London designer Emma Cook effectively relaunched her label in 2011, taking it off the runway and shifting to a contemporary price point. What's remained the same since then is Cook's graphic and rather surreal take on print, which was in eye-popping evidence this season. Her starting point was the traveling circus, which mainly served as an excuse to gather pattern inspiration from hither and yon—Moroccan tile, traditional American quilt, Egyptian scarabs, etc. A Persian rug print was rendered with trompe l'oeil fidelity. The results here were mixed: Cook has gotten very slack about her silhouettes, which may serve her commercially but does little to distinguish the collection as a whole. There were a few pieces that stood out, however—a trim black dress embroidered with gold scarabs, for instance, and a bomber patchworked together from various fabrics. And there is a palpable charm in Cook's sensibility. This didn't feel like her most focused effort, though.
