Harriet Charity Verney delves into Mimi Wade’s Hollywood fantasy world.

Mimi Wade is a fantasy: a Hollywood fantasy; she’s like the actress in a low budget 50s Horror, stumbling from some hut in the woods covered in fake jammy, clotted blood, all diamond tears and red lipstick still not stepping out of line on her cupid’s bow. She’s falling about , spindly legs and weak ankles ; And all you can think about? Where did she get that nice lace bias cut silk slip she’s wearing and don’t even get me started on her décolletage. Like I said, Mimi wade is a fantasy, as  was her catwalk show for Central St Martins BA. The 6 piece graduate collection took flight after meeting her real life Hollywood Starlet Grandmother “Granny Pammy.” – who stared in cult movies such as ‘The blob” ( about a blob that kind of takes over) and who Fellini, allegedly, had picture of hanging above his desk. No, not creepy at all.

Mimi’s collection, an army of intricately painted and screen printed leather dresses- shaped as tough they had walked out of a Flintstones couture show (less Betty more Wilma dear)-sat snug on top of hand made bias cut slips, that poked out the tops and bottoms. A stint at Saga furs in Copenhagen, and a sponsorship from them later, meant 200 fox fur pom poms (then mink cut and attached to raffia, got it?)  In pink, white and canary coloured muffs and boa’s accompanied the outfits down the catwalk.

“The story”, explains Mimi of her collection , “was about a group of drunken debutantes who fall into a lagoon and their dresses get half eaten by this ‘creature’ a ‘Thing’ an ‘it’, The text is a statement about the objectification of women in Hollywood, but also kind of a celebration of the Horror genre, being one of the few genres where female actors are able to ‘act out’.

Mimi Wade may be everybody’s pin up fantasy but thankfully, for us, her clothes have become a real life reality.

Photography: Rebecca Zephyr Thomas.

Make up: Lucy Wearing using MAC.

Words: Harriet Charity Verney.

Designer: Mimi Wade.

Assistant: Rose Thomas.

Model: Abby Wilson at Anti Agency.