POP 747 Tuesday 8 November 2011

Today’s POP is Rachel, wishing for a Greek deity’s power in season control.

 
 
 
 
Here I was, settling into Autumn like a pair of downy slipper socks before Ostwald Helgason’s SS12 collection came along and now the anticipation of Spring is niggling before the falling leaves have barely hit the ground…
 
 

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For the upcoming season, London-based design duo Susanne Ostwald and Ingvar Helgason forage for fresh takes on amalgamating naturalist materials with modern technique. The collection excels in its pursuit of novel combinations: expediting through multiple layers of pressed flowers to sun-bleached effects for inspiration for their print processes. It is not surprising then, considering the fervour of their approach, that the torn out pages of famed children’s author Rudyard Kipling (whose works include The Jungle Book) as well as naturalist and explorer Alexander Von Humboldt’s botanical specimens provided stimulus for their Spring/Summer collection.
 
 
They acknowledge traditional elements of tailoring in their re-appropriation of work wear – combining classic pieces such as their sea salt chinos and structured jackets with asymmetrically draped jersey skirts and a selection of white collarless shirts. Their playful accessories line, created in collaboration with London based milliner Noel Stewart, are also completely drool-worthy.
Like the sun-bleached effect of an old novel left forgotten on a southward-facing window ledge; Ostwald Helgason’s collection reminds me of the gradual and creeping effect of nature and its temporal glow. The emergence of warmer weather come Spring couldn’t warrant a more fitting collection to materialise in.
 
 
Ostwald Helgason is stocked in Browns Focus in London, Opening Ceremony in NYC and LA and K3 in Tokyo, to name but a few.
 

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http://www.ostwaldhelgason.com/
 
Words: Rachel Miles

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