This spring is bursting with promise — a host of exciting new fashion collaborations which, with the easing of lockdown restrictions on the horizon, have the opportunity to be worn and seen beyond the four walls of your own house. This season’s new releases see brands fully embrace the joy and new beginnings spring represents, from Gucci’s Pop Art floral collection made using archival designs by Ken Scott, to The Vampire’s Wife’s shimmering dresses worn by members of The Royal Ballet. Here, we’ve rounded up the most covetable new fashion collaborations to know.
Designer Suzie Cave has long been inspired by the ballet, frequently citing the travelling Parisian company Ballet Russes as an influence on her gothic romantic designs. Missing the magic of live ballet performances, The Vampire’s Wife designer invited members of The Royal Ballet to pick one of her feminine, whimsical designs and filmed them performing a short dance in them against a backdrop of dusty pink theatre curtains. The clips show the dresses at their best, from the shimmering emerald Falconetti once worn by the Duchess of Cambridge to the iridescent silver Sky Rocket dress, caught elegantly moving with each of the ballerina’s twists and turns. The shoot is only the beginning — a Royal Ballet capsule collection will also be released this year to raise funds for the historic institution.
The British designer, famed for his exuberant floral designs paired with dominatrix-esque PVC, has partnered with MatchesFashion to create an exclusive sleepwear line. Crafted in his London studio from silk satin, the collection sees Quinn’s characteristic vintage-inspired floral and leopard prints adapted into a luxe line of matching pyjama sets and robes. A playful blend of classic styles with Quinn’s twist on floral designs, the collection includes pink rose motifs over a black and white polka dot set and a joyful burst of yellow blooms over black with matching yellow cuffs on the sleeves and bottoms. For a more dramatic nightwear choice, there’s the multicoloured floral set trimmed with ostrich flowers, creating an outfit that would look as good outdoors as in the bedroom.
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Fashion Campaigns
Part of the label’s Epilogue collection, the brand’s latest collaboration sees Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michelle put the spotlight on an overlooked contributor to Italian fashion, Ken Scott. In the Sixties and Seventies, the American-born, Milan-based designer was dubbed “Fashion’s Gardener,” creating bright, floral prints in Pop Art colours that were beloved by the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy and Brigitte Bardot. In homage, Michelle — who has often leaned into the Seventies style for his Gucci collections — has used Scott’s spring-appropriate floral designs in an extensive collection of clothing and accessories, ranging from A-line skirts to tailored blazers. A number of Gucci’s signature pieces have also been rereleased in the archival patterns, including the Jackie 1961 and Dionysus handbags, as well as the Princeton and Jordaan loafers.
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Designer Rei Kawakubo, who created the Comme des Garçons label and Dover Street Market stores, has created the label’s first fine jewelry capsule collection with Mikimoto pearls. The collection is a meeting of two disruptive Japanese brands — Kawakubo created an avant garde label and shop, and Mikimoto created the world’s first cultured pearls. From simple loops of pearls to versions adorned with oversized silver safety pins or silver sharks teeth shapes, it’s a striking combination of the classic and the modern.
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Ganni and Levi’s have released their second denim collaboration this season, featuring 14 sustainable designs. Made with cottonized hemp, which uses far less water and pesticides, the reimagined Levi’s classics put Ganni’s popular Scandi spin on the Americana styles. From oversized denim shirts with a peter pan collar to white boyfriend jeans with a floral motif, the collection is a playful and stylish blend of the best elements of each brand. One particular piece that’s sure to be seen in plenty of Instagram posts is the white off-the-shoulder denim jacket, with a light floral print and corseted style that gives it an elegant shape.
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The footwear label famed for its sheepskin boots that have been worn by everyone from Sienna Miller to Kate Moss has been going through something of a reinvention recently by collaborating with some of the most exciting names in fashion. Following partnerships with Andre Leon Talley and Telfar Clemens, this season Ugg is teaming up with British designer Molly Goddard. The bold designer has brought her maximalist flair to the collection, which reimagines Ugg classics by playing with colour, textile and proportion, the same principles that are central to Goddard’s approach to clothing. The collection comprises three footwear styles — the classic black mini boot updated with a cream floral motif, slip-ons in vibrant primary colours with platform heel and given a platform heel and ultra-feminine fluffy slippers in pink and crimson. Styled on Goddard’s SS21 runway with tartan cotton skirts and romantic tulle skirts, the Ugg shoes promise to be both stylish and cosy.
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