Alice Temperley's Fall presentation was a smart, sophisticated salute to British style, inspired by classic Norman Parkinson photographs, some of which lined one wall at Milk Studios as an aide-mémoire. The other wall was hung with Adam Whitehead's portraits of modern beauties—Erin O'Connor, Susie Bick, Liberty Ross, Yasmin LeBon—wearing outfits from the new Temperley collection. If the photos bridged the decades, the clothes did, too. The designer compiled the most iconic British elements and styles to make her own statement: the striped boarding school blazer retailored, for instance, or the Union Jack reconfigured as a bold knit dress, like a distant memory of punk. The Crown Jewels were referenced in the gems that decorated shoulders and lapels. Combine that shine with the graphic geometry of many of the clothes, and you got a distinct Art Deco feel. It was explicit in a white crepe gown that brought to mind Deco's Egyptomania. On the other hand, a chartreuse cardigan draped over a striped suit made me think of afternoon tea with Diana Cooper, with a wacky little something slipped into the teapot. A Parkinson moment, if ever there was one.
