Magpies & Peacocks autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW

The nation’s only non-profit design house displayed two zero-waste luxury collections for A/W19, with René Garza showcasing a deconstruction of the luxurious tuxedo, and Moore + Clarence challenging society’s views on luxury.

Re:ne(w)’s collection by René Garza for Magpies & Peacocks surprised the audience from the very first notes, as the Freemasons’ Hall was filled with Nirvana’s music reinterpreted by a classic orchestra, setting the scene for unexpected contrasts.

The collection was entitled Detux, Luxury Deconstructed, which aims to highlight sustainability as the responsibility of the individual, taking the symbol of luxury and apparel, the tuxedo, and deconstructing it with upcycled post-consumer textiles in order to create a new vision of opulence where the individual is sustainability-conscious.

Destroyed gowns were unconfined pieces, flowing gracefully on the catwalk, leaving the audience in awe and with a desire to wear René’s recycled opulence instead of the traditional gowns. The designer managed to reuse fashion, creating sleek garments that perfectly fit the moving body.

Boldness was a key ingredient in the A/W19 collection, with tuxedo jackets worn as off-the-shoulder dresses in a masculine way, juxtaposed with black silk shirts deconstructed in elegant dresses with subtle poet sleeves and cuffs with button closures.

Towards the end of the collection, the designer introduced tones of magenta, lilac and copper in pieces that astonished the audience. The tone of the collection was slightly shifted towards an exotic flair as the copper knotted asymmetrical gown was presented as a symbol of braveness. This was then contrasted by the softness of a gown made of layered organza, created with a luxurious technique in lilac hues, offering the public a grand finale.

The second part of the Magpies & Peacocks show was created by Jerri Moore + Clarence Lee and entitled The New Americana, a nod to historical Hollywood glamour. A golden gown composed of fronds of structured silk framing the shoulders and flowing into a sweetheart bust, accessorised with elbow-length satin gloves, set the scene, reminiscent of a glamorous past.

The designers undressed the vintage couture to create an unravelling journey of self-awareness by juxtaposing tailored preciseness with the ease of unstructured layers, keeping the gold tones throughout the collection, but contrasting them with hand painted textiles by international artists Nicola Parenté and Robert Hodge.

Focusing on self-expression, the designers used raw materials as the canvas of imagination, with the show ending with two cape coat pieces, black and white, contrasting the different types of the self.

Xenia Gherzan