London backs ’6os fashion revival

Press, 2 November 1981, Page 14

London backs ’6os fashion revival

ANGUS STEWART

looks at the European

fashion scene for “The Press.” His London view — bright and breezy.

Poor trade and depressing forecasts from economists prevail here, but London’s fashion designers have shed their cares. ‘ , ; . Not for many years have the new styles been so young and light-hearted. The late nineteenth century exhibition complex at Olympia is itself a joyful harbinger of optimistic spring. Apple blossom and bright yellow foretell - a kinder climate, both in: terms of weather and the latest showing of , ready-to-wear fashion. In front, even of the young, is Miz; a well established company with designs by Jane Whiteside. Miz is one of the’ first .emphatic users of black with silver, black with.gold, and black with cream. The Miz collection has brocades, cottons, moire and fine cord. The signposts say complicated fabric decoration with the omnipresent glitter of lurex or metallic thread. Well defined and strong colours are used by Malcolm Parsons in a vivid indigo skirt worn with -a multicoloured jacket — a Jacob’s coat effect of bright pink, emerald green, deep mauve and deep blue.

; Confidence in colour < makes the tones strident. ; Everywhere there is red, I bright as a fire engine; and blue, clear and heat hazy; i strong yellow, and a sharp,’ ; fresh green. Zandra Rhodes, normally extravagant with colour, has tipped the scales into light- : ness. Her baby, baby pinks, : blues and yellows wander I together softly on chiffon. Elaborately fashioned : clothes, with huge printing . effects 1 edged with tiny ■ beads, it is a reticent collection in terms of colour, but , bold in design. I Her ball dresses are elaborate, with feminine jewels and embroidery. Brief mini . dresses are almost drawn under sweeping collars which I stand out. wider than the : natural shoulder line. v Ally Capellino has moved from a tentative grasp of street fashion firmly into the i front rank. Her collection for : spring ’B2 is sporty in the true sense of that over-used ; word. i Mainly white, in very crisp > pure cotton, the smart • dresses, skirts and trousers ; are topped with sky blue, , unstructured, jackets, or but- : tercup yellow oyer-shirts in silk.

For those with a more retiring taste, but the wit to want recognisable fashion, Ally Capellino has sports suits — jackets and trousers, -or jackets and skirts — in finely striped ticking, cotwidth stripes rather than bed-sized.

Also stressing the appropriateness of white is Michael Geary, who has the most delicious range of fresh “afternoon” dresses. White on black, white on navy, navy on white, or black on white; the shapes are simple, the details — white pique collars and neat cuffs. These are clothes the Queen wore as a young woman; designs that are suitable for the young girl of next year, who will go from raffia beach wear (from Swanky Modes,, fortunately lined) to. near traditional formality. Stripes are everywhere, as popular as the floral prints, but quieter and’ less obtrusive. Masterly control of striping is evidenced by

Betty Jackson who plays with them in red, white and navy, and Miz, who uses a darker mix, (black, grey and white, or, grey, white and pink) and Rory West whose collection is entirely in stripes, in three variants: oyster-toned wild silk; a combination of sage, caramel, marigold and mud; and an ox blood red linked with gold. •. Moving with great precision into the less expensive segment of the market, but in perfect tune with fashion, are Plaza. Their colours are red, black and white and to underline the point, all over their stand at Olympia are carnations, red and white, in black vases.

Plaza import garments from Portugal, where they can buy keenly. They have an exciting and lively range designed by Shelagh Brown, who was formerly famous for expensive and beautifully made gowns comparable with the best of those now

[ working impressive with insets of woven fabric on knits, r or white patching on black. - Red t-shirts are striped with ; broken lines of lurex. Black t-shirts are studded with i minute circles of steel. 5 The Plaza clothes are exj actly what an energetic, off- - duty Princess would wear. If j the summer of 1982 is as j warm as .everyone hopes, j there will be fun, parties and j an easy-going formality — 7 always young-at-heart.

worn by the Princess of Wales. It would be true to say that the Princess is the inheritor of Shelagh Brown's style. For Plaza. Shelagh Brown has produced a range that is concise,, and a complete wardrobe for the mass multiple. The skirts are short, the shorts too; the tops are sporty and easy fitting, the jackets softly shapeless, the attention to style and tiny