By Olivia Sayers
Net-a-Porter heroes Aminaka Löfvander and Marcus Wilmont give their names (and talent) to their design house Aminaka Wilmont. Their Spring/Summer 2012 collection was inspired by “Midsummer, changelings, the Hayflick limit and photographs by the artist Ori Gersht.” We won’t pretend to completely understand this briefing, but we can report that they put on a cracking show. The event took place in the main BFC show space at Somerset House, and was refreshingly prompt and well organised. This was no mean feat considering the glamorous chaos surrounding the rest of the venue as it was gearing up for the post-London Fashion Week cleanup project. Our eyes were on stalks as we kept being unable to fit into lift after lift because they were crammed with rails of sample size, headline-grabbing costumes, all being ushered into swanky blacked-out lorries. We wish our transport between shows was as thrilling.
But back to the show: so, we were already in a good mood because it was on time and well ventilated. Spirits were lifted even higher by the matching crimped blond manes which came swishing down the catwalk, which - would you believe it - had no ‘80s disco connotations whatsoever. This is a triumph in itself, as anyone who has read that crimping is ‘back’ and tried it at home to ill-effect will surely agree.
The Aminaka Wilmont clothes were not immediately breathtaking. The palette was predominately grey, and there was a futuristic floral patterning vibe going on. Things got exciting when a black sheer shirt dress appeared which was an irreverent juxtaposition of formality and frivolous seductiveness. What we were really looking at, though, was the pants. High-waisted and from what we could see through the gauzy dress material, they seemed to have that same geometric space-like flower pattern that we’d seen before. The last couple of pieces were also fab: gauzy swimming costume-type ensembles with armour-like shoulders and wrist straps. Oh and some kitsch 3D butterflies were hovering around the bodice area.
Aminaka Wilmont is not for everyone, but it is for Handbag.com, and we’re glad to see that this year’s prominent show has put them firmly on the fashion insiders’ radar.
