With devilishly dark eyes, cropped slicked back hair and a uniform of grey wool, patent black leather and asphalt prints, Louise Amstrup’s A/W11 collection was a gang of girl-rebels up to no good. For this season, in keeping with her signature style of distinctly feminine and powerful, structured garments, the Danish designer played with themes of youth rebellion, danger and lawlessness, using Natural Born Killers’ ultimate bad girl Mallory Knox as the collection’s main muse. With wartime zoot suits as another source of inspiration, grey and black were the staple colours of choice, set against splashes of maroon, navy, dusty blue and, most prominently, acid yellow.
Key garments included the show-stopping ‘Danger’ dress, a patent leather ensemble with Amstrup’s signature panelling, a dirty plum merino dress, billowing silk shirts and the ‘Bad’ coat, a mischievous yet elegant shaved mink coat with leather detail. Milliner extraordinaire Noel Stewart provided the headgear, an array of slanted hats paired with skullcaps tied around the neck, alluding to Quakers and themes of rebellion and religion. With knee-high socks, belted waists and ruby-red pouts, Amstrup’s girls were suited, booted and ready for action.
