Ten30 have created something truly unique with their fourth collection, The Ukrainian Girl. Not solely with the result, though the garments are stunningly-simple and gorgeous in their own right, but with the inspiration for the range.
You see, the Ukrainian girl after whom the collection is named doesn’t actually exist. She’s a fictional 24-year-old girl called Abigail - half gamine, Eastern-Bloc goddess and half English rose. Yes, I did just say fictional!
Alan Moore, designer behind Ten30 who was recently awarded Best New Scottish Designer at the Scottish Variety Awards, explains that Abigail – a.k.a The Ukrainian Girl - acts as an imagined inspiration and represents a mixture of his experiences and aspirations:
"My influence for this collection was born from my intrigue of Ukrainian pysanka, European ballet and 90's Versace. This range afforded me the opportunity to combine the most interesting features from all three to create a contemporary ready-to-wear collection,” said the 24-year-old designer.
Moore continues:
“I’ve been developing Abigail’s story and character for many months now. She has her own blog and Facebook page giving her a virtual persona. I want people to understand my designs through her eyes, as she is the pivotal point for the collection.”
Brilliant and baffling though this explanation may be, there’s no denying the beauty of the pieces he has created using the imaginary Abigail as his muse:
A Luxurious shift dress cut from Persian-style printed silk and adorned with a Peter-pan collar – detail of the moment, it is all about collars for spring – is a personal highlight.
A similar print is used for a surprisingly demure calf-length skirt, which conjures connotations both of the 90s Versace influence Moore mentions, but also reminds me of Christopher Kane’s latest nostalgic AW11 collection:
But there are also more wearable, everyday pieces present too, including a Breton-striped t-shirt, harem pants and pure wool boleros, all printed and hand-made in Scotland.
Cathy Black, head of textiles at Scottish Enterprise who provide industry support to textiles designers and companies in Scotland, said:
“Since graduating [from Glasgow School of Art], Alan Moore has created beautifully-designed bespoke garments and a number of successful capsule selections. The Ukrainian Girl, his second official line, is a beautiful mix of contemporary print on quality fabric.”
What is most striking about this collection, after the high-caliber craftsmanship and quality of the pieces, is the obvious fact that Ten30 are prepared to commit 110% to their inspiration without diluting it. A fictional Ukrainian girl might sound peculiar, but she has acted as muse for a dynamic and intriguing collection of garments which showcase Ten30 as a brand to watch for the future.
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I unfortunately couldn't make The Ukrainian Girl debut catwalk show so could only review the collection via the press shots. I'd have loved to have seen some close-up shots of the prints and details, but on the other hand I do love the contrast between the gritty urban setting and the clean lines of the pieces in the lookbook shots.
Here's a few snaps of the show:
Hot stuff. Loving the quirky makeup, styling and presentation...
What do you guys reckon?
4 comments:
i love all the dresses in the first set of photos!
<3 steffy
Steffys Pros and Cons
Alan is pretty much the most crazy talented man I've ever met. The whole concept behind the collection was brilliant. Ordered a dress from a previous collection..oh stupid spending habits. SO worth it. SO worth it. xx
Is that the dress you wore to Pyuupiru ITCOW? Cos that was COOL AS! I always meant to ask toy where it was from cos it looked like Motel at first from far away but up close it was like WOWAWEEWA!
I know, it took me a while to mull it over - like, why wouldn't you just cite the individual constituants(easter-bloc chic, 90s Versace, English rose, travel etc) as inspirational componants in themselves. But then I guess that having all the separate strands tied up into one single "persona" makes it easier to tie everything together and allows for a more cohesive collection.
Deep!
xx
Yeah - the dress I wore to ITCOW was a ten30 sample dress (same fabric as my beloved scarf.) Wore it out on a night out...and the cut is just dead easy to wear so I can be all like "Catty times...time for some ten30" but it's still special enough I'd wear it to events and the like. It's not coming cheap, but won't be seeing anyone else in Glasgow scarping about in it any time soon. I just feel dead nice in it and it's cut really well. There are a few pieces from the new collection I love. The trousers are incrediballs by the by. All the embroidery detailing. Oh so much.
Favourite fact is the ten30 studio is next to the coolest record shop in glasgow (volcanic tongue.)Pretty sure its owned by music journo David Keenan and his wifey/musician Heather Leigh Murray who provided the music for the ukranian girl show. She's VERY good.
I like knowing the influences but seeing how the entire concept came together was just really effective, with the short stories on the blog and everything. TOO good
x
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