For spring 2022, Emilia Wickstead wanted to recreate the glamorous world of the 1960s French film “Last Year in Marienbad,” which enchanted her with its romantic plot, haunting music and portrayal of “statuesque,” powerful female characters.
So she traveled to Badminton Estate, a grand mansion in the English countryside, and filmed her new collection across its sprawling gardens, filled with “absurd-shaped hedges” and capturing the same surreal aesthetic as the gardens seen in the movie.
The clothes captured a similar sense of romance and old-school ’60s glamour with rose prints, voluminous skirts, dramatic shawls and plenty of in-your-face, saturated colors.
That old-school sense of elegance and flair for dress-up has become synonymous with Wickstead, but she makes a point to give it a modern-day spin. Here she achieved this with striking dropped waist, comfortable shapes and lighter fabrications — there were elegant A-line dresses made out of jersey and evening gowns featuring a striking croc-effect fabric that looked structured yet felt feather-weight.
Other highlights included the cummerbund waistbands and corseted details, recreated for modern women with looser pleats and softer fabrics.
Wickstead also sprinkled some more daring elements, including low-slung skirts paired with midriff-exposing bralette tops and extra mini lengths that would surely appeal to a new, younger client.
“We wanted to capture that effortless feel of being on holiday and putting on your crop top, that almost looks like a bathing suit, or easy throw-on jersey dresses,” the designer said.
