“As you know, I’m quite obsessed with my muses.” So said Emilia Wickstead of her tendency to look to a female artist most seasons, drawing on either their work and their wardrobes for inspiration. (Though she’s equally inspired by the women she dresses, the latest being NHS nurse Harriet Sperling, who married Peter Phillips—son of Princess Anne—a few weeks back in a custom lace gown by Wickstead, prompting global headlines.)
For resort, the designer turned her gaze to Helen Frankenthaler, the mid-century American painter beloved for her fluid, watercolor-like canvases,which made for a delightful meeting of minds. As well as taking cues directly from Frankenthaler’s palette, she also found herself pinning old photos of the artist in her New York studio to the mood board, leading Wickstead to ask herself: “If she were around today, what would her uniform be?”
A rather extravagant one, clearly: The most eye-catching pieces in the collection came from the eveningwear offering. There was a ravishing floor-length gown cut from a moody floral that was designed to be both painterly and deliberately a little spattered, reflecting the chaos of Frankenthaler’s studio, but with a stream of fabric that folded gracefully over the shoulder before forming a narrow train behind, as well as dresses cut from Wickstead’s signature cloqué in sapphire blue and powder pink with a streaky, exaggerated version of her typical embossed flowers. Most striking of all was a mini dress and twin set embellished—or more like encrusted—with layered 3D paillettes that formed sculptural flowers at the shoulders and pockets.
Wickstead knows how to mix it all up so it doesn’t feel fussy, however: just take the lovely floral dresses that had been printed onto raw shantung silk, which reminded Wickstead of the textured surfaces of Frankenthaler’s unprimed canvases. “I wanted it to feel effortless and free,” she said, and it does. Her study of Frankenthaler’s own wardrobe also reaped very lovely results: 1950s-inspired chunky V-neck cable knit sweaters and gray check wools had a touch of desirable schoolmistress chic. And what Wickstead had nicknamed her “artist’s shirts”—roomy gabardine button-downs with exaggerated collars and sleeves—were very cool indeed.
It helps that Wickstead designs for herself on occasion, filling the gaps in her wardrobe that somehow, despite running a brand for 18 years, still exist. “The best part of being a female designer is that you do get to test and trial everything,” she said. “I’m a very fast person with most things in life, and I’m a very fast dresser as well. I want my customer to know that it can be effortless and fast for them too.” Alongside the supremely elegant one-and-done dresses that will outfit her customer for any evening event, there were plenty of clothes to be thrown on in a hurry—and look great in—too.
