Designer A-Z

Louise Gray

Autumn/Winter 2012

SHOW SCHEDULES

By Laura Weir

Shock horror Louise Gray does bonkers - but this collection was way more than just wacky.

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The feeling from the London shows thus far is that it's the clothing that has done the loudest talking.

From the likes of Richard Nicoll and Tom Ford opting for intimate presentations rather than full-scale shows, to those designers who have swapped the showboating for print and colour to help them turn up the volume. Autumn 12 it seems, is all about the craft.

When it comes to Louise Gray, this designer is never going to showcase quietly, her multifarious creative mind will not permit it, and her autumn 12 show was fun. And it was clever.

Gray’s bountiful prints weren’t short of stunning. A sublime mash-up of Basquiat printed scrawls on cropped jackets and pencil skirts, geometric brocade, and swirls and zig-zags of colour that bled and churned on torn shifts. And those black and yellow boots - all of which put the audience in a tweeting frenzy.

Louise Gray can be relied upon to inject any show day with her signature exuberance and this season the handle that this Fashion Forward winner has on her craft spoke volumes.