In the guise of fashion illustration Leo interrogates street culture and imagery and posts these drawings regularly on his blog www.leogreenfield.com.
Shoot from the hipline
Kara Baker’s Dress strikes me as very Vivienne Westwood in its off-beat brand of coquettish sensuality.
While created in the early 80’s, Baker’s design influence was the 1940s, a time of much drapery around the hipline. Today this is in vogue again in the collections and on the street, embodying the same devil-may-care spirit I sense in this ruffled, off-the-shoulder dress.
Baker has compressed and manipulated the material to create a bustle on the hip and in current collections the same intricate workmanship with fabric is coming through. JW Anderson has done this with drawstring-side skirts in his fall 2013 women’s collection although the detail is not overwrought, maintaining his signature minimalism. While Raf Simons for Dior has also elegantly bunched fabric, in a similar way to Baker, to emphasize the hips.
Emily Power
Fashion writer, www.fashionistasguide.com.au