Sorry for not being able to find better quality images from Christopher Raeburn SS13 show. It’s generally hard to find any images from the current fashion week as the photos are still being processed and haven’t been indexed by the search engines yet. I watched the live stream of the show few days ago and immediately fell in love. From the inspiration, to the cuts to the fabrics chosen, to the hairstyles – loved it all. I managed to find a piece of his mood board and he was obviously inspired by the first female aviators and their uniforms. The fabrics especially caught my attention as he used innovative techniques to get that aviator look – parachute nylon, quilting and even printing 50s flight maps on silk. The collection center-piece is his Pop-Out Parka. He took the recognizable shape of a parka and redesigned it with changing up the traditional cuts, lengths and widths. His newborn jackets are slim-shaped, combined with cycling shorts, shift dresses and silk jersey tops. Another thing that I’m obsessed with at the moment are rucksacks and, God, I’d love me the parachute look-a-like one, pictured above.

My overall impression is that he managed to incorporate the details from his inspiration so well into the collection. He clearly showed that it’s not mandatory to use inspiration on just one part of the garment (cut, fabric or embellishment) but that it’s possible to subtly incorporate it into the collection in every way. Christopher is known for being menswear designer primarily and you can sense that in his second women’s collection. Yet he really made the concept of flight, strict uniforms and utility in general look so feminine and playful.

// images via Google