For designers who take the wax print route, the challenge of re-inventing their appeal season after season is a significant and compelling challenge in itself. But not for rising star, Christie Brown, apparently - or at least not obviously so. Cutouts meet bare midriffs and signature fabric covered button embellishments, but the real stars of this show are the deft combinations and contrasts - panels of prints and solids co-existing, neon pops diffused with beige - and an overarching air of an increasingly confident and positively self-assured talent.
Modern, cosmopolitan pieces ranging from an effortlessly chic cropped jacket, high-waisted and relaxed, sporty pants, and ladylike charm by way of pleated skirts shone individually and collectively, offering a varied sampling platter of shapes and lengths for fluctuating spring moods. Fabrication was light and unfussy, contributing to the ease of several of the pieces - from colour-blocked print pantaloons to a cropped bustier complete with wax print straps.
Incidentally, while we love a little detail, the simplest pieces were the most satisfying, while the more elaborate (an electric cutout blue dress with with print strips for sleeves and a colour-blocked hemline comes to mind) pieces seemed to tackle much too much. The beauty of artful executions with minimal interruptions shone through, however, in a brilliantly cohesive collection from a refreshingly gifted designer.
