An Evening in Bloomsbury Square
Stefanie Haigh, High Fashion & Lifestyle Writer
www.stefaniegraceblog.blogspot.com
Last night’s On|Off presents exhibition in Bloomsbury Square was a thrilling affair. The venue was the basement of Victoria House and it felt modern and fresh with simple white walls and lighting. People chatted and cameras clicked in a hub of anticipation, taking in the mini exhibitions and shop floors of designers who have been previously presented by On|Off. These included Michela Carraro whose work is exhibited permanently in Vienna, Prose Studio who are now stocked in Topshop, Oxford Circus thanks to representation from On/Off and Yang Du who has even dressed Lady Gaga.
The show itself was modern and minimal, yet with lots of detailing and structure. Colours were very monotone, in fact almost all black and white with a touch of navy. We also saw leather, military looks and lots of texture. Highlights of the runway would have to be Samantha Cole’s strong looks combined with the gorgeous knitwear of Derek Lawlor, whose looks were stylish and wearable. The Txell Miras collection was also beautiful. ESVIE was positioned right behind the Catalan designer’s people who were whooping and clapping as well as chatting away in Spanish! MR + MR was the only menswear collection on the runway and showcased lots of tuxedo inspired pieces in many different ways, including a fur hoody and leather shirt. You can check it all out here.
Also worth mentioning was the tribute to Alexander McQueen positioned on a wall on the way into the catwalk area. People were buzzing around an installation of 40 iPods containing each of his 40 collections for Givenchy and for his own label. Visitors flicked through pictures of each outfit on the runway. As one, the pieces showed what an artist he really was.
