Alice Temperley's bi-annual fashion "installation" at MAC & Milk Studios this evening was civilized as ever, with guests sipping complimentary grape juice vodkas and taking in her collection of groovy, '60s-inspired garb.
Inspired by the late and great British fashion photographer, Norman Parkinson, Temperley and photographer Adam Whitehead chose to reinterpret favorite Parkinson shots through portraits of 16 modern British icons: Annie Lennox (yay!), Liberty Ross, Rosamund Pike, Sophie Dahl, Yasmin Le Bon, Laura Bailey and Jacquetta Wheeler all agreed to pose, swathed in Temperley's swingin' collection of stripey jackets, ruched cocktail dresses, jewel embellishments and, yes, Union Jacks.
The convincingly vintage-looking prints were all hand embellished by the designer herself, using the same embroidery and beading techniques as the collection, and displayed behind corresponding mannequins (photos will be auctioned off in the spring to benefit women seeking education in West Africa). Taken altogether, the collection may have been a bit Austin Powers, "YEAH, baby!" for our taste, but any woman would feel elegant in one of Temperley's jewel-tone dresses, swinger or no.
