There was something otherworldly about Jonathan Saunders' late night British Museum affair - and especially given his penchant for turning the lights from pitch black to burning bright in mere seconds. As our eyes slowly readjusted, however, the cut-out motifs that landed on Saunders' noir and cobalt blue tailoring had nothing to do with the extraterrestrial. They were in fact Matisse's leaf scissorings, courtesy of the Tate Modern and belonged to a collection that toyed with transparency and texture in a way that was surprisingly feminine. Littering the collection in the form of shirt placement prints and repeated embroideries, these motifs were soon joined by petal-like rosettes grouped together to create textural three-quarter skirts. Later, transparent leaves themselves were embroidered together as per his signature style, to create sprightly floating cocktail confections. Also in the mix and on trend were Saunders' molten Lurex elements, which glitzed up his nature-derived colour chart of teal, putty, sand, sky and midnight blue.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
