So much for British creativity. Ashish Gupta entrusted the art direction of this lookbook to former Fashion Easters James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks of Rottingdean Bazaar, along with photographer Annie Collinge. This is the same trio that won the Grammy for Best Recording Package this year. However, they seemed to be calling for this project.
The designer was too diplomatic to stand still. He explained that after enduring some heartbreaking business turbulence following the demise of Matches Fashion, he decided to leave London for India, where his family and factories are located, and immerse himself in design. “It was actually very therapeutic. Because making the clothes is the most fun part for me. And the workshop in India was like an ideas lab: we tried something new every day.”
Revived, he returned to England with this collection: “And trying out all these new techniques had reminded me of the power of daring, experimentation and lightness. These are the same qualities I think you need to survive as an independent in this industry, especially in the UK now. That’s why I wanted some lightness in this shoot.”
Oh well. The banal, generic casting was just one disappointment: there was no life here at all. And while this was a golden opportunity to showcase the sex in Sussex, the Hollywood in Hangleton and the raunch in Rottingdean, the final imagery was completely devoid of glamour. Boulder Brighton’s climbing wall is not a replacement for the Walk of Fame. And where was the context for trying on the clothes?
Ashish chose to accentuate the positive aspects. That climbing wall look, he noted, was patched up with irregularly shaped scraps and swatches of hand-embroidered fabric sourced from his own development archive, which includes things he made when he started 20 years ago. A long organza dress that looked as if Collinge had shot it on the grassy shoulder of a highway was embroidered with sequined flowers that grew increasingly limp and wilted across the garment. Memories of struggling to complete a polka dot project under the guidance of swearing legend Professor Louise Wilson had inspired him to create the bias-cut chiffon T-shirt dress whose dots were all hand-drawn onto the garment before being filled with sequins. “I wanted to embrace the imperfection of the process to show the analog reality of the craft,” he said. Despite the eccentric presentation (what, no Photoshop?), Gupta’s humor, determination and skill shined through in this excellent collection.