The sleek, ergonomic lines of Charles and Ray Eames’ California Minimalism is the key inspiration behind Neil Barrett’s spring/summer 2014 womenswear collection.
First explored in the menswear, Barrett translates the lines of mid-centuryall-American sportswear into women’s garments, combined with the organic forms of Eames’ creations, curvilinear shapes taken from their classic furniture design utilised as templates for inlays, seams and design details.
The collection fuses man and nature: monochrome feathers flock across brief shift-dresses, t-shirts and sweatshirts, intricately embroidered or rendered as an abstract print. The sinuous lines characteristic of Eames’ designs are also applied to garments and accessories, as seam details and appliqué.
A sense of lightness, of coolness, is fundamental. Aerated fabrics, skins and mesh are seamed together to create garments with structure that remain light and breathable.
When fine leathers are used, bonded with viscose jersey, a cooling layer against the skin. Fabrics are heat-bonded into circular, rounded lines, creating an architectural volume without weight. There is always a feel of the body, delineated by the garments, sometime revealed by sheer panels.
Silhouettes are sports-inspired: full skater skirts worn over fitted cycling shorts, simple t-shirt and sweatshirt shapes and biker jackets in sweatshirting or fine nappa leather. Despite the complex design and innovative fabric technologies, everything is as easy to wear as a t-shirt. Colours are tightly controlled, black, white and grey marl contrasting with flashes of scarlet.
Accessories are a new focus. Clutch and tote bags combine leather with wood, the latter both decorative and functional as a firm base, the structure mirroring that of the iconic Eames lounger. Shoes feature a polished wooden heel, attached to the vamp with visible metal bolts. The details of structure become decorative, a fusion of form and function.
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