For my first time at Fashion Week, I thought everything went very smoothly. Originally, I was assigned a spot in the standing room, which is the space located behind all the seated guests. The show was scheduled for 1pm, but by 12:55pm the room had barely filled. I guess it is expected for a fashion show to commence fashionably late. In the end, it turned out that there were some extra seats, one of which I managed to snatch for myself. The lights suddenly went down and what sounded like a commando's voice began counting over the sound system.
The music track set the military atmosphere for the show. When the "James Bond" theme started playing, the room went bright and the first model marched out. The first couple outfits featured juxtaposed plaids. One of the outfits consisted of a red plaid coat over a black tartan shirt, both of which topped bluish tartan trousers. All I can say is that it was very hard not to notice how mis-matching it all was. Nevertheless, the overlaying plaids were in tune with the quirkiness of the rest of the show.
More interesting was the designers' use of tweed. A couple models wore both tweed jackets and trousers, which gave off the effect of a tweed jumpsuit. The military theme was also emphasized by the black leather boots a majority of the models wore and the black hats in the shape of soldier caps.
Credit: Martin Hamery
My favorite article was this lime-colored short trench. A traditional cut of clothing with a modern chemical-like color, the trench struck me as sour and practically created a taste of citrus in my mouth. That's how delicious it was. A little detail I enjoyed on the same model was the safety pin earring in his left ear. The only other bright color that kept reoccurring was red: red vests, red pants, red sweaters and a very sharp red bomber jacket. I believe these bursts of color saved the collection from being just another dark, black and grey winter ensemble.
Overall, the collection was original for its mix of inspirations. Although the shapes were military, the colors were eccentric and the plaids almost British punk. I also much appreciated the different attitudes models took at the end of the catwalk. The ones with caps remained very stern, their eyes frowning out from under their visor's shadow. The models with more peculiar attires confronted the photographers with a more boyish air; some of them even saluted the crowd by nodding their heads.
Fortunately, the Duckie Brown collection was not the kind where an outfit is simply a variation in cut or color of the one that had come just before. Its attractiveness lay in its succession and superposition of such contrasting pieces of clothing. Each outfit was a look of its own, a fact which kept me anticipating what would come next.
