There is an odd aspect to Hamish Morrow's determinedly modernistic approach that's quite hard to make out. For a start, he delivered the first half of his show with such a brutal assault of sound that it felt like an act of aggression toward his audience. The brain-piercing noise didn't match the visual, though: There was nothing too shocking in the black asymmetrically cut coats and jackets that turned to show a hole in the back. Nor did the rubber coat that came later seem particularly calculated to scandalize, though there was a fair bit of nudging and smirking in the ranks as it went by.
What none of this conceptual posturing really covered up is the fact that Morrow's natural talent lies in designing quietly sophisticated pieces for an older woman, pieces like his padded, high-belted, subtly luxe duchesse satin jackets and the dress with a scarf-draped asymmetry at the neck (a theme that's surfacing elsewhere in London). He ended the show with a lot more "editorial" ideas about duvets, but what's the point of a down gown with a cutaway back? No one wants Morrow to stop being creative, yet he's passed beyond the stage of life when credibility comes from being edgy and angry. If he'd only get over that, he might understand that people actually value his simplest design gestures most—because nobody else is doing stuff like that.
