TWENTY8TWELVE SS11 LOOKBOOK

Twenty8Twelve is the womenswear brand of London actress-come-it-girl(woman?) Sienna Miller and her designer sister Savannah. I've been aware of it since its launch in 2007, but I have to confess to not really taking much notice. So far I've always felt the clothes seemed to embody the fact that Sienna Miller's just a bit BLAH isn't she?

Nothing personal man, but I HATED Factory Girl so much that I think maybe part of my can't really forgive her for the heinous monstrosity - even though she is pure gorgeous.

Anyway, with Twenty8Twelve I always felt there was never enough DRAMA involved. Too boho, casual relaxi-wear for me, I'm afraid.

However, I *THINK* my mind might have been at least partly changed after seeing some of the shots from their latest SS11 lookbook.

Apparently the line was inspired by Navajo and vintage 40s prints the sisters found in English thrift stores and antique fairs. Hmmmmm....

I dunno, I can't really decide what I think about this:

Loving that gilet. As for the rest? Nah, not so much.

Is that like some sort of red apron thing over the top of the dress? Whatever the hell it is, it's adding weight to that tiny model's hips, so God help the rest of us. Pretty much TAKE IT OFF and you've improved it tenfold.

Bleached denim = win, Short shorts = win, Swagger = win. Basically an overall win.

More bleached denim is a good thing, I reckon it's going to be everywhere this summer, but what's with the skirt? No, no, no, no, no.

Love this dress, love the length and love the contrast with the open-toed chunky black shoes, but it looks very All Saints, no? Extremely similar to the famous Aztec dress of Lourdes-at-the-Oscars fame.

Beautiful. Beautiful model, styling and choice of background. BUT does anyone else think look like it could have been lifted from the Topshop website? Just me?

Hate to say it, but it looks cheap and nasty. Don't like the strappy shoes in this context either. Not to sound like a pretentious knob but this dress and the earlier skirt of the same print make me feel like I don't understand the concept of the line - I just don't get it. Feels REALLY out of place? I mean, I guess it kind of looks a bit like 40s underwear sort of, if you squint, but the styling (hair and shoes) is kinda grungy and laidback which clashes, and not in a good way. It's a fail for me.

Yawn. I'm not even looking at the jacket or the skirt because I am so preoccupied with Sienna's roots and weirdly deformed left knee... Never a good sign for the clothes...

Ah, now THIS I like. Loving her swag, the shirt and gilet, and even the shoes here work fairly well, though I'd have liked to have seen more imagination and maybe some fringing on the gilet? Still, this is a banging look overall.

It's a shame these photos aren't the best quality because I'd have liked to have seen the print up-close, but from far away it looks gorgeous whatever it is. Can't make out for sure, but this looks like a playsuit and if so BOTH THUMBS UP! Love it. Would have perhaps given the model a brighter lip, but I like that her hair is up and again the shoes contrast really well with the pastel softness of the garment.

Love the top, but not sure about the shorts. And the first thing I'd be doing here is taking that belt off - it feels unnecessary and the colour is all wrong. And there's that weird knee again...

HMMM bit of a mixed bag, no? I definitely DO love some of these looks/pieces, but others look like they could be straight out of All Saints, and the studio shots against a block-coloured background - while I think they work in some shots - are almost IDENTICAL to the Topshop SS11 lookbook (dare-I-say-it, perhaps even not as good or as polished).

So, overall I think they've overshot the mark here. The plain coloured backgrounds and enclosed-studio shoot means that the models have to work much harder to convey the theme, and with an alledgedly vintage/Navajo Indian inspiration meant to be communicated via the clothes, I think a location shoot with props or a lazy meadow at dusk would have worked much better. Perhaps that kind of thing was too obvious, but in this case the pieces are individually too weak to really pack as much of a punch as they should within the lacklustre setting.

Ultimately though, It's a wearable collection with a nice chilled vibe, perfect for the highstreet this summer, and easily replicated.
Agree?


WOW that all got a bit ABSTRACT, MAN, didn't it? Jeeze, wish I could turn this much contemplation and analysis to my advanced reporting and writing assignment...