For autumn/winter, Meadham Kirchhoff presented a monochrome dream of semi-religious intensity. We went backstage to catch the reverie.

The concept of devotion was the overarching theme for Meadham Kirchhoff’s dreamy AW13 collection. Exchanging the bubblegum colours of past collections for black leather, sheer tulle and white linen, the Anglo-Franco duo expressed the romantic and oftentimes self-destructive qualities surrounding devotion.

Gold Louis shoes, leather skullcaps, boxed leather jackets and the Edwardian nude and sheer black gowns melded Gothic romanticism and S&M eroticism, made even more apparent by the monochrome palate. Think Jane Eyre as a red-light district brothel madam. Heavy fabrics like leather dominated traditional feminine silhouettes.

But while in the first look its shiny patches hardened a sailor-white jacket, in another, the feathered leather neckline on a white dress added a romantic quality. We were mesmerized by the circular evolution from childish sailor cuts to sensual, womanly forms, and finally back to virginal white. Devoted to beauty in its strangest and most exquisite forms, Meadham Kirchhoff transcended themselves this season.

Words: Elise Marraro (follow Elise on Twitter: PardonMe_Lissie)

Images: Harry Carr