the glorious E. tautz a / w 14 show

inspired by artist william hogarth’s series of paintings entitled a rake's progress from 18th century, which was later reincarnated into an opera of three acts by igor stravinsky, patrick grant’s 2014 autumn winter collection for E. TAUTZ is a breathtakingly #menswear ride of everything beauteous. classy prince of wales checks & solid herringbone sing odes to traditional british satorialism while the embrace of using silk & wool in outerwears shines new light. overcoats flaunt & flow like boudoir robes while scarves are fringed in floral jacquards underneath dark suits. what is most #wecouldgrowup2gether about this collection is the hand-stitched appliques & embroidery, which were done by the students at the royal school of needlework; those almost-look-like handwritten words on the back of the rider jacket are actually from w. h. auden's libretto to stravinsky’s opera. just like the story that was told in holgart’s paintings, the collection tells a story of a wild reckless fall from extravagance to madness, but in style & glory. with romantic but somehow melancholic piano music playing throughout the fashion show, i got teary eyes. as the show ended & the lights went up, i left the venue & walked towards new oxford street in a drizzle of english rain, with that music & those imageries of clothes lingering in my head …