Crystal Flowers: Elisa Palomino AW12

Elisa Palomino's AW12 collection opened with a glorious array of fuchsia looks before transitioning into rich purples, classic black and exotic botantical accents of orange and green.
The collection possesses the elegant glamour of the early 20th century, as found in TV's Downton Abbey. The silhouettes hark back to the sleek long lines and scooped backs of the 20s and 30s and the loose line coats have the same vintage charm. The bags were pretty and petite for evening occasions or fabulous daytime adventures, meanwhile charming evening gloves featured sparkling embellishment or else came in sweet little net styles. Sophisticated feather boas draped on shoulders heightened the sense of glamour and were created by Zoe Sherwood.
Palomino was inspired by Florine Steeheimer's book of poems Crystal Flowers. As well as a poet, Steeheimer was a painter and designer, and together with her sisters Ettie and Carrie made a stir on the New York social scene in the 20s and 30s. Their flamboyant avant-garde new styles featured pink wigs and oriental robes which we can see translated in this collection.
The models in Palomino's show came out wearing perfectly coifed pink and purple confections and magnificent head pieces. As I discovered viewing her SS12 collection Palomino has a real talent for styling the most magnificent headpieces, this time with elaborate flowers and birdcage tulle in collaboration with Angel Amor and Mathilde Forster.
Fabrics wise I saw lovely velvets, chiffons and a lot of delicious delvore velvets. Being the floral romantic I am I was also happy to see so many flowers, with references in particular to anemones, roses and carnations, from the richly varying prints to fully bloomed velvet roses on a coat collar. I also adored the butterflies, a motif which is fast becoming my favourite mini trend for the new season.
I so enjoyed Elisa Palomino's amazing work once again. The collection is dreamy, exquisite and beautifully cut and what I like best about it is the wonderfully pleasing romantic aesthetic of it all.