BARBARA I GONGINI | SPRING / SUMMER 2013

In 2009 Danish designer Barbara i Gongini was named one of ten-up-and-coming designers who presented a sustainable collection fro Bright Green Fashion – an inspiring collaborative project which strives for greater environmental and social responsibility within fashion production. While Gongini’s environmental concerns have stayed in place since the projects, there’s no trace of a day-glo hippy in her ultra-stylish collections.

Gongini pays homage Bright Green Fashion in her use of organic fibers, fair-trade production methods and recycling. Her Spring / Summer 2013 collection, debuted at Copenhagen fashion week, was brimming with bold shapes, slick but rough cuts and rich textures. Her colour palette for Spring / Summer 2013 was limited to monochrome greys, blacks and white – apart from a distinct and vibrant neon yellow.

Barbara i Gongini’s Spring / Summer 2013 collection had a raw and urban feel about it. The mishmash of fabrics and the somewhat erratic cuts gave the collection a sense of a post-apocalyptic time, almost as though ensembles has been pieced together from the debris of a collapsed civilization. In keeping with this, were the models pale complexions, sunken eyes and wayward, disheveled and matted hairstyles.

It was organised chaos; black brogues were splashed with neon yellow paint in a certain haphazard manner, while sheer fabrics were draped over leather shorts and PVC legwarmers. Male models had an air of the urban highwayman about them; a drop crotch jersey all in one was layered over a plain grey tee and topped off with a matching tie-at-the-hip cardigan and black holdall shoulder bag.

Elsewhere, the Barbara i Gongini Spring / Summer 2013 collection saw white jersey vests up-cycled into ethereal tank dresses and over-sized jackets. Zippers were used as embellishment rather than out of necessity, and footwear was, for the most part, unisex and simple. Accessories were almost non-existent apart from the occasional knotted rust-colour necklace.

- Ellen Stewart