Douglas Hannant - Resort 2013 - Review

Bonjour a tous! You find me here in a state of elation and exhaustion. Elation, because my GCSE exams are all but over, and exhaustion due to the fact that I have been going to bed recklessly late ever since the state of my brain when I wake up is no longer of issue that will destroy my future. You find here a cafeine-ridden teenager taking refuge behind a computer screen (In that case, nothing out of the ordinary)

Having battled with myself for nigh on twenty minutes as to whether to present you with my review of Alexander McQueen's Resort 2013 collection or this one of Douglas Hannant's, Douglas Hannant won over due to this collection's beautiful range of dresses. What can I say? I can never get enough of long floaty, romantic dresses! What especially drew me to these was the watercolour hue to the dresses themselves, paired with the surroundings, which reminded me of various paintings by Monet. The blue and green dominated colour palette along with the hazy forms on some of the dresses are most suggestive of this. Perhaps it is now the moment to mention that Douglas Hannant studied Fine Art before turning his incredible hand to fashion, and that could be reflected in the influence for these dresses. It is very possible that he could have created some of his own Monet-inspired watercolour works while he was studying. Anywho, I hope you enjoy my in depth review of the collection.

<< Some adept colour blocking always works well for knee-length, semi-formal dresses. >>>


A note on the shoes, which are the ones used throughout the collection. Seemingly of a light champagne or gold colour, their delicate contrast with the clothes is complimentary enough not to draw the viewer's eye away from the main attraction, but the fact that nothing else seems to be of this colour brings further dimensions to the collection.


 And below, the first of many gloriously light and floaty floor-length dresses in this collection, and starting off on a shimmering, summery high note.

<<< Beautiful Dress. A simple green sequined tank gown, made more sophisticated, polished and elegant by apron-tie ball skirt of a lighter shade of green. A delightful piece. Delicious, unfortunately helping to bring about a sadness clouding the peacefulness of my mind at this present moment when I remember that life is seldom this pretty! Yes, pretty. Pretty is the best word to define this. The fact that the upper half is in 'tank' top style suggests a 'gamine' and youthful feel,.

>>> With this one, the first thing I thought of was bamboo - it's a beautiful dress, of course, but there was something in the shape and the line and, the background scenerey that undeniably nudged an image of bamboo into my sleep-deprived mind.

That aside, this dress is exquisite. The way it falls is bewitching, and the

Monet's Waterlilies by Robert Hayden

Today as the news from Selma and Saigon
poisons the air like fallout,
I come again to see
the serene, great picture that I love.

Here space and time exist in light
the eye like the eye of faith believes.
The seen, the known
dissolve in iridescence, become
illusive flesh of light
that was not, was, forever is.

O light beheld as through refracting tears.
Here is the aura of that world
each of us has lost.
Here is the shadow of its joy.

By this point in the collection, there was a mild break with the colour scheme, but to be honest, when the collection steered away from the colour scheme, to some extent it also steered away from the elements I liked about the collection. That is not to say that I do not like this area of the collection.

This is where we reach a run of my favourite items, glorious dresses that make up the finale of many collections, leaving the fantasies and follies until the end so to speak. It would be impossible to choose a favourite, though if I had to, the last one might just have the upper hand.

^^^ There is a grecian element to many items in the collection but I must state that this, above all else, is reminiscent of a grecian river goddess or sprite. The darker shade of blue strips cutting off the shimmery textures of the main fabric work really well to create something very glamorous and simple. >>> I believe this to be my favourite trouser and blouse ensemble. I love the silk cargo trousers. Hell, I'd go camping if my cargo trousers were made out of shiny green silk.

For quite some time, the Resort season collections have no longer been simply a collection of clothes made with the destination being beautiful holidaymakers clutching Louis Vuitton travelling cases. However, much more so than other labels, Hannant's collection veers closer to that traditional notion of a resort collection made for Cruises and the like.

^^^  The 'Mermaid' Dress (The colour, the cut and the fact the model looks like she has been sprayed with water... all of that suggests mermaid!) hugs the body beautifully, though I am not in the state of the mind to decide whether or not it would be hideously unflattering on people over a size 4. I think not since well cut long dresses do often manage to compliment the form charmingly, or maybe I am just wishfully thinking bearing in mind that, in my humble opinion, very few people can pull off head-to-toe turquoise. <<< We return with gusto to the initial pattern used in this collection, with luxurious folds of beautiful fabric in an A-line skirt. *Smile* Makes me happy. (I think I shall call this one the 'Green Tea' Dress, purely because it reminds me of the packaging to some really delicious tea I bought a couple of months ago)

>>> Any excuse really to pop in a pre-raphaelite painting, and my plea this time is that the painting 'Circe poisoning the Sea' by Waterhouse reminds me of a couple of the floor-length blue dresses. Yes, I know the cut and style of the dress in the painting is different, but the feeling of this picture depicting a scene from greek mythology and the feeling of the fashion photograph above are similar.  In my mind, the dress above was the Nymph or Waterfall Dress after all.

 

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