Clare Tough and the urban scrum

Tuesday 18th September 2007

A somewhat impatient crowd was waiting at Clare Tough as the lag from earlier shows hit the BFC tent. Many, myself included, were gagging for the first drink of the evening to kick of the night of revelry ahead.

Finally the show opened and an electric collection was paraded. The whole look was pure 80s- think Debby Harry in New York in the video for ‘Rip her to Shreds’..Are you with me? We are talking graffiti, yellow taxi cabs, punk and glam rap. Tough’s innovative approach to knitwear has been her trademark throughout her career, but in this collection more than ever it has become a feature rather than an overarching signature theme.

Camouflage colours across the initial oversize hooded jackets and jumpers teamed with mini khaki shorts, pointed to the uniform of urban warfare and this mood was carried throughout. The next few looks were made up of black and white graphic knits moulded into jumpers and woven into body hugging dresses. This motif was repeated on rucksacks and peaked caps making a nod to the logo mania of the yuppie era.

The second half of the collection became much more literal in the sense that urban warfare was appliquéd onto the clothes themselves. Hats were emblazoned with skyscrapers and a rucksack became Manhattan. Sidewalks, skyscrapers, hellish traffic and urban detritus were knitted and stitched almost on to the body itself in the form of tight, tight mini dresses. The final showstopper was an all in one unitard appliquéd with a similar tableau of city strife- perfect for Karen O wannabes.

This show was not the most eloquent, but it was great fun and fantastically visual. Personally I felt the collection worked best when it operated in abstract terms- a bit like Laura Lees Label- sometimes spelling out the message so obviously, turns the whole project into a gimmick. However it was a shame that more press and the associated C-listers couldn’t have ensured Tough’s place in the morning newspapers.