Friday, December 5, 2014

A crustacean love letter.

This morning I fell so hard it almost hurts. Luckily I am not referring to a mishap in my precarious re-learning of how to climb the stairs (or even the far more difficult mission of coming back down), but rather my metaphorical tumble head over heels into love with faux-fur fashion label Shrimps.

Hannah Weiland of Shrimps, photo via i-D

Entitled so after the designer's childhood nickname ("because I was pink and small!"), the fabulous fuzziness and cartoony colour combinations of each creation boosts the mood of not only the wearer but also anyone who bears witness to these vibrant incarnations of cosiness and cool. Turns out a garment can have both edge and fluff.

Although I had seen the unmistakeable outerwear among the street-style-papped patrons of London Fashion week in February, my initial ignorance of the brand might have had something to do with my focus back then being more towards planning a six month trip to a part of the world where the thought of wearing a sweater - let alone a coat - would have been ludicrous. However, now I have been firmly planted back in the midst of a grey British winter, an injection of warmth and happiness in cuddly coat form would be more than welcome. Safe to say, I am besotted.

Laura Bailey
Kate Foley
Natalie Massanet
Photos via theguardian

It all began this morning when my curiosity was piqued during a perusal of Instagram, when I saw that the amazing Susie Bubble had posted a picture of one of the most perfect gift boxes I have ever seen. This turned out to be a package covered in doodles from the Shrimps x Poplin silk pjs collaboration, and contained a vision of fluffy exuberance that is a Shrimps coat and clutch.  My yearning for Bubble's heavenly hamper led me to locate the brand's website in all its shrimp-cursored glory, with its tongue-in-cheek lookbooks and witty Instagram account underpinning the pastel-hued design delight of this relatively small but brilliant label. Permeating the brand is the classic sass of the British GSOH; essential for glueing together the bubblegum colours and classic sixties collars with an offbeat eccentricity, and exemplified in the notable inspiration taken from the designer's favourite artist Grayson Perry, collage maestro Eduardo Paolozzi, retro candy, and childhood cartoons.

With all of the above now very much at the top of my dream wish list, Shrimps' SS15 collection further epitomises the ubiquitous edgy grace of London Girl cool. Let's be honest, we still need outerwear for the so-called British 'summer', and who wouldn't want to brighten that faux season with a faux selection of canary yellow/parma violet/sky blue/bubblegum pink? So let us give thanks that Hannah Weiland, aka the Goddess of seafood-dubbed sartorial sensations, is here to stay.

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