Something poignant occurred while waiting in line for the Prophetik show on Friday. An elderly homeless gentleman was pushing a cart (containing his home basically) along the pavement past the Vauxhall venue. He was wheeling past us and was brought to a halt by a group blocking his way. The man had to wait several minutes while bloggers and photographers were trying to photograph one person dripping with labels and oozing style and another dressed in head to toe sequins and PVC, they hadn’t noticed him pull up next to them. If the situation hadn’t turned my stomach as it did I would have taken a photo, just to show you how demented the scene really looked (has anyone read the book Tomas??)
It made me think - why on earth are we celebrating one person's overt use of plastic and double sided tape and anothers ability to kit themselves out in Balenciaga and Bottega Vanetta, while this man has one pair of pants and no where to live? Sometimes a little perspective is a good thing and although I don’t think we need to feel guilty about celebrating good design and loving a bit of boundary pushing imagery, sometimes we need to be able to look past the rims of our (albeit gorgeous) Tom Ford sunglasses and see that though it is fashion week, the world still turns and it isn’t glamourous for everybody. Maybe fashion week is a good time to celebrate the trade but also to make a little difference too, and that’s what I love about Jeff Garner and his ethical lifestyle brand Prophetik.
We had run straight from Jena.Theo so didn’t have the opportunity to fight for a coveted spot worthy of good photo’s so we settled for a pew behind the fiesty and fab fashion editor Hilary Alexander in a feathered ruff.
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| Hilary Alexander looking on |
Prophetik shows always top my list of favourites not only because I believe in the mission of the brand and love the clothes but because they always put on an amazing show... The lights dimmed and the most beautiful song began to play. Can someone please tell me what it was?!(quite slow, man singing?? I couldn't take pictures and Shazam at the same time..) And then out of nowhere, fierce and highly acclaimed violinist Analiza Ching dove onto the catwalk and thrashed out an amazing performance before Benjamin Ellin and his orchestra began to rumble and the models emerged.
Artist Wonderment was this years theme and was inspired by the court of Louise XV, when art become frivolous and diseased of romantic snobbery. The silhouettes were delicious and elegant and I will direct you to Vogue's photo's so you can fully see the ostentatious beauty head on. The show was styled by Rebekah Roy who did a superb job of capturing the mood and telling the story. The ethereal hair had me tugging at my own lacklustre locks, willing them to grow so I could mimic the fantastical women (and men actually) before me. The accessories were a collaboration between Prophetik and Dotted Loop and the wicked vegetable tanned leather shoes were co-designed by Jeff Garner and Rafi of L.A. based sustainable shoe label CYDWOQ.
The artists palette contained all natural and plant based colours of white, black, chainmail, plum, violet, deep scarlet and burgundy and the garments were composed of lush eco friendly ripped silks, organic velour, hemp and a new fabric of cactus silk. A 150 year old quilt handed down by Garners gran Lola and a bedspread he slept under as a child were also used to make up the rich tapestry of the collection. (Yes seriously... Where can I buy??)
The finale piece was a breathtaking white floor length gown of silk and silk organza adorned with hand-sewn ostrich feathers (naturally shed and then collected). I have phoned and harassed the boyfriends of all of my unmarried friends in hopes that someone I know can float down the aisle in this dress...
We loved this show, we loved this collection and we love Jeff Garner, who when he is not designing spends his time surfing and writing poetry. Awesome - Nuff said.
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