[London] Holly Fulton AW 2012

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts

Having won Fashion East, Scot Holly Fulton's rise has been meteoric, and this season's collection, shown to a packed tent at the British Fashion Council's tent at Somerset House was another huge jewel in the crown. The collection featured Holly Fulton trademark wow-factor print and colour, but there were a few elements that kept things refined. Opening with a hot pink oversized blazer with symmetrical, graphic print, a hot pink tote in long fur, it was sophisticated rather than over-the-top thanks to styling with little else except shee tights and Louboutin heels. Similarly, there were an array of mini-dresses emblazoned with print but in their micro form, operated on a less-is-more scale. Inspired by the racy novel of the 1920s, Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence, the window-like prints were reminiscent of steamy glasshouses of exoticism and eroticism. Leaf prints were seen in black against colour, as well as cut-out and forming the straps on a halter-neck dress. The refined halter neck shape was used a lot, and skirts were pencilled, never lower than the knee, as was the mode in the roaring decade so inspirational right now. The butterfly prints seemed an elegant and sexual, symmetrical insect that perfectly fit with the feel of the collection. 


The decade when women wore the trousers for the first time, printed pants worn with polo necks in black were lady-like in a way fresh and modern both then and now. A Chanel-style box jacket in grey put a sophisticated, updated feel to the hot pink print dress beneath. Next, a palette of cobalt blue, and as with the pink, this appeared as a prism of colour together; the windows made me think of the skyscrapers of New York and Chicago. I thought of the era of boom and bust; the flap details around the skirt hemlines could have been dollar bills had they been a shade greener. Dresses that flattened the bust and featuring no waist were straight from the flapper wardrobe which slits in skirts punned on that nickname. The strict palette of cobalt and lipstick was a canny move in making this a succinct and simple, though no less luxurious, offering from Fulton. Accessories similarly struck a balance between opulence and simplicity. Jewels and plastics featured on her graphic shaped pendants; cuffs, her black tights and clutch bags gave a wholly futuristic twenties interpretation. It was a brilliant collection and proof positive if ever it were needed that Fulton is well on the way to super-stardom. If it were too muted for some, the final cropped, metallic embellished top over print at the end was the final Fulton champagne cork pop.

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts

Photo: Pandora's Thoughts