In contrast to her last collection, a valentine to hippie romanticism, Luella Bartley turned out a hard-edged show influenced by everything, said the designer, “from surfing to motocross.”
Bartley opened with a series of low-waisted minis paired with semi-sheer, French-cut leotards that came off as tough, somewhat trampy and very clubby. Her affinity for denim was evident throughout, and those pieces were among the collection’s strongest, particularly a drop-waisted, button-front number with distressed patches that lent it a (calculated) thrift-shop flair. The suits—one in neon yellow, the other with Carnaby stripes—were well cut, if blinding.
Sorbet-colored jackets and shirts had a cheeky air augmented by embroidered legends like "Tornado" and, of course, "Luella," while customized pink-and-white checkered Vans staked out a rebel-teen territory somewhere between Blue Crush and the East End of London.
