It was all about variation for Stella McCartney this season, with everything from reworked tailoring to mesh cut-out dresses.

The Plaid and Polo Set

Stella McCartney began this season with polo shirts that were transmuted into long-dresses made of an exaggerated and asymmetrical plaid fabric. In other words, the show started as it meant to carry on; it was sporty, resoundingly unique, and fairly eclectic in its influences – those plaid polo-dresses were riffing on the Brooks Brothers country club set but some pieces were emblazoned with super-abstract designs from a totally different source.

Playing With Convention

The tailoring was a particular highlight as McCartney took classic shapes, like double breasted blazers (perhaps another WASP-y, yacht club reference), and then mutated and adapted them to create something that felt distinctly fresh: long cut jackets were robbed of their sleeves so that they were left looking more like dresses, whilst another was more explicitly like a LBD as it was lapel-less and began at the bust, but retained its sartorial identity through the double row of buttons and flap pockets.

A *Very* Mixed Bag              

Some pieces were a little weirder, with hands-in-pockets accentuating exaggerated hip-shapes (a tricky silhouette that doesn’t exactly scream wearable) and tops and dresses with aggressively asymmetrical hems made out of strangely-hued and pleated fabrics. The abstract art influences found in those patterned pieces also manifested themselves through mesh shapes that curved and snaked through floaty-yet-formal summer dresses. Something for everyone? Perhaps not. But if you like your clothes just a little off-kilter, you might just love it.

Words: Benji Walters