Walking into Maticevski’s show had a similar effect to my first visit to the Guggenheim museum – the sense of astonishment and an almost physical happiness. The show was set against an intimidatingly large, white latticed backdrop and his collection involved predominantly occasion pieces impeccably presented in layers of cotton linen, mesh and tulle mixed with his signature sporty neoprene and exposed zippers, all in abstract and futuristic silhouettes. Maticevski’s collaboration with stylist Jolyon Mason has reached its strongest point yet this season with a ladylike refinement to the usually heavy layering. Models walked holding orbs of flowers grafted together to create new breeds – #futureflowers – to music by Tim Harvey, which started slowly with whale calls then moved with unexpected ease to pop tracks from the likes of Taylor Swift.
Maticevski’s colour palette moved from white through pastel into severe and futuristic metallic. A touch Wes Anderson, Toni did not try to hide his show sponsorship, rather sent his models down the runway holding Lenovo tablets which screened the show back to the audience from an opposing perspective. A comment on surveillance perhaps?
Another highlight from day three at MBFWA was the ever romantic Michael Lo Sordo. Like Maticevski, Lo Sordo played with femininity and structure marrying the two seamlessly with fluent pleats and dramatic draping.
Tricky layers and draping all fell away at Alice McCall, who sent out a sweet collection with her signature cropped everything. The strongest point of her show was the perfectly bent and ended hair by hairstylist Jenny Kim and the bold eye created for the collection by Victoria Baron.
Credits
Text Britt McCamey
Photography Hannah Scott-Stevenson