An epic, medieval fantasy
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Inspired by 'the visual art of script and its translation onto the body', Marios Schwab tonight presented a rapt audience with a gothic fairy tale for autumn/winter 2013.
He worked in collaboration with Tunisian artist Nja Mahdaoui to riff on the idea of callilograms - the lingusistic structure of poetry transposed into visual form, if you please - for a dramatic collection of dresses wrought with medieval elegance.
Wearing a pale pink mini dress emblazoned with callilographic patterns and obscured by a long wool cape, the first model out cut a ghostly figure in the spotlight. The silhouette was long, languorous: PVC coats overlaid with scrollwork came belted over dresses with ruff-like collars, and skirts were slashed through one side to the waist, revealing a longer-line top beneath. The shoes, a second-season link-up with Ancient Greek Sandals, gave a us a knee-length Gladiator-style boot that only served to underline a warrior-queen message.
And it was with her gown that Schwab really hit his stride.
They came as ethereal, sheer skirts smattered with Swarovski crystals swishing out from structured satin mini-style dresses or sombre, red velvet ones. One look saw the model shrouded in a conservative lilac overlay, completely see-through, save for what looked like fragmented pieces of mirror.
The golden ticket were the velvet finale dresses - so precise in their slim cut and plunging to the waist, finished with ornate gold plate. If we don't see one on a red carpet soon, it will be a travesty.
