Oliver Spencer S/S 2017

A row of five models against a wall posing for the picture — (Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Mood board: Oliver Spencer is a modernist at heart. His S/S 2017 collection drew inspiration from the Casa Malaparte – the Italian house perhaps best recognised as the backdrop to Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris (1963). Located on the eastern side of Capri, it is famed for its sleek, imposing architecture that stands in stark contrast to its natural surroundings. Spencer’s easy, relaxed collection drew on the Mediterranean for colour and the 1950s for mood. The red brick of the Casa Malaparte was here in patchwork bombers and shorts; the honey, cream and ecru synonymous with the fifties felt fresh and coastal.

Best in show: Throughout, the collection’s silhouette was relaxed and crinkled, colloquial and chic. A duo of collarless, three-button linen suits with wide-leg trousers felt easy and modern. Suiting was cool in that signature Spencer way. Fans of the label will be queuing up to bag the linear print Portobello jacket in navy and Pompeii red.

Sound bite: 'I love texture, which I discover through both clothing and interiors. I first discovered Casa Malaparte when I was 18, sailing around Italy. It looks incredible from the sea and I was just totally inspired by the architecture and also its colours. The stone grey going into the rust red of the rocks; the greenness of the foliage against the smoothness of house…a beautiful, harmonious relationship.'

A row of four models against a wall posing for the picture

A row of models against a white backdrop

INFORMATION

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.