Milan Autumn/Winter '08

Pringle of Scotland, Autumn/Winter 2008 (scroll down to read review)
Pringle of Scotland
With her starting point being a super-dense compressed wool, Clare Waight Keller introduced a strong architectural feel into the Pringle collection, exaggerated by a palette of zinc, willow, dark navy and black. The tough fabrications allowed her to create exaggerated and super-clean shapes, opening the show with some stunning outerwear. To contrast the toughness she pierced felted wool (a little like Broderie Anglais) and showed plenty of her signature superfine knits, with knitted ribbon detailing outlining yokes and collars developed on from the summer. She also revisited her brush stroke prints from last season, this time working them into a jacquard in silver silk with a slight slub achieved with a touch of wool in the weft. Other standouts included grey curly lamb with appliqué crochet and the voluminous knit cashmere dresses inserted with silk panels. In both cases Keller cleverly incorporated Pringles knit heritage back into the equation without a trace of retro rehash.