Wednesday, June 18, 2014

BEAUTY: Clothing--Burberry

Christopher Bailey was inspired by an absolutely fascinating person for his Spring/Summer '15 collection at London Collections: Men. The celebrated British novelist, travel writer, and adventurer Bruce Chatwin's explorations of South America (read his book IN PATAGONIA) and Africa served as a springboard for a rich collection of sumptuous clothing to be worn and taken on treks, hikes, and walkabouts of all sorts. A rich, earthy color palette was punctuated with lime green and orange. All models wore the kind of floppy hat Chatwin favored...and looked a bit like Paddington fresh off the boat from deepest, darkest Peru. Beautiful leather satchels in a wide array of colors, and embellished with the words "Adventure!" and "Exploration!" referred to Chatwin's leather rucksack that circled the globe with him. And in a reference to literature, the covers of vintage volumes with names such as THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH TAILORING, which Bailey picked up in flea markets, adorn tee shirts.




The camera work for the show was pretty amazing. Benjamin Clementine on piano.

And here is the real Bruce Chatwin. Below from left to right: a portrait of Bruce Chatwin (with trusty leather rucksack and hiking boots) by Lord Snowden that is in the National Portrait Gallery in London, Chatwin photographed by legendary and infamous artist Robert Mapplethorpe, and Chatwin wearing his useful floppy hat.


And ya gotta love this image of Chatwin reading the decadent author Joris-Karl Huysmans' book LA BAS in the train station in Benin, Africa.


Chatwin died January 18, 1989 (aged 48) in Nice, France from AIDS related complications.

http://burberry.com

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