“I wanted to make everything white,” Talia Lipkin-Connor said, smiling, at a preview for her spring show. Getting a little carried away with the bridal arm of business? She reassured us that it wasn’t actually going to end up all white, much to the relief of her studio coven, but a singular-minded concept was a good parameter to have in the beginning, at least. Stripping everything back, as she had done in her pre-nuptial appointments, forced a proper look at the construction and silhouettes. “I could very clearly see what I liked and what I didn’t,” she said.
“I find it fascinating,” she continued, guiding brides-to-be towards their wedding day looks. Seeing what these women were drawn towards––for what would likely be one of the most high-ticket purchases of their lives––helped inform what she focused on. Although an all-white collection was vetoed in the fledgling stages, a large portion remained ivory and Tipp-Ex shades. A pair of pristine, airbrush-tight low-rise trousers with a slight flare was a confident proposition in a mottled wood-like jacquard and a shiny-matte stripe, which gleamed on the runway. “Major” as Lipkin-Connor declared. One pair of pants was complemented by a teal leather cummerbund, others with dark hued, studded belts.
The fitted jackets in this milky palette were, to put it simply, great. Lipkin-Connor adhered to close-cut silhouettes, which revealed further enchanting details the more you looked: cropped peplum waists, ever-so-slightly peaked shoulders, buttons and hook-and-eye closures like those seen on the wispy, pointelle-flourished corsets beneath. The jackets came in a magnetic hot pink and black, too. Some featured ruffles sprouting out, others had neatly-undone frayed edging. Historic-leaning but modern.
“We went hard in on the woman,” Lipkin-Connor explained. “The world, the woman, it’s ever evolving—that’s what you’re selling.” The physical presence and energy of the coterie she dresses helped shape spring. For them, she developed semi-sheer mohair cable-knit jumpers in baby tones and a new striped regalia of polo tops, a dress and generous-fit trousers (the antithesis of her skinny), paired with a super-dark navy colorway of her sell-out V-neck jumper. Cargo trousers and miniskirts, in a structured (but not-too-rigid) twill felt ready for her humble east London space, which now doubles up as a kind of shop. “You’re never sure what’s going to hit,” she proffered, but it felt like these will.
“Dresses were a big drive,” and she explored the apron silhouette that she “loved” from last spring in a more daring capacity, with criss-cross straps, shorter hemlines and much more skin on show. There were also hourglass jacquard minidresses, with hardy internal boning, that indeed evidenced this “drive.”
Showing only once a year offers Lipkin-Connor freedom to fully immerse herself in the research process. Childlike collages pushed her into more experimental, creative territory. “Like a bit of an oddity,” which as a holistic idea, came together nicely. “It feels fresh, I wanted it to feel unexpected,” she said, flicking through her prized wares. “The same codes, but a step change.”
