Sadiq Khan sat front row at Molly Goddard’s show. Credit to him for sparing the time out from the difficult discussions he must be having about London’s security in the wake of the Parsons Green tube bombing. Theresa May has raised the threat level to critical, suggesting an attack is imminent. It’s a strange time to care about clothes, some would argue. But then Khan is smart to take fashion seriously - the industry's contribution to the British economy is an estimated £26 billion (for reference, that's twice the size of the car industry’s). But fashion plays another important role - it inspires, cheers and amuses. It can offer epic fantasy and light relief. Molly Goddard’s good at providing something between the two. No show was more cheerful than this - a real crowd pleaser. Afterwards, Khan, whose daughters are fans of the brand, informed us press that we must 'carry on being the resilient city we are. Business as usual.'
That spirit chimed well with the cartoonishly care-free attitude on show at Goddard’s show. The premise was about letting go. The show notes read, 'My doctor told me to watch my drinking. Now I drink in front of a mirror.' How droll. This season the Goddard girl was 'on her way to a gallery opening and then for a steak.' Sure, suitably posh pastimes for the well-heeled Goddard girl, but the broader point was about being relaxed, comfortable, even a touch inappropriate. There is space to be all those things in a Goddard frock - quite literally. Those layers upon layers and frills and flounces are forgiving. This season Goddard eschewed the usual meters and meters of tulle in favour of cotton. She said backstage that she must have designed thousands of garments to get to the 25 that felt right. In the end she settled on simplicity - she wanted to slow things down and get rid of bells and whistles. That ethos informed the set - models stopped and posed on three separate plinths, taking their time so we could really see the clothes. They giggled and smiled as they struck theatrical poses. It felt like a fashion show from a past age - a reminder of what fashion can and should be when pace and pressures are briefly forgotten.
