Show Report
Reminiscent of a bombasted and padded medieval pourpoint, it was hard to picture them segueing into modern life.
Last season, it was Peter Pilotto who showed in the back-to-back early morning slot reserved for up-and-coming talent to watch - graduating from off schedule, to on schedule, to their own defined place on the schedule has been an uphill struggle, it seems. Still, their armorial print dresses of last season, inspired by mineral imagery held in the collection of the Natural History Museum, won plaudits and, importantly, stockists for the duo of Christopher de Vos and the eponymous Pilotto. For Autumn/Winter they showed more of the same, with a collection inspired by optimistic ecological new beginnings and accordingly decorated with pixilated naturalistic patterns. This was their strong point, particularly in their short and sweet party dresses, draped, trussed and wrapped taut around the figure in jewel-like tones of chrysophrase green, cobalt and sulphur yellow. When the extra fabric was kept to a stylish minimum, things were good: the boys talked about toughening up in their show notes, and there was a hard-edged eighties feel to asymmetric dresses in blurred, bubbling prints of molten burgundy, scarlet and black. This was a section inspired by volcanic eruptions, which perhaps explains the not-so-hot lava flows of fabric thickening hips, with baggy protrusions and fluid fins of fabric. Interesting and edgy certainly, but exactly how that polonaised bulk of material will favour in the real world is anyone's guess. Ditto the armorial influence, taken quite seriously in the form of heavily crusted embroidery, chunky sheepskin thigh-boots and bulky cocoon-cut coats with a curvature to the shoulder. Reminiscent of a bombasted and padded medieval pourpoint, it was hard to picture them segueing into modern life. Despite their promotion to a new timeslot new timeslot, it felt as if Peter Pilotto have unresolved off-schedule and even undergraduate kinks to be ironed out before they can stand firmly on their own.
