“Jackie O decides to go to Tokyo to meet the royal Imperial family of Japan and makes a stopover in Kyoto,” is how Andrew Gn summed up his Pre-Fall collection. As incongruous as it sounds, coming from Gn, the narrative made perfect sense. He’s a designer whose flair for glamour has an old-world flavor and a sense of occasion to it. You can really picture Mrs. Onassis wearing one of his concoctions, sipping matcha tea under the cherry blossoms in Kyoto.
Japan is a recurring theme for the designer; having been born in Singapore and with a Chinese and Japanese background, his appreciation for Eastern imagery comes unfiltered. “I’m one-third Japanese and two-thirds Chinese, like a mai tai!” he said. If you add a flair for decorative opulence, as well as a rare connoisseur’s eye for antiques, you have an idea of Gn’s elaborate style. “I’m a born maximalist,” he emphasized.
So back to Japan. In his Spring collection, the designer referenced the cool vibe that comes from Tokyo’s Harajuku, a neighborhood abuzz with hype and kawaii fashionista teenagers. Here, the young girls seemed to have grown up into sophisticated ladies, feasting on couture-worthy cocktail dresses and divine evening gowns, the more whimsical and quirky the better.
Cases in point were sumptuous silk jacquards woven in Lyon, France, whose delicate florals were inspired by kimonos from the Edo period; they translated into small-waisted cocktail dresses, their midi bell skirts so precisely cut they resembled precious pieces of porcelain. In dégradé hues of citrine, eau de Nil, cerulean, and shell pink, they truly looked exquisite. The same delicate palette graced fluid silk tea dresses, printed with floral motifs inspired by Minton porcelain, which was made in Great Britain in the 19th century.
Elsewhere in the collection, colors were denser and more saturated, as in a fluid triple-crepe emerald green number with poet sleeves that had a vintage-y Ossie Clark or Bill Gibb feel—what looked like an entire garden of floral appliqués was sprouting on its fitted bodice. Indulging the theme, a single silk cattleya orchid bloomed as a brooch on a languid tiered dress in black-and-white silk jacquard. “Very Anjelica Huston,” Gn said. Indeed.
