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14International Herald Tribune
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 Fash ion
Feting an unsung fashion heroBy Suzy Menkes
LO N D O N
An unsung fashion hero has fi-nally been recognized as
Mi-chaelRoberts, illustrator, edit-
or, style director and maverick takeshis book on tour. On
Tuesday, Bur-berry will fete the British-bornRoberts, whose
trajectory from artschool in High Wycombe in 1968 tothe swinging
London world of Carn-abyStreet and KingsRoad, to fashioneditor of
The Sunday Times andtodays roleat the New Yorker,was
asarrow-straight as the graphic lines inhis illustrated book.
TheSnippy World of New YorkerFashion Artist Michael Roberts,
pub-lished by Steid/Edition 7L, tells thestory in its title. It is
both an intricateassemblage of collages, done, saysRoberts mostly
in hotel rooms; anda wry and sometimes scissor-sharptake on the
world of style.You wouldhave to look to Cecil Beatons very
dif-ferent decorative sketches to findsomeone with such a beady eye
forwhat makes style. Even the sky-scrapersof New York take on a
dizzy
geometric glamour, as Roberts fixeseach image in the context of
its t ime.
The definition of an outsider, theperipatetic Roberts, who says
thereis nowhere I can safely say Id lay myhat and call it home, was
born of a St.Lucian mother and was jolted out ofsuburban Britain
bywi nning a schol-arship and a trip to New York wherehe met
everyone who counted in1960s style from Andy Warholthrough R ichard
Avedon.
His career was propelled by twowomen: first Molly Parkin, an
eccent-ric and original editor at The SundayTimes, and then Tina
Brown, whomade him central to her 1980smakeoverof the
socialmagazineTheTatler.
Add to that roster Janey Ironside,the iconic head of Londons
RoyalCollege of Art, who had also spottedRobertss talent and Vogue
supremeAnna Wintour.
Roberts describes the frenziedTatler years, when celebrity was
justbeginning to vibrate in magazinesand Roberts left messages in
shoeboxes at Manolos shop to woo sta rsand royalty to be
photographed for itspages. Haute cobbler Manolo Blahnikis yet
another admirer and supporter
as is Karl Lagerfeld, whose imprinthas published the book.
Karl goes way back we first metin the early 70s when he had just
sta r-ted at Chlo, when he showed in therestaurant Laurent and the
hats weretwo m ete rs w id e an d the re w asKenzo, Loulou [de la
Falaise] and Pa-loma [Picasso], he says.
At fashions epicenter, yet alwaysalone observer, Roberts has a
uniqueinsight into the fashionable world,which he reduces, like
Cocteau, to afew sparing lines. NewYork featureslarge, although he
is ambivalentabout its attractions.
I feel most attracted and repelledabout New York, he says. There
isno strong guiding aesthetic. Every-thing is for the moment.
The respect that Roberts hasearned, without ever being a
fashionpower broker, is proved by the factthat, as well the
Burberry event, Berg-dorf Goodman launched the book inNew York last
week and Tods willgive it a sendoff during the Milanshows. Since
Roberts is a fine andsharp writer, what about a words,rather than a
picture book?
I am leaving that to Rupert Everettwho is doing his kiss and
tell mem-
oirs! Roberts said. Ill keep mysecret s.
Suzy Menkes/International Herald Tribune
A self-portrait of the stylish Michael Roberts adorns the cover
of his book, a wry look at the fashion world. At right, the
designer.
From Macdonald, tropical glitz;at Elspeth Gibson, easy
sweetness
By Jessica Michault
LO N D O N
On Sunday the Welsh designer Ju-lien Macdonald started off
Lon-don Fashion Week with a show
that is sure to keep the fans of his trade-mark glitz and
glamour dresses very
happy. With his sponsor Swarovskisupplying the shimmering
crystals, thedesigner splashed out on sparkly trop-ical prints in
warm weather colors offlamingo pink, turquoise, purple andemerald
green.
Flouncy-tiered skirts worn withrope-tasseled sandals and
chunkywooden bracelets gave the show a fes-tive south of the
borderfeel while theracy swimwear is suitable for sun-bathing only.
As always the knitwearwas executed with a deft hand, a greenand
white stripped ensemble was a par-ticularstandout. And
foreveningtherewere plenty of Macdonalds sexy,slinky gowns with
feathers floatingfrom the hem. But while the ruffledchecked taffeta
dresses might be a bitmuch even for Miss Piggy (who was sit-ting in
the front row), the white strap-less cocktail dress with the powder
puffskirt of laser-cut tul le flowers would bea perfect choice for
any young in-g nue .
Celebrating the 10th anniversary ofher line, Elspeth Gibson
stuck to whatshe does best, sugar sweet clothing fit
fora modern-day princess. After offer-ing up tea and cakes to a
fa mished fash-ion crowd, the designer opened hershow with a dress
that set the tone forthe collection. It was a deceptivelysimple
white satin dress enveloped inchartreuse nettingthat at once
lookedfeminine and contemporary.
Overall the collection had a sense ofcomfort and ease. The nubby
pinksweater with a sprinkling of paillettesacross the shoulder with
matchingshorts and the lacy shoulder straps on asimple white cotton
T-shirt conveyed arelaxed femininity. And a straplessmint green
dress with a copper tulleoverlay in a coin-dot pattern was
bothwhimsical and sophisticated. Thechoice of metallic-colored
fabrics andbeading gave the eveningwear moreweight and a bit of an
edge. But with thefinal gown, Gibson showed her wittyside by making
the ultimate cocktaildress in a floor-length dove gray cre-ation
with embroidery in the form ofsparkling cocktail glasses.
The British designer AmandaWakelys spring/summer
collectionwasall about quiet comfort. From thefree-flowingtunics in
a sea grassprintto the wide silk pants these wereclothes made to
not only look good, butfeel good. The soft neutral palette ofolive,
blush pink, and cream helpedgive the clothes an unobtrusive
quality.Key pieces included a leather jacket
with the sleeves ruched up to give theimpression of ripples in a
still pool anda suede zigzag two-tone coffee andcream halter dress
that hit just t he rightnote. A running theme throughout theshow
was a wrapping of the torso. Thiscame in the form of wraparound,
beltedkimono-sleeved jackets and pleated
olive chiffondresses tied up in silk rib-bons that gave a
glimpse, through thefolds of the translucent skirt, of thepink
underskirt hiding beneath.
To the sounds of a rising rainstorm,the Danish designer Jens
Laugesen sentout an androgynous collection thatseemed to want to
capture and encasethefemale form. Be it a soft white cot-ton dress
cocooned in a tulle overlay, awide beltslipping through the sides
ofa jersey top to encircle a waist or a cor-set cinched tight over
pants.
In a collection of mostly black andwhite clothing,Laugesen also
returnedto a favorite subject, sending out amyriad of
interpretations of the tuxedojacket from a cape with a pair
ofhigh-waisted pants to a top whittleddown to just the lapels over
a shortskirt. The designer also played with theidea of layering, by
folding the clothingbackon itself as if peelingoff a layer toexpose
the fragile underbelly of theclothing below.
Jessica Michault is on the staff of theInternational Herald
Tribune.
MilanoTel+3902546701
JULIEN MACDONALD AMAN DA WAKELEY
ELSPETH GIBSON JENS LAUGESENPhotographs by Christopher
Moore/Andrew Thomas
