Retro-Spective

Oh the Internet. That wonderful creation we can blame all of our 21st Century problems on. For AW16, Claire Barrow pokes fun at our obsession with nostalgia and our yearning for comfort from the past, the antidote to the digital age. Ticking off references from subcultures and time references as she goes, Barrow looked to the usual punks with ragged edged hems, to Victorian restriction in a clay corset and more typical shapes in long gowns and even a touch of New Romanticism, with magenta eyeshadow and cheeks with white frilled tops.

Girls On Film

Three films were made to play out alongside the collection. Barrow herself was featured working on the line in a clip by 13 year old filmmaker Duke Brooks. The project was commissioned by Nathaniel Lee-Jones of M.Goldstein Gallery, who will be exhibiting Barrow’s first solo art show in April 2016. Liv Fontaine showed “Opulence, Violence and Loss” telling the tale of the turn of Medusa. Lastly, photographer Alice Neale showed the collection accompanied by a reading of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, “Kubla Khan” by Frank Lebon.

Claire x John

To create the jacquard and embroidered knits, Barrow worked with British knitwear brand, John Smedley. Sweaters and the fingerless gloves with Barrow’s signature sketchy prints are sure to become favourites for the season along with her tights, legwarmers (about time they made a comeback!) and scarves.