As big as New York has become on fashion’s radar we tend only to look towards certain designers. Generally speaking, New York means business. And quite often in fashion speak that means commercial. There are a number of designers who we’ve been watching who are pushing boundaries with interesting work, who really sum up the diversity and creativity of living and working in New York. The first of which is Katie Gallagher.
We’ve spoken about Katie’s designs previously on Canvas, after the presentation of her summer collection last September. Gallagher’s work is very dramatic and rocker-like but Katie’s winter is slightly more space age (although still keeping with a metal-like expression). Futurism in fashion is nothing new - it’s a trend that has been treading the catwalks lightly in seasons past - but Katie gives it her own definite sign of approval. Fabric is draped, tucked, ripped, layered. Stark mini dresses and cut-outs, mesh panels and shiny leggings are put together sculpturally, esoterically.
Clever seaming follows curves across a minimal aesthetic and there is a focus on non-traditional cuts that elaborate the line and proportion of the garment, exaggerating personality. But how many personalities are in this collection? The Heart of The Woods and What I Found There seems to draw on a duality in design, irrespective of the colour palette, a natural conclusion to purity and deceit. The fabrics lend fragility, the shapes dominance. It’s not so much as yin and yang as just being able to show a different face for a different day.
