London Fashion Week 16th September - Tata Naka SS15 presentation

London Fashion Week - Tata Naka SS15 Presentation.

16th of September, 2014.

It is official, London Fashion Week has sadly come to an end and has now moved on to Milan. However, before it all ended I travelled to the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly to the Tata Naka SS15 collection presentation. I kept up to date with the prior shows and presentations so I was eager to see what Tamara and Natasha Surguladze, the designers and founders of Tata Naka, had to offer.
Standing in front of their own monochrome screen were the models, presenting the first of the Tata Naka garments. These models made quick outfit changes every ten minutes to exhibit a brand new set of outfits.

Colours

If I were to explain the palette of the collection in one sentence, I would say, “minimalist monochrome to floral flash”. It begins with black and white, though, due to the different fabrics and shapes, there are variations in the garments of black and white tones. Black and white begins to merge creating monochrome outfits. This is apparent with several two-piece garments.

The first pop of colour you see is hot pink, and by see I mean you cannot take your eyes off! This first appears as a tailored suit and shortly after a poodle skirt dress with open shoulders. This dress is one of my favourite garments because of the bright colour and fun wearable shape.

The first signs of pattern occur with a light cream empire line dress, where we see stitched on top of the fabric are floral inspired ruby red blobs. From here on, the colours and patterns take off and become far more detailed. A beautifully tailored sky blue poodle dress comes to centre stage covered in large purple flowers with green leaves. These three colours are the definition of spring and the rebirth of life. A warm yellow suit stands beside the dress creating a summer portrait. This time, very small purple flowers and green leaves covered the suit and likewise create a summer scene.

These floral patterns take a step further as part of a tailored white dress, where the skirt rapidly displays purple, yellow and red flowers. A black dress similarly has its waistline with deep pink and red roses. These two flower patterns are seen again later but this time as three slightly different full-length maxi dresses.

When you think it cannot get anymore vibrant, two electric blue garments waltz in; a bare shoulder jumpsuit and pleated dress. Upon these garments the floral theme has evolved to resemble Hiroshige inspired flowers; a blossom tree print. If I was too pick one garment to take home with me, it would be that very jumpsuit; comfortable, fun and perfect for spring/summer.

The final stage of collection brings together the build up of colour yet retreats back to the large floral blob embellishment seen once before. Three sheer dresses are exhibited in three slightly different ways. Upon an electric blue shift dress an arrangement of blossom flowers and leaves are assembled so that models body is concealed. Another dress demonstrates an empire line and assorts flower blobs over the dress in the same manner as the previous. The final dress reminds me of Halloween; a sheer black dress with spiky orange and purple flowers lay in front of green stems. 

Silhouettes

Similar to the pallet and tones of the garments, the silhouettes evolve during the two hours. They start simple and wearable, yet the silhouettes are tailored with excellent precision. 

The garments share a swirly design that appears numerous times as the collection unveiled. The swirls are apparent with the necklines of the dresses that look like puddles of paint. These swirls are taken to the hemlines too, which resembled the dripping of paint down a canvas. Not to go unnoticed are the shoes; the swirl feature forms around the mid part of the foot as if the feet had stepped into paint. A peep toe and open at the arch shoe with the same design were also apparent. This feature exhibits one of Tata Naka core inspirations of painting, as they paint to become inspired for their fashion designs.

These swirls were taken further and began to resemble the cuts of a pattern craft scissor. As if cut right around the midriff of a dress, a coordinate crop top and skirt were formed. The next time the “scissors” were cut vertical down a tailored top and skirt, creating a fun formal suit.

The next dominating silhouette is the fine pleating of the garments. This design started off being a secondary part of the tailored forms; creating definition to the midriff of the first white dress or the hemline of the coordinate piece. The simplicity of the colour put emphasis on the pattern creating shadows and depth to the garment.

This figure was taken further and became the core part of several garments. A yellow maxi dress parades pleats for the bottom half of the garment. A midnight blue uses the pleat design as its skirt yet keeps the top flat.

The shift maxi dresses replace the pleats as the core design of the garments to bold patterns. The dresses begin to fall so that the material pleating gently by itself and not with an iron.

Texture and Material

Tata Naka SS15 presents several materials and textures. Since the silhouettes start tailored, the material resembles suit fabric; firm yet comfortable, creating a strong finish. This allowed Tata Naka to show off their excellent skill of bringing together interesting design and craftsmanship.

The pleated segments of the attires are formed from a more sheer material, allowing the pleats to remain tight  and create a light flow. This texture is seen as aspects of garments, skirts and dresses.

The sheer and transparent pleats are brought together with the dense sturdy texture talked about before. For example, the sturdy white shift dress with sheer floral pleats as its skirt. When the sheer pleats are placed upon the dense skirt materials, they become less sheer with little definition. However where the sheer material hangs alone we see far more shadows and highlights, creating texture and characterisation.

An electric blue jumpsuit and dress seem to be created from a velvet material. The electric blue already appears warm yet the soft puts emphasis on this.

On the other end of the spectrum, the final sheer garments have a far more cool feeling. Dresses suited for a sunny day at the beach allow you to remember the experience of the sea breeze over your body.

Thoughts 

My thoughts may be biased as this was my first at London Fashion Week and any Fashion Week! I enjoyed the experienced immensely because I was introduced to a whole new way of viewing and encountering fashion. For the collection, I thought it was wonderful. 
When I look at garments I see them from two different angle; I see them for what they are as a piece of art or I see them as a piece in my wardrobe. The tailored pieces were delightful. I loved the grace of the recurring paint effect and how it was used to create suits to dresses. Three pieces I would pick to put into my wardrobe would be the pink poodle dress, the electric blue jumpsuit and the yellow floral suit. 
An outfit that I love for the sake of the art and creativity would be the final "halloween" dress. As a conclusion to the collection it is interesting; it went back to the black and brought together the bright colours it had built up to. The big black pants look quite fun!

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