The room tone by Chalayan  SS17

Evolving around the here and now of London life, ‘room tone’ consists of a series of studies which are simultaneous reactions and proposals on how certain attitudes or realities in London life can be experienced or optimised. Like most urban centres, digital data, social networks and ambition saturate London life.

According to Chalayan the essential British outlook on life still emanates from a post-war mentality and British army life. In the collection these two elements are interwoven with a take on various facets of English life, like the difficulty of expressing emotion to the levels of competition seen in English culture, abbreviated by the loss of self in technology and the digital world.

Outer measure:

The English rose, synonymous with it’s namesake’s heritage is visible through a terminator style target in a print entitled ‘grid rose’, a reference to the longing of city dwellers to escape urban living and target the natural world.

Stiff upper lip: The difficulty of expressing emotions in the English culture remains a phenomenon despite the exposure of the English to so many other cultures in British urban settings, and the colonial past of Britain. Chalayan depicts this as an English rose deleted or hidden by large ‘pixels’ as a  representation of repression, appearing as neon squares through prints and embroidery.

Fly-fishing:

England being a hobby island is expressed through the idea of fly-fishing. In this instance, Chalayan turns artificial insects used for fishing as an inspiration for a woven jacquard. Initially hand drawn, the fabric is offered both in colour and in black and white.

Fabrics:

There are crisp cotton poplins in various thicknesses- linen, viscose mixes and tailoring wools giving way to both trans seasonal, formal and also informal ways of dressing.