outfits a new lease on life, chances are you’ll find it in London. Here, we introduce a few noteworthy names that presented
strong accessory collections for fall.
One of the most compelling collections comes from Husam El Odeh. A fine art graduate of the prestigious German college Hochschule der Kuenste, El Odeh started his career as an artist in Berlin and relocated to London, where he turned to jewelry design in 1999. Not
surprisingly, El Odeh’s signature aesthetic is arty and conceptual. "For my autumn collection I wanted the pieces to be like
little machines with no obvious purpose," explains El Odeh in an endearingly abstract way. The work of the surrealist masters
Breton and Oppenheim serves as inspiration, and modernist and expressionist darkness adds a cool, androgynous twist to the pieces.
In terms of materials, combinations of wool, wood, and metal give the industrial-looking range of necklaces, bracelets, and
suspenders for men and women a multi-dimensional edge. Husam El Odeh is available at Colette in Paris.
Bridging the gap between the commercial and the achingly cool is the Japanese hat entrepreneur CA4LA, pronounced "Cashila" — a Japanese word meaning both "head" and "top." The label looks set to redefine the British millinery
scene, which until now has struggled to find a middle ground between the intimidating sophistication of designers like Phillip Treacy and the predictable blandness of streetwear brands like Kangol. Toshio Yoshizawa is the creative brain who established CA4LA, with its "quietly cool" aesthetic, in 1989.
Credited with heralding a hat boom in Japan, the brand now has 17 shops as well as a concept store called Test, which houses
designer imported hats and showcases collaborations with brands including Eley Kishimoto, Adidas, Fred Perry, and Lewis Leathers. When he decided to extend his empire westwards, Yoshizawa chose London as the first overseas destination for CA4LA. In February
2006, the label opened doors to both a shop and a showroom in the hip area of Shoreditch.
Almost as recognizable as a Pucci swirl or a Marni floral print is the Lara Bohinc aesthetic. The designer, whose label will celebrate its tenth anniversary next year, has expanded her line to include bags
as well as to-die-for bangles and über-glam sunglasses. Bohinc applies the principles of her craft to her jewelry and handbags,
capitalizing on her familiarity with industrial techniques and materials. To achieve contemporary yet timeless results, each
handbag is typically decorated with metal insets designed using high-tech methods such as photo-etching, laser-cutting, and
computer design. Bohinc’s bags are available at Net-a-porter.com, Browns, and Maria Luisa.
"Jewellery Brut" is how the design duo Borba Margo likes to describe its fall offerings. With an instinctual attraction to
all that glitters equal to that of a magpie, Margo Goransson and Borba Da Silva enthusiastically mix metals to imitate seductively
shiny jewelry. The result? A collection of light-reflecting objects that, in the designers’ own words, "serve to cherish human
desires and fantasies revealing something somewhat magical."
Within the line, the ultra-glam belts, bags, and scarves all take on an experimental yet accessible air with a fusion of features
such as soldered non-precious and un-refined metals, oversized safety pins, and metal frames. To further increase the impact
of these details Borba Margo has matched them with a wide range of materials that are typically associated with eveningwear:
black snakeskin, patent leather, velvet, silk, and shiny metals in gold and silver tones. In the accessory stakes, the corny expression
"spoilt for choice" has suddenly taken on a new, fabulous meaning. Borba Margo sells at L’Eclaireur in Paris and B 2nd in Tokyo.
-Emma Holmqvist and Mary Fellowes, Fashion Assistant, British Vogue
Photos:
1-2 Husam El Odeh a/w ’06-’07
Ca4la a/w ’06-’07
Ca4la
Lara Bohinc s/s ’06
6-8 Borba Margo a/w ’06-’07
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