Globe and Mail, Canada
Sept 23 2006

London stalling

The revival of the Sixties label Biba was a small bolt of glitz in
a humdrum spring 2007 showing

With reports from Guardian News Service, Reuters and Associated Press.

British actor Hugh Grant was front-row for the hottest fashion ticket
in London last week — the revival of iconic Sixties label Biba,
synonymous with flowing scarves, caftans and glamour. The brand that
helped to define the era as worn by Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull
and Brigitte Bardot came back to life as a more luxurious line for
the 21st-century hippie.

The British capital was clearly hoping to recapture a bit of bling,
and ditch its reputation as the poor cousin of more glamorous events
in New York, Paris and Milan.

"We are not a traditional capital for fashion, but we are a very
creative crucible," said Stuart Rose, chairman of the British Fashion
Council, which organizes London’s twice-yearly shows.

The designer directing the revival is Bella Freud, Sigmund’s
great-granddaughter. Biba, the King’s Road boutique and clothing line
founded in 1964 by Barbara Hulanicki, was revolutionary for making
fashion accessible and for making shopping a leisure activity. It was
the first fashion superstore and celebrity hangout, a grand aesthetic
in which art nouveau was mixed with old Hollywood.

Freud’s modern take stayed true to the original colour scheme of
mulberries, blueberries, rusts and plums, but added more modern
textiles for her collection of jumpsuits, pinafores and print shirts.

The rest of the week was lacking in excitement, save for a fly-in from
Giorgio Armani. Many of the designers presented work best described as
"avant-garde," translated as "not very commercial." Only in London
would one of the most keenly awaited shows of the week be by a young
designer, Gareth Pugh, who last season sent models down the catwalk
in latex body suits affixed with what appeared to be rubber balloons.

Yet the fact is, for all the much-vaunted affection for the surreal,
the biggest designers are those who make serviceably pretty basics.

Paul Smith is the most successful British designer, thanks to his
adroitness at tricking out tasteful floral dresses and pastel men’s
suits. Yet, like many commercial designers, Smith occasionally tries
to show he can do something a little different.

And so men’s wear for women seemed to be the theme, with models
wearing slim-cut men’s blazers and low-slung shorts with boxers
peeking out over the top. Trousers were either tapered or, somewhat
more flatteringly, slouchy.

There were some sweet pieces toward the end, such as Jayne
Mansfield-style shorts suits, white shirt dresses and body-following
cocktail outfits.

Armani hosted his first London show, featuring stars such as U.S.

actor Leonardo Di Caprio and singer Beyonce to show off a new range
of clothing for the anti-AIDS initiative "Product Red."

"Product Red" involves brands including clothing company Gap and
mobile phone firm Motorola that will donate part of the profits from
the branded products to fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Also showing in London, Paris-based Garen Demerdjian, a
Lebanese-Armenian designer, presented a layered look with shorts and
skirts over long leggings, high cinched belts and leather jackets.

His models, stone-faced with tangled hair, walked slowly down the
catwalk sporting hues of brown, green, apricot, black and silky white
amid flashing lights and trance-like music.

And even though the collections were ostensibly spring/summer, John
Rocha presented a collection of cropped cargo pants, silk shirts and
parkas in shades of black, ivory, stone and khaki.