the last half hour. I asked him firstly where had got his inspiration this
season.
I
noticed that Mark appeared remarkably calm as models, stylists, dressers,
photographers, PA’s and hair and make-up artists dashed around in a frenzy of
activity making the last minute adjustments to the models ‘look’ before being
dressed and made ready to hit the runway.
Our interview Bubble began ! His
sisters inspire him and he sees the woman he designs for as being confident and
body assured whatever her dress size. I like this, as I already knew he had
made waves using larger models in his catwalk shows in the past. His
inspiration for this season has come from his affection for the Canadian
countryside where he grew up. Sweet ! He has a studio in North London, where
all his clothes are made onsite using a bespoke method of knitting and
combining Lycra with the finest luxury wools and cool Cottons to create the
Mark Fast signature textured stitch knit proportion variants that he has
developed in increasing sophistication each season. He is ambitious and I think
it is only a matter of time before PPR, LVMH or one of the big designs houses
snap him up as Creative Director, if he is lucky he may also be able to invest
in the Mark Fast brand as Christopher Kane has just done with PPR (
Pinault-Printemps-Redoute). Missoni comes to mind as a brand that could benefit
from a Mark Fast injection of sex appeal. I say this because nothing had
prepared me for what I saw coming down the runway a few minutes after our
interview!
The
Mark Fast S/S 2014 collection
I
can only describe the collection as a mix of Tribal Warrior Princess meets acid
house 90s Grunge. The seductive body con silhouettes were cleverly crafted in
sophisticated knit stitches of varying sizes and seemed to organically entwine
the models bodies like vines or ivy. I loved it. The look was very flattering
covering the important body areas creating a tantalizing
vision. This collection is perfect for a woman who is confident about her body
and not afraid to show it!
I
admired the colour palette of acid yellow with blue sky intensity combined with
hazy greys and Goth black spider’s web knits. The signature piece was the
raffia skirted dress, resembling wheat sheaves moving in the summer breeze.
Please
check out his website for stockists.
http://www.markfast.net/
Copy and photography - Schelay McCarter (fashiontent Ltd 2013) pls credit
