Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos took on none other than El Greco today. These two are definitely not resting on their laurels anytime soon then. The Greek/Spanish master's colour palette reigns supreme - nobody can match his moody blue skies, the green of his landscapes or the vermillion red of his cloth. And yet, these two came pretty close this morning when they, rather fittingly, showed in the Tate Modern. You could go as far as to say that they did match it indeed but out of reverence for old Greco let’s not. Their collection never lost focus and at no point did it feel costumey - it was modern, desirable and rich in colour, texture and ideas. In fact, let’s not sit on the fence here, it was their most accomplished to date.
The bright red of the opening look, a cropped boxy jacket over a skirt sitting high on the waist, was a nod to the Renaissance master (so were the monastic white ruffled collars peeking through) and one of the most memorable looks we’ve seen all week. Most looks were paired with patent black brogues, which grounded this collection to the here and now making it feel utterly modern and relevant. The 3D print applications on the pockets of three roomy wool coats, one in red, another in mustard and the last in grey, had an otherworldliness about them and they appeared throughout the show, mostly on dresses with classic Peter Pilotto print collages. The Puffa jackets that followed came cropped with stained glass prints. A pair of slouchy blue and black trousers teamed with a big, net-like knit or a cropped leather jacket showed Pilotto and de Vos playing with tailoring and proportions in ways they didn’t do before. They also pumped up the lux factor with their eveningwear – the super soft glistening black pony skin on a cropped jacket with leather lacing begged for a feel. Powerful, evocative and so so cool – they’ve raised the bar yet again.
