Louise Trotter was packing up her belongings to move house recently when she stumbled upon a trove of photos from her childhood. “There were lots of pictures of my parents—it was from around the late ’70s—and it was fascinating to look at the way men and women really dressed at that time. What fascinated me was how feminine the women look, and the men, too.”
This led directly to the insertion of the Liberty archive ditzy-print dresses and blouses, the patch-pocketed suiting in off-Wedgwood blue and old Colman’s mustard hues, the Fair Isle sweaters, and the tricolor dogtooth-check outwear. Trotter is determinedly anti-banal, however—so everything came with a twist. The blouses were carefully articulated via odd button, extended sleeve, and lateral pussy bow to be subtly future-facing. The sweaters had slits at each armpit to enable sleeveless wearing—and if you tied them together, a phantom embrace. The suiting and outerwear was either disjunctively oversize or subtly reductive: This was the traditional worked to feel nontraditional.
A frankly slightly odd pant cinched at the ankle with a wide strap was, Trotter insisted, easy and free to walk in. A fantastic treatment of Harris Tweed—the most gorgeous, romantic fabric but itchy as hell—left it soft and fluid in interesting military pants and jackets. Pinstriped artist’s smock and pant combinations, a reimagined carriage coat, ruffle-necked handsomely flecked knitwear, and oversize aviators in cracked sheepskin were other less ’70s but notable pieces in a collection full of standouts. The fabrication and feel of Trotter’s Joseph womenswear is wonderful. Were this 1978—or 2078—I’d willingly wear it myself.
