Pringle of Scotland S/S 2011 – London Fashion Week

Claire Waight Keller, who has now been creative director of Pringle of Scotland for five years, presented a pretty austere collection Monday night at the Science Museum. Clean lines, graphic silhouettes opened the show with black and white minimal outfits, progressively softened by the introduction of more neutral shades, such as nude, hessian or sky blue – sky blue being the brightest colour we’ve seen in this collection.

This could sound a bit boring at first but the designer, playing with Pringle of Scotland’s ancestral tradition of knitwear and mixing different influences, offered in fact a  beautiful collection with discreet yet outstanding details.

Scottish references were there but with a feminine twist through a very elegant reinterpretation of the kilt in hessian and black, and the use of James Pringle family tartan in various guises of gingham and houndstooth.

Claire Waight Keller also played with elements of menswear tailoring, introducing classing mens gingham black and white shirting fabric, intricaly knitted, to create unusual textures.

Hairpin crochet fringes teamed with black mesh fabric and feather trim sandals added a subtle tribal touch that shook up an otherwise very prim silhouette.

As the creative director perfectly summarised: “The silhouette is about a clean, modern line; narrow and long on proportion but with an element of frivolity showing through with the usage of feathers and fringes.”

Laurie Guillem