The mood for S/S 13 at Hardy Amies is all about the parallels drawn between the lives of Hardy himself and that of photographer Cecil Beaton, from their involvement in the Bright Young Things era, through the military restraint of the Second World War, to the post war Peacock movement, which saw a revivial in popularity for both men in their respective fields.

The soundtrack started with a video piece by artist Ori Gersht, based on the explosion of flowers through use of sound, one continuous note held, its pitch increasing until the flowers and the vase holding them exploded. This then broke into the show music, which played over the video depicting the aftermath of the explosion, falling debris. The music creative director Claire Malcolm chose had a strong military beat to bring home the narrative concept of the collection.

Althought the show was at 3:30pm, we arrived at the venue at 9am, first setting up the backstage area and then having final fittings – as the show was on the first day of Paris fashion week the boys were arriving at various times during the day.

My favourite look from the show was look 1 worn by Baptiste, the white double breasted day suit worn with lightweight sweater. It had a charm and elegance to it that set the mood for the whole collection.

Text Gary Armstrong