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Hamish Morrow: Collection 03
Written by: Godfrey Deeny
Photos by: Gruber-FWD
London, Sep 20, 2001/ FWD/ --- "They will be sold as they were before they were dripped upon," explained
designer Hamish Morrow of the clever, captivating clothes he showed Wednesday in London.
Morrow's collection of just 15 outfits exited the backstage almost entirely white, but reached the runway
blemished with violet drips after the models walked through a dye bath and under eight surgical drips from
which came purple dye.
Hamish is the latest London-based designer singled out for greatness by the local media - US Vogue devoted
an entire page to him in its September edition. Judging from today's arty event, Morrow clearly has talent,
though this is a designer firmly in fashion's conceptual wing where folks like Viktor & Rolf and Imitation of
Christ have pitched their tents.
The theme of the show, entitled Collection 03, was "an exploration of the subjective visual relationship
between clothes and their audience." Nearly every outfit had a deliberately unfinished air. One jacket
consisted of canvas life jacket straps with a glass-bead collar, and nothing more. Sounds odd, but it sure
will photograph well.
Voile skirts came with damask multi-pleats, vests with padding showing, cotton piquet jackets with glass bead
arms, and dresses with deconstructed trains. His most outlandish outfit was a top with enormous shoulders
composed of hundreds of raggedy ribbons, turning the model into some sort of surreal Antipodean bird.
The show was staged in a recording studio in Shepherd's Bush, in a set designed by local artist Simon Costin.
After the nightmare of New York, it felt like a welcome dream.
Though department store buyers are preciously thin on the ground in London this season, Tommy Perse, owner of
the Los Angeles emporium that dresses the hippest stars, did come to Morrow's show.
Probably only boutiques could buy this collection, as Morrow insists on selling only in limited qualities and
sizes, for instance just five size 10 examples.
"So, you can't really expect people like Barneys to order, can you?" Morrow told FWD.
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