Faustine Steinmetz autumn/winter 2018 collection catwalk show for LFW

There was a tangible sense of familiarity in Faustine Steinmetz’s autumn/winter 2018 collection. Maybe it was the rhinestones, the denim clamdiggers, or the ruched cowboy boots. Or the slight likeness to Britney and Justin at the 2001 AMAs. It seemed that Steinmetz aimed to unveil what has already been seen in the past, but it was reworked, reimagined, redone.

The stone-coloured trench coat, silk shirt, high-waisted jeans, cable knit jumper and monogram print are all indisputably classic staples, but they took on a brilliantly kitsch undertone. Denim was replicated in sleeveless shirts, kitten heel boots, and vintage-feel jeans, and came in various tones and textures: rough and worn, fluffy, raw, hand-felted. It was denim the way it was worn in the heyday of the early noughties. 

There was this one shade of green that one couldn’t quite put their finger on. It wasn’t quite mint. Not laurel green. It was a particular hue that one had maybe seen once before in their lifetime, a sort of light, pallid green, like the pigment of matcha green tea mixed with milk. Perplexing, because it was a tone not often seen on the catwalk, but it managed to work as the canvas for smooth silk dresses and shirts, as well as their textured, tightly-crinkled counterparts. 

Knee-length jeans, or clamdiggers, as they were also once known, also made the most unexpected comeback. There are already what fashion retailers claim are “awkward length trousers”, ones where the hem sits right on the calf, but I declare Steinmetz’s clamdiggers as the fad reborn. 

A theme of deconstruction was also very much present. A cocoa-coloured trench coat was rugged and heavily crumpled. Knitted mohair was shaggy and fluffy, as evident in a cream trouser and sleeveless knit co-ord. Pointed mules had a makeshift, unfinished look about them. 

Each minute decorative technique revealed something new from what is already familiar. The diamanté detailing could have been a reincarnation of the iconic noughties embellishment, but learning of its Swarovski composition somehow made it anything but tacky. Oh, and the nails! Each model wore mink-hued acrylic nails, with one extended further than the others. Although a small detail, it managed to elevate the overall aim of Steinmetz’s collection: redoing what has not yet been intended to be redone. 

Isobel Bridgwood
Photos: Huw Jenkins