PALMER//HARDING | FALL / WINTER 2012

The often bypassed and overlooked shirt has been revived by London-based men’s and women’s label, Palmer//Harding. Having been part of the NEWGEN scheme since the launch of their Spring / Summer 2012 collection, Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding’s Fall / Winter 2012 offering was much anticipated.

The duos signature design aesthetic of emotive and confident finesse has been created into a fail-safe collection. Newly refined, the designers transformed the sartorial garment into a sculpted piece, encompassing all that is sophistication. Sculptural fabrication was influenced by Bruno Walpoth’s wooden sculptures and was juxtaposed against the often-complex fluidity of cut.

Elongated and exaggerated, the relaxed shirts lengthened the silhouette and were sculpted against and away from the body. The boundary pushing details associated with a Palmer//Harding collection, including panelling, beading and the use of structural line, were accompanied by a newly introduced theme of sensuality referencing the photographs of George Platt Lynes.

The Palmer//Harding man/woman is one that is both refined and self-aware with a passion for clothes that will accentuate their current wardrobe without distracting from their personality and individuality.

By focussing on a single garment, Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding have managed to bring directional design to a traditionally neglected garment.

- Charlotte Stamp