In September of last year, the fashion industry shed a collective tear when British brand Meadham Kirchhoff announced its official closure – something that had been rumoured for some time. Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff’s namesake label embodied an intoxicating blend of fantasy, femininity and romance, and had become a staple on the London Fashion Week calendar. Since its closure, Kirchhoff has turned his hand to styling (earning a place in the Dazed 100 for his work) while Meadham has remained a little more under the radar.
Until today, that is, when his designs entered the fashion stratosphere once more at Sophia Webster’s AW16 LFW presentation. Inspired by Great Expectations’ Miss Havisham and Lydia Deetz of Beetlejuice, he created a series of floaty, fluttery dresses to accompany Webster’s new range of shoes and accessories. “When I first went to a Meadham Kirchhoff show it changed my life,” Webster told AnOther, “and when I first thought of this collection, I realised who better to style it?”
The collaboration came easily to both, namely because of their shared inspirations. “Sophia’s references were Miss Havisham and Lydia Deetz – I thought, I can relate to those,” Meadham explained. Employing layers of chiffon and lace, the designer’s creations bore all his trademarks, with the dead flowers strewn around the chapel setting only adding to the gothic, Dickensian effect.
We can only hope this marks the start of much more to come from Edward Meadham, one of London’s most beloved design talents.
