The life span of fashion used to last for six months, thanks for the internet, it’s now vastly shortened to six weeks max maybe? Things are barely heat up for a minute before turning into frozen ice. Insiders, media, bloggers, myself included … those who’re responsible for this are asking why and how without knowing the answer. There’s too much fashion for the wrong reasons, and there’s no way back. AW2011 trends have expired, long before its mid-season sell-by date. My eyes are spoiled and yearning for alternatives and newness again. Question is, however, is there any newness left? I speak for myself, adjust my own taste and senses, support those that are visually quieter, gimmick-less, genuine, more soulful and with heart. In short, not to be fooled by the deceitful hype.
For whatever reasons, long, bleak silhouettes (often cut in bias) seem to catch my eyes particularly; so do off, dreary, twisted elements with dark vibe. An antidote for overexposed fashion or those produced en mass, maybe? When first came across his last name few years ago, I thought “oh not another Asian designers,” Singaporean la? But no, he’s actually a Canadian. Besides his nationality, I pay little attention to his work, until recently. I admire the fact that the independent Laing does not play the game or try hard to kiss the American establishment, probably due to where he bases. In the AW2011 collection, Laing shows us something uniquely ethereal, dream-like and above all, radically chic, IMO. “I was fascinated by the lunar eclipse,” he says. “But the mood is not spacey — more of how we look on the moon as a muse, how we look up at it, earthbound.” Laing said of this collection.
Two prints, "Eclipse" and "Hand of Glory", are specially made in collaboration with artist Scott Treleaven
Photo by Max Abadian
About Jeremy Laing | Canadian-born Jeremy Laing spent his childhood on an army base in Germnay. He learned to sew at age 13 by watching his mother, and has been making clothes ever since.
Jeremy’s self-taught method, which combines organic and geometric approaches to pattern making and construction, was honed while studying in Toronto, on exchange at Westminster University in London, and through an apprenticeship with Alexander McQueen. Following his apprenticeship, Jeremy worked freelance developing showpieces for five of McQueen’s collections, demonstrationg his strength in innovative patten making, garment construction, and the use of textile to create form.
In Jeremy’s view, garments are a sum of parts, all functioning in relation to one another and, ultimately, to the body. His collections often stem from his elaborations on simple principles of construction and form, drawing simultaneously from couture and tailoring traditions.
Jeremy currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
