Jaws dropped when the Meadham Kirchhoff show began. Used to seeing black, moody collections from Ed Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff, the Arabic rugs, streams of tinsel on the floor and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring should have been a clue that this would be a bit different. The first look was a celebration of colour with a red mantilla worn over the face, topped with a tinsel tiara. Beneath that were two layers of floral dresses and long- john trousers, I think… There was so much to take in at once! Among the best individual pieces in this riot of a collection were the hand-painted biker jackets; the embroidered long skirts; the piles of Indian-inspired bangles created in collaboration with Erickson Beamon; red “nightie” dresses, orange floral blouses and the long event gowns. Oh, and the tinsel-embroidered shrunken- wool cardigans and sweaters. “We wanted to do as many pretty, amazing things as possible and put them all together,” explained Meadham. “It’s a narrative that begins in southern India and ends in southern Spain.” And success. Meadham Kirchhoff has arrived.
