A MODEL wearing a red foil pigskin bustier and yellow tartan trews takes a swig from a bottle of well-known tonic wine.
It’s a controversial teaser image for the second visit to London Fashion Week of Glasgow-based design duo Obscure Couture since launching at their Barras studio only 11 months ago.
Lyndsay Pagan and Jennifer Coyle, graduates of Heriot-Watt’s School of Textiles & Design in Galashiels, will display their Spring/Summer 2012 collection at two catwalk shows and exhibitions. They have moved on from the exuberant Victoriana-punk of their Autumn/Winter 2011 launch, Flesh & Bone, for a grittier, gang culture-inspired concept that they hope will get industry buyers and bloggers talking.
“We want to shock every season. We don’t want to get into a rut. We want to challenge ourselves,” said Jennifer, 26, who after graduation worked on stage costumes for Goldfrapp and Scissor Sisters with Fee Doran at Mrs Jones, creator of Kylie’s navel-exposing white jumpsuit.
“We play on the stereotypes and still make something beautiful out of something quite aggressive,” added Lyndsay, also 26, who cut her teeth at London Fashion Week helping out backstage at Julien Macdonald’s shows. We have lots of hand-painted silks, metallic pigskin, tartan; amazing tartan.”
Their new Us-Vs-Them collection, a riot of clashing colours with a heavy luxe sports influence teamed with opposing MacLeod and Macpherson tartans, will be showcased at Fashion Mavericks at the Strand Palace Hotel on Saturday and at A La Mode’s Emerging Designer event at Browns Courtrooms on Monday.
Their appearances sit on the fringe of official events held at Somerset House, which for six days from Friday will be populated by the likes of Burberry Prorsum, Mulberry, Christopher Kane, Erdem, Paul Smith and Amanda Wakeley.
A mattress on the floor of the mezzanine level of Obscure Couture’s studio in the heart of the Barras bears testament to the 16-hour days required for producing their collection. The duo, with the help of three interns, have worked for the last six weeks to create 20 outfits for their couture showcase, prices for which range from £130 to almost £2000 for a signature “brawlgown”.
The studio, with its fishbowl windows on to the Barras, is awash with patterns and strips of Strathmore tartan; the finishing touches still being added at the last minute. Visors, miniature skip caps and leather headpieces by Paisley milliner Pea Cooper and knitwear by Debbie Ruzzak also feature in the collection.
It was in the revamped Barras Art & Design Centre that Obscure Couture unveiled their brand in October 2010 in front of 500 guests. A near-neighbour is denim maestro Robert Watson who has received commissions from Manchester United and Barcelona football clubs.
Similarly, Obscure Couture’s kudos is gathering pace: MTV Europe host Laura Whitmore wore one of their outfits at the Scottish Fashion Awards in June, at which Obscure Couture was named a finalist in the Young Designer of the Year category. They expect items from their Flesh & Bone collection to feature in the pages of Russian Vogue soon, while their clothes have been borrowed by stylists for Amy Winehouse’s goddaughter Dionne Bromfield and girl band Stooshe, a recent signing to Warner Records.
Lyndsay and Jennifer met at college in Galashiels in 2002. During the three years that Jennifer spent travelling following graduation, designing in Australia and Oman, Lyndsay registered the name Obscure Couture inspired by a conversation they had about a book of daily morals.
“Every day had a wee saying. One was about how obscurity can be a blessing and it will never warp our values. That always stuck,” said Lyndsay, from Newton Mearns.
They spent a year working on a business plan, securing £10,000 from Cultural Enterprise Office’s Starter for 6 programme and £5000 from the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust. The grant and mentorship schemes provided a platform to launch as a commercial enterprise.
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