Basso & Brooke Press Release A/W 11

“What a compendium of desires – contrasting, contradictory; impacted, immobilizing.
The desire to escape from a merely human appearance: to be an animal, not a person, an object (stone? wood? metal? cloth?),
not a person; to be done with personhood…
The desire to be emblematic, to become image; artifact; art; form…
The desire to become fully visible, to be seen… The desire to hide, to be camouflaged.”

–     Susan Sontag, Introduction to ‘Veruschka, Trans-figurations’, 1986

For as long as humankind has possessed the ability to reason, its foremost thinkers and creators have grappled with the ‘eternal’ dichotomies – between darkness and light, real and unreal, excess and restraint – between the bird and the wall:  It is at these crossroads the journey that is Basso & Brooke’s A/W 2011 collection begins…

So first, we have the structure: Clean, modern lines – a soft, chic silhouette. The references: classic, tailored, modest.The order, the reason. Wearable, repeatedly. Then, the segue – first a hint, finally at centre-stage – into the freedom, the flourish, the un-structure: deft touches of drapery creep steadily in, jacket lapels start to curve, pleats plume and hemlines widen, until finally, the fullness of fluidity, the billowing of bohemia, is revealed…

Camouflage. Worn by the hunter and the hunted. Technically ‘crypsis’ (hiding), but once moved more liable to stand out?  This collection sees Basso & Brooke testing the concept and creation of camouflage to its fullest extent.  Firstly, in a palette of autumnal hues, we have a play on ‘classic’ camouflage shapes, only constructed, subtly, from fragments and flashes of birds – a floating feather, a swish of a wing.  Then we get camouflage meltdown, in inorganic form: protective prints of oxidising metals, peeling paints and crumbling concrete. Finally, the dichotomy becomes symbiosis and these two strands collide: flight and foundation – the bird and the wall.  Inspired in part by the seminal work of model Veruschka and make-up artist Holger Trulzsch in their cult book ‘Trans-figurations’ (Thames & Hudson), and by the later works of German painter Gerhard Richter, the end result is camouflage – ‘cryptic colouration’ – in its truest essence.

Fabrics include double wool crepe, silk jerseys, silk wool suiting, pure wool and double georgette. Complementing the fundamental simplicity of the collection, the hair and make-up both offer an almost platonic vision of beauty. The hair, by TIGI, is classically inspired, yet seductive and modern, allowing the natural health of the hair to shine through. The make-up, by MAC, is fresh and refreshing, with neutral tones and nude lips accented by a subtle touch of vivid colours – hot pink, bright red, radiant orange – on the upper eyelashes.

Ends

Press release by Steve Slocombe

CREDITS

Production
Bacchus

Styling
Namalee Bolle

Casting
Shaun Beyen

Soundtrack Producer
Peter Stevenson

Make –up
Georgina Graham @ CLM for MAC

Hair
Nick Irwin for TIGI

PR
Exposure