Review: Caitlin Price A/W ’16 Collection

On 20th February, Caitlin Price took over the Tate Britain with her effortlessly cool A/W ’16 collection, and the millenials went wild.

Clubwear and leisure wear, high and low end fabrics were effectively combined to create the feel of artificial luxury and nineties nostalgia. To paraphrase the well known girl power pop group, “I really, really, really want…” it all.

Despite only graduating in 2013, this season saw Caitlin Price’s third showing with Fashion East, Lulu Kennedy’s initiative to support London’s up-and-coming design talent. This emerging designer is proving herself ‘one to watch’ and is already stocked in Nordstrom and Selfridges.

Price evolved her past storylines with a more mature design style that focussed on tailored garments. This was exemplified in a corseted black mini dress that really pushed Price’s garment-making skills to the forefront. She added her twist with a single Bardot strap on the right arm, nodding towards fallen-down dress straps and messy nights out.

An effortless evening-wear to club-goer transformation was achieved as one-pieces were paired with detachable floor-length skirts. These skirts however caused a trip from one of the models and much awkward shuffling from the others. Not the most practical maybe, but seeing as how last season, Rick Owens sent models down the runway carrying other models, we can let Caitlin Price off.

Unlike innovators such as McQueen or Chalayan, Price is no revolutionary. However, her collection speaks to the girls of generation Y in a relatable manner, with pieces that epitomise ‘ready to wear’. Your life will now feel incomplete without a white puffer jacket, a funnel neck sports sweater and a pink fur bucket bag, and each would slide easily into your new season wardrobe.

The collection was accessorised with jewellery that saw the Tiffany heart necklace coveted by many a teenage girl made chunkier, cooler and more street. In Price’s world, the standard middle class uniform for ‘going out out’ has been transformed into cut-out bodycons, trainers and obnoxious chain necklaces. Like many of Price’s adaptations of luxury items, she’s just made them cooler.

With its soft colour scheme and effortlessly cool nineties styling, this collection feels well at home on millennials’ Tumblr blogs and social media pages, gaining it huge amounts of love online. Every look cried out for a Valencia filter and #WANT; bloggers were instagramming faster than you could say ‘Stop right now’.

Throughout the collection, Price mixes high and low; sportswear with evening-wear and tailoring with relaxed fits. Whilst not particularly innovative, this collection of contrasts offers a refreshing take on sports-luxe and noughties nonchalance that elevates and reimagines classic pieces in a cool and instantly wearable way.