Haider Ackermann

Posted 3rd October 2009 14:10 BY Alex Fury

Let's face it, despite the protestations of fashion's great and good, a catwalk show isn't often an emotional experience - you may love or loathe it, you may laugh, you may be bored. Very rarely does it send a tingle down your spine and make you well up inside. Perhaps it was the early start, but for me, Haider Ackermann's extraordinary show for S/S 2010 achieved this enviable feat. His A/W collection garnered effusive praise for its poetic, sinuous and sensual clothing - for spring, Ackermann built considerably on this strong foundation. The tools were similar, using a washed palette of mineral hues - imperceptible shades of graphite and hematite grey shot through with sulphur yellow and a rich, iridescent cobalt - as were the tactile washed satins, silk crepes and jerseys. The lines were still serpentine, tumbling to the floor and trailing, occasionally sliced across the hip or to the thigh, trussed with subtle harnessing. There was an air of the militaristic feeling we have seen elsewhere in bead-encrusted tunics like chainmail, slender cargo pants or softly draped zouave trousers, and those puckered safari jackets, tightly-waisted and sometimes pulled to the back to create a slightly Edwardian line. Yes, it was reminiscent of last season, but it still felt right. These clothes are outside the relentless, unforgiving and ever-changing circus of fashion. As if to prove this point, Ackermann closed his show with three models in severe, simple and timeless black jersey dresses - the final pouring across the body from a single strap, leaving a breast bare. In text, it sounds gimmicky and tabloid-pleasing. In reality, it was breathtakingly pure and beautiful. The standing ovation began before the model reached the end of the catwalk, lingered for three tumultuous minutes, and could justifiably have lasted twice that.