Dating back to the seventies, our extensive fashion archives serve as a constant source of inspiration for our team of designers, based in our head office and studio space in Notting Hill, London. To bring the Modern Heritage collection to life, they looked to decades-old designs from our earliest stores, rich with warm colours and free-flowing bohemian prints from faraway places. Long-forgotten vintage finds, sketches, print samples and press cuttings also made up their moodboard of ideas, made all the more modern with the key catwalk looks of AW18.
The AW18 runways saw a return to retro, with the likes of Chloé and Rochas creating a modern interpretation of seventies fashion. Wallpaper florals and intricate embroideries with a homespun feel made up some of the eclectic elements, while long, languid silhouettes were updated with asymmetric hemlines and cut-out details. Plush fabrications also saw an uplift, with sumptuous faux furs and decadent velvet textures complementing the season’s cold-weather collections.
Having originated from the Iranian buta motif, paisley prints have become synonymous with seventies styling, thanks to their free-spirited, bohemian feel. Early iterations of the teardrop-like print were found in our very own fashion archives, with tones of ochre, teal and burnt orange contrasted against moodier backdrops. From hanky-hem midis to pussy-bow blouses, the revered trend has now transitioned into our AW18 wardrobes – we’ll be wearing ours with denim and slouchy knits.
The power piece of the seventies, suits are back in for the new season – and this time, they’re feeling more relevant than ever before. Taking inspiration from the lapelled blazers and wide-legged trousers in our archives, we concocted more contemporary versions of the fashion classic with tailored cuts in soft-touch velvets, elevated with signature embroideries. Whether worn together or styled separately, these effortlessly cool co-ords are set to become the hero pieces of our AW18 wardrobes.
