This year is a significant one for Jenny Packham: 30 years as a brand. Official anniversary plans include a special show during London Fashion Week in September. The Pre-Fall collection, in the meantime, offered sufficient shimmer to set the celebratory tone. What’s more, several of the special-occasion styles revisit the archives. But since Packham’s designs are typically so timeless, the past has held up well with barely no hint of feeling retro.
That said, some followers may recognize the floor-grazing tulle gown with crimson beading as a bridal mainstay whose floral detailing has been replaced by a modern application of textured sequins and crystals coursing downward. And if the silvery blue cap-sleeve gown with copper feels familiar, that’s because the original in illusion tulle with red flowers was worn by Taylor Swift in 2012 and now resides at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Packham’s wrap dresses aren’t necessarily her strongest statement, but as best-sellers with a wide range of women, they rightly deserve to be back among the mix.
The designer may now be so known for her dreamy red carpet aesthetic and photo op cocktail looks worn by Kate Middleton that the beaded separates—T-shirts, a fun crop top, relaxed pants, and racer-back tanks—reinforced how she has always applied her couture-approximate sensibility in a more relatable way. New developments in surface detail—bubble-effect beading and a fade effect down skirts—were significantly different enough to paint a picture of Jenny Packham in the present. Special mention, however, goes to a body-skimming gown called the Fontaine; covered in holographic sequins, it was a mermaid vision from the future.
