As this was Carolyn Massey's first solo show all eyes were on her and even with the added pressure of the heightened expectation she truly delivered. Massey closed the extended menswear afternoon in true style. Sharply tailored trench coats and capes offered the edge, whilst knits provide an element of calm and romance. It is most rare to leave a show with the desire to own every single look. Her obsession with the make and craft of menswear could not have been more blatant in this collection and this is what makes her special.As solid and as exciting as the whole collection was, I have to focus attention on the Patent Leather (I thought it was PVC, it is in fact leather!) outerwear on show. This look should always be approached with great levels of caution (this applies as much to furniture as clothes) but Carolyn Massey threw in a couple of great examples as to how this fabric can be used in interesting (and practical) outerwear. My initial reaction was one of delighted surprise and I was forced to tweet "Massey's PVC cape and hat need to be seen!" and after I was fortunate enough to go backstage after the show this feeling morphed into love. Backstage was pretty hectic, the clothes were fast being packed away and Carolyn and her team were being congratulated by one and all on an excellent show but I sneaked a closer look at the cape and just had enough time to take the above snap and cop a seedy feel. Ultimately, Massey has shown that despite the general consensus that a wipe clean cape is oh, so wrong, it can generate much excitement and in fact be astonishingly right.
I left this show with the realisation that my wardrobe was somewhat naked without a cape and no cape designer search is required because this show was surely Massey's coronation as the 'Queen of Capes'.
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