We've become accustomed to Hussein Chalayan's abstract inspirations. Fourth-dimensional space? There is surely no other designer who could express such a notion in his designs. So it was a shock when he announced that his Pre-Fall collection was inspired by something as earthbound as Murder on the Orient Express, the 1974 film based on Agatha Christie's classic '30s mystery. A shock, that is, until Chalayan ran through his rationale. First up, the Orient Express starts in Istanbul and ends in London, just like his own story. Next, he was fascinated by the way the "exotic" Orient was always depicted as something dark and scary. Then, in keeping with his natural affinity for abstraction, there were all the visual elements he managed to extract from the movie: a jacquard inspired by the headlights of a train stuck in a snowstorm, a print that echoed the condensation collecting on the inside of a carriage window, snowflakes turned into a flock on a checked fabric. A map from the movie became the starting point for a linear pattern on knitwear. A blanket wrap with an artful lapel was exactly the sort of accessory you'd need on a snowbound train. All quite inspired in its own odd way.
The rest of the collection was maybe not so tied to Chalayan's original inspiration, but the notion of the style of the '30s viewed through the prism of the '70s shaped the silhouettes. Art Deco sunray pleats fanned out on a top, a dress, and a skirt. A dolman-sleeve jacket sported a scarf neck that billowed in the back. The sleek, sculptural quality that is a house signature was achieved here with draping that needed all the explanation the designer could offer. But that has become something of a Chalayan cliché. It was perfectly possible to appreciate these clothes without any of the backstory.
