With a sudden kerranng! of heavy-metal energy, Blaak woke up the London scene with a show that proved that not all young Brit designers are sleepwalking back to the ’60s. Stomping out in a gray denim flying suit with punky black-banded zones of cross-laced tapes running up and down her body, Blaak’s first model struck a rebel pose, and the collection was on a roll.
Designers Sachiko Okada and Aaron Sharif picked up the sport/utilty track where they left it off last season, but zipped up the action with some rock-star attitude for a collection called Electric Collision. They used contrasting washed-satin and mesh fabrics, chemical-dyed denim and metallic-shot silk to give the aviator look a streetwise workout. Best of all—in a season when many have played it safe with black—they kept the faith with color, using shades of raspberry, turquoise, royal blue and silver. When Okada described the theme of the show as “cosmonauts meet crusaders,” it didn’t illuminate much; but the idea of designing for “a strong woman” hit a refreshing note in a London season that has often seemed to equate youth with passivity.
