Tapping into the senses, Richard Nicoll went straight to the one that is perhaps most neglected at a fashion show: smell. Loaded with two bottles of eau du parfum, one in each hand, a man plumed the line of the runway with a deep aromatic scent. Leaving a subtle note for the models that followed to glide through and disperse.
For Spring Summer 2011 Nicoll turned to “minimal glamour, cautious celebration and the emergence from a period of darkness” as the linchpin of an incredibly bewitching collection. The sense of sight was satisfied with lean lines, approachable transparency (top marks!) and a minx-like movement; all of which were framed in the last light of the setting sun outside.
Through a controlled mix of pleated organza frills, lightweight boucle wools, cool cottons and silk chiffon one got an instant sense of a privileged touch, without any over-indulgence, that so often follows fashion at this level.
Jean Young kept the sense of sound occupied with a smooth mix of rolling music, to which each model walked in pace with.
And apart from the h’ordeuvres and champagne on arrival, our sense of taste was satisfied in the thought that this devouringly delicious collection is a just a taste of what’s to come upon getting the experience to actually wear it.
By Scott Stephenson