From an artist to another.
Burberry’s F/W 2014 Pret-a-porter collection entitled A Painterly Journey, was Christopher Bailey’s testament to art versus commercialism. The artistic influence could be seen throughout the garments and was derived from Bailey’s personal faves, Lucian Freud, Ben Nicholson, Duncan Grant, as well as Christopher Wood. Bailey’s creative heroes served as a roll call of many of the great British bohemian artists of the 20th century: men much revered for their creativity, vision and social prowess as beacons of business and financial savvy.
Fisherman’s rib cardigans were worn over string vests, a combination Bailey adopted from the sweater worn by a Cornish fisherman in one of Wood’s paintings. A mix of earthy, autumnal countryside shades with clear, sharp brights seemed to echo the palette in a Duncan Grant painting. Motifs of London landmarks such as St. Paul’s Cathedral rendered in knit intarsia were among the recurring motifs in the show. Cheeky silk shirts printed with hand-drawn maps of London streets provided an otherwise commercial angle to the collection. These silk pieces served as a counterweight to the playful furry coats and extravagant hand-painted carpet bags, which provided a pleasing catwalk mise en scène, but was received as a little unusual for the mainstream fashion press.
“I love the idea that there will be all these little pieces of London, all over the world,” said Bailey when asked about these motifs.
For the catwalk finale, all models were wrapped in patterned blankets with camel, grey, purple and red hues. On a Burberry catwalk, any check will always be referred to as the beige “plaid-check”, synonym of Burberry and its more mainstream aesthetic, but the sophisticated color-blocking was closer to the abstract paintings of Nicholson, whose softly colorful graphics were influenced by those of his friend Piet Mondrian.
“Design is the expression of a point of view.” said Bailey backstage afterwards, we wholeheartedly agree.
