The Bermuda Fashion Festival ended last week with the local designer show and subsequent showcase. Held on July 13, it featured a line up of seven designers who were shortlisted to be mentored by fashion insiders and to show their collections on the runway under the main tent. This year, two designers shared the podium but the winner in our opinion was undoubtedly Charda Simons' The Original Collection made under her Street Lux label.
After a number of years that have seen a decline in the quality of the designers' output, Simons' offering represented a dramatic and most welcome about face. From fabric choice to colour palette to silhouette, this was a collection that made us very happy. It was cohesive, thoughtfully put together and flawlessly executed. The cut and finishing of the items were some of the best we have seen in the entire history of the Fashion Festival. The restricted palette of beige, white, green, and black featured hand painted lettering and logos, a gimmick that could easily have tipped over to craft, but in this instance was beautifully done and added just the right amount of elevated interest. Cropped tops, track pants and dresses were not overwrought or complicated but interesting nonetheless.
Simons has been designing for about five years and while she studied fine art, is self-taught in fashion design and the pieces were manufactured for her either in Bermuda or Atlanta. Not all collections have to use the island as their muse and this trope is often done too literally to be elegant or interesting. Simons was clever enough to recognise this fact and branched out. She eschewed this idea, and was quite open with the fact that she took her inspiration from the 1990s and urban street wear. Focusing her collection on such a commercially viable area of fashion should not be disparaged; instead it is savvy and will ensure that there is a demand for her pieces. This, coupled with the fact that the clothes have interesting but restrained touches that add interest and are well made, should ensure her future success.
Simons has been designing for about five years and while she studied fine art, is self-taught in fashion design and the pieces were manufactured for her either in Bermuda or Atlanta. Not all collections have to use the island as their muse and this trope is often done too literally to be elegant or interesting. Simons was clever enough to recognise this fact and branched out. She eschewed this idea, and was quite open with the fact that she took her inspiration from the 1990s and urban street wear. Focusing her collection on such a commercially viable area of fashion should not be disparaged; instead it is savvy and will ensure that there is a demand for her pieces. This, coupled with the fact that the clothes have interesting but restrained touches that add interest and are well made, should ensure her future success.
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| Images | Mike Jones |
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