Fred Butler’s Autumn 2012 Collection

If we were to sum up Fred Butler’s Autumn 2012 collection we’d have to say it’s mango-sorbet-meets-Rainbow-Bright. Butler’s garments are angular, filled with colorful padded accessories and exude a childlike, washed out rainbow-on-acid quality to them. Pinks and fuchsia? Check! Tantalizing tangerine? Check! No matter the color, the bold hues are complemented perfectly with the playful head bands. The only thing cooler than Butler’s garments may be her hand knitted high heels, which are a clever collaboration between Butler and Rosy Nicholas. These suckers are dripping in color, outfitted in thick yarn, and once again, detailed to perfection!

Butler adds “The way I design is to fiddle around with paper and materials first and then put those samples onto the mannequin to toile a wearable item.”

“The quilting shapes from cross sections of sushi rolls came from a ski jacket I made for my foundation in 1998 …… I never knew at the time it would come out of the closet again!”

“From the screen-printed sushi trousers of this project I chose to use the palette of washed out Wasabi greens, picked ginger soft pinks, caviar coral oranges, subtle salmon flesh tones and monochrome black and white mimicking the contrast of rice against seaweed wraps.”

“I wanted to make headwear using the knots and ties from kimono obijimes, translate the twists and turns into a cable for cosy jumpers, and then have Rosy relate the technique to her trademark French knitted tubes for the high heels and bracelets.”

(Photography: Emily Beard & Fred Butler)