Last year she was our One to Watch and
last season she was our Merit winner. This AW14 Yulia Kondranina
still has what it takes to wow us. Kondranina fabrication and
experimentation ability has previously amazed with her viscose
fringed dresses and tiled crochet pieces. This Central Saint Martins
graduate has a great creative vision and her collections are like no
other.
In the extravagant Vestibule of
Freemasons’ Hall Kondranina brought forward AW14 with a juxtaposition of
rough frayed edges and soft delicate wools. An essence of winter
weather was present with sparkling navy jumpers. A colour palette of
black navy and white introduced the show in thick materials. Off the
shoulder jumpers and slits added a soft feminine touch to the
oversized androgynous pieces.
The turtleneck is here to stay as the designer featured a good few. However, what was added in neck length was taken
from behind as exposed backs were recurrent throughout. The naked
backs added a contemporary twist, as did the extra long sleeves and
asymmetric dresses.
Arguably the best feature of the show though was the strapped dresses that appeared to be a cross between
shoelaces and a straight jacket. Bursts of vibrant pinks blues and
turquoises were introduced in zig zags and panels towards the end of
the show. Kondranina seems to be in agreement with the majority of the
AW14 designers that it’s going to be a colourful season.
Yulia Kondranina’s AW14
collection is less fluid than previous collections however still
shows a strong example of an intersection between fashion art and
sculpture.
By Emily Black, (@emilyy_black)
Images by Hannah McGee (@HannahMcG3e)