PACKING POLITICS AND POP CULTURE INTO ONE STYLISH RUNWAY

There’s a lot going on, politically speaking.  That didn’t go un-noticed by Vivienne Tam.  Inspired by all the amazing things making news and making statements, she put them all together in her styles and fabrics for Fall/Winter 2013.

President Obama, sporting sunglasses, appeared in a jacket with black leather sleeves and straight shift dresses.  There were bar-code prints and there was a letter from Chairman Mao.  Red (it was Chinese New Year, after all), black and white were the colors of the collection and her mixing of textures seemed to bring it all to life. Silks and failles were matched with quilted leathers or houndstooth wools.  A leather turtleneck was sleek and exotic. Single-sleeved, off the shoulder tops were new and fresh.

Tam never forgets her Asian roots, so Chinese lettering appears in many of the pieces.  But so did an almost Chinese Army-like utilitarian look. Still, the more feminine looks, like a black dress with a red leather bandeau-like top and Chinese lettering, and a red silk gown with black leather details, were stunning.

The runway was lined with red.  In fact, the whole room seemed to light up in red.  It was beautiful, mysterious, and, I hope, lucky.

It’s not easy to make a collection like this, filled with statement patterns and political references, without making it look almost cartoonish.  But Tam made it interesting, wearable, and, as ever, elegant.

Photography: Anton Brookes