Initial reaction:
Craig Green is one of the few young designers who really wears his heart on his sleeve. His shows capture poetry in motion – at times spiritual or political – but always emotionally charged. That’s where the beauty lies in his work. It’s never been about the superficial or the surface level, it’s about something far more real.
Seeing red:
“I think the first two seasons were more about the visual, today it’s more about the romantic,” Green said backstage. The introduction of red in his purist colour palette of dark green, navy, white and black took things to another level. “Red is such a power colour. We wanted to work with a cavalcade colour concept, so there was this idea that the rest of the colours were protecting this middle signifier. It was about the use of those colours in a classical way and suddenly it became the most romantic thing we could think of as a colour concept. It was something very meaningful in our minds.” Silhouettes progressed this season, ranging from tight second-skin-like undergarments to loose oversized shapes covered in loose fabric that floated as his models walked.
The sound:
“We spend days thinking about the music. We have no idea what we’re going to find and we usually get everyone we know to suggest things, but it has to capture the emotion we want to show,” explained Green. After last season’s use of Enya’s “Caribbean Blue” (which really struck an emotional chord with the audience) Green chose the work of Belgian composer Wim Mertens, followed by Michael Nyman’s “Wheelbarrow Walk”. It was a powerful soundtrack to an equally powerful show.
The soundtrack to Craig Green AW15:
