[London] Corrie Nielsen AW2012

Photo: Fiasco Magazine

For Autumn Winter 2012, Danish-American Corrie Nielsen traced her ancestral roots to Caledonia,
setting a collection featuring lashings of tartan to swelling soundtrack of bagpipes. Scotland’s signature check was featured on key pieces such as an oversized monochrome skirt worn with white shirt, blouses with ruffle collars, kilt with dot and lace overlay and even on models’ faces, complementing simple and elegant up-dos. There were also nods both subtle and strong to Scottish heritage with sashes, pheasant feathers and tiny circular temporary tattoos on models hands that had many in the crowd talking, possibly a reference to the Edinburgh military display. Many looks paired floor sweeping lengths with flat ballet pumps, at once both referencing Scotland’s Puritan past and a nod to modern minimalism.

Nielsen’s six years with Vivienne Westwood could be seen in the tailoring which draped material over crinoline structures at the front of jackets, shoulders and bustles, and it is this exquisite work for which she was initially spotted by John Galliano for in 2010’s Fashion Fringe. Now based in Somerset House, hers was a highly anticipated show. Titled “Vestarium Scotium” after a somewhat shady Victorian documentation of traditional highland dress, there was a delicate and regal feel to the collection, with corsets, puff sleeves and tartan skirts featured lines that emphasized the bum much as a bustle would do. According to an insider, designers and interns spent a whole day just cutting the tartan to give it the right geometric lines on finished garments.

Inspired also by the Diamond Jubilee, the Victorian overtone was clever, as Britain’s last diamond queen was a great lover of Scotland. The final piece, an enormous coat featuring ruffles on an epic scale in deep and rich purple, was Corrie’s crowning glory.

Photo: Fiasco Magazine

Photo: Fiasco Magazine



Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters / Suzanne Plunkett