Antoni & Alison at LFW

It’s day two of London Fashion Week autumn/winter 2012 and the event is well and truly in full swing. Art-school duo Antoni Burakowski and Alison Roberts got the ball rolling yesterday with their opening show – appropriately named – ‘Models walking up and down in dresses’.

The collection itself was a glorious celebration of classic fabrics, juxtaposed with jewels, plastic and, even, biscuits. The kind of prints that only true artists could conjure up.

The couple described their collection as being what they had wanted to create as students, adding, ‘it’s only technology that has allowed us to make them now’.

The loose-fitting shape of the dresses themselves created the perfect canvas for the printed decoration to be displayed. This succeeded in adding depth and provided a set of truly unique and eclectic pieces.

Experimentation in length of skirt and sleeve created an occasion for each garment, which contextualised each combination of textures and print accordingly, from the playful- felt tip and stickers, to the more glamorous- glitter and feathers.

British staples such as tweed, corduroy and taffeta, clashed with jewels, felt, stickers and glitter. Alongside the more unusual yet innovative use of cellophane, twigs and biscuits.

The compressed clash of fabrics and texture, printed onto the classic shape of the dresses, provided an aesthetic delight, more akin to the likes of the Tate Modern than Somerset House.

As well as creating a truly eye-catching and interesting collection, Antoni & Alison provided a clear and important reminder that art and fashion go hand-in-hand. Their a/w collection was a fun, yet grown-up, imagining of expressive garments – enabled by the effective use of technology.

The collection leaves a lasting impression, with pieces such as a maxi dress complete with tuxedo print, providing one of the clear highlights of the show. Minimal yet individual – the collection is surely one of Burakowski and Roberts’ finest examples of fashion born from art.

Photo by Paul McGhie