Ann-Sofie Back Atelje

GIVEN that this was Ann-Sofie Back and given that last season’s collection was inspired by porn, we couldn’t help but wonder what lay in store for us at the designer’s salon show today – especially as the show notes told us that autumn/winter 2011-12 was a continuation of this theme. But then again, this was Back’s new and rebranded mainline, Ann-Sofie Back Atelje – a sophisticated take on her usual humourous and quirky style. And so, in reality, what she gave us was a collection of grown-up and evening appropriate looks inspired by the design of cars – the speed and shape associated with them and as such their resulting objectification and consumption, essentially another strand of her porn story. So we had chrome details in the shape of jacket points, dress straps, bag handles and cropped trouser fronts. In pearlescent shades – diffused with turquoise to represent bug splatters – models took to Somerset House’s Portico Rooms in a figure of eight, taking their time to show off the shape and texture of the clothes – one imagines just as a car obsessive might. The show notes elaborated that “this time the attention is turned to the idea of porn as consumption, more specifically looking at the way in which men look at cars in the same way they look at porn”. So here silhouettes were discreetly sculpted, there was a sense of Nineties minimalism through the roll-neck tops tucked into sleek trousers and the neatly buttoned-up sheer blouses, while long gowns were stiff and featured waists half encircled by the same chrome and metallic details that anchored the trousers and jacket bottoms. It was serene and calm from Sofie and built on last season’s new mood. SEE THE ANN-SOFIE BACK ATELJE SHOW ARCHIVE Jessica Bumpus2038

Ann-Sofie Back Atelje