VESPER BLOOM

spring / summer 2014

'Morning, noon and night,'
Said the time-watcher, ever so honest, ever so bright.
'Mourning, gloom and night,'
Corrected the time-juggler, rising with the dip of light.

"To watch time flow, in easy compartments, is to watch the sun and the moon battle for the skies, without a sense of wonder, for science is safe and sound.

But to watch time glow, the norturnal and diurnal romance, is to watch the sky battle for your imagination, with a scent of the explorer, for the mind's voice is profound.

It's a love for all things vespertine that separates the two: What does the night mean to you and what does it suggest? A life of another kind, or a period where your life is put on temporary hold?"

Shilpa strikes a midnight chord with the new collection, inspired by the dark arts and 'Vespertine', a term used in life sciences to describe something that occurs in the evening. Vespertine shadows are the active flowering or flourishing in the evening, organisms that come alive at night. In the essence of style, nightcrawlers that seep into the dark, spray shock into the stark and with silent shadows make a mark.

There's nothing as macabre, or magnificent, as the pitch-black canvas of the night. Shilpa embraces the colour of finality, black, and channels it into a wondrous direction 'where wallflowers bloom after a sober day, and wild grass sways to the echoes of the blessed unknown. It's the transition, from AM to PM that switches on the moody but magical sides of the dark knight. Multi-faceted reverse-sunflowers with a penchant for mysterious pagan-inspired attire? It's Vesper Bloom time. Drama beckons.

The Collection
Shilpa is renowned for creating collections in a wide range of contrasting textiles and fabrics and this season uses feathers, tulle, fleece, leather, Perspex and lace.

The Versper Bloom collection is a juxtaposition of dramatic and wearable pieces including statement head pieces made from sparkling cylinders, feathers, metal mesh, rosary, Perspex and lenticular eyes that blink; neckpieces and epaulets; with an addition this season of wearable sweatshirts.

The sweatshirts are all highly detailed with wool neckties, safari suit pockets or jacket lapels made from lace, tulle and silk. Statement pieces have 3D wings attached to the sleeves which are created from ribbons to form 'shredded batwings' in jersey fabric.

The Film
I've seen light take over space -But would you like to see darkness fill up a room? Would you like to see a vesper bloom?
This season Shilpa also launches her AW14 film alongside the collection.