People often say that the best conversations happen in the kitchen and that couldn’t be truer for Molly Goddard. Her A/W 18 show was set in an industrial kitchen, a professional setting with ready-chopped vegetables and bottles of wine amidst the heated buffet servers, and as her models walked they stopped for a tipple, a nibble, and a chinwag.
Goddard had been thinking of that sweet moment at a party, the time when one slinks off to the kitchen, to try the food, chat privately to the host or to finish the night. 'I had a memory of going to a party at Brunswick House. We were all dressed up and we went in the kitchen and we were eating out of the pot,' said Goddard backstage. 'You find the kitchen wherever it is, maybe you’re in a hotel, you sit and you snack on the food and it feels like the night’s over. That’s the moment when I’m really having a good time.'
Indeed, these girls were having a jolly: big dresses in typical Molly cascades were cropped short and in cotton for the lady too cool to party. A gold foil dress that slunk off the shoulder also alluded to a fun time and there was certainly no doubt that the girl in the orange tumbling tulle dress is the life-and-soul of any shindig. Edie Campbell opened the show with a new slinky crop top, designed to give the flat-chested woman an overtly sexy appearance (rest assured there will be versions for the bustier babe.) This, paired with a full skirt was strikingly confident. If you’re thinking this looked 'pretty', (which to some extent it most certainly was) you would be met with a knowing look from Goddard. 'Pretty' or 'Girly', are Goddard’s version of the word 'nice'. 'It’s very boring to be out in that pretty bracket,' said Goddard. ‘I think maybe the phrase girly has been misinterpreted, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being girly but it’s been associated with being wishy-washy and I’m not very wishy-washy.’ And wishy-washy this was not!
New, joyful prints and further doses of knitwear were a great addition to the typical shapes one assimilates with a Goddard show, those of which were given adjustable toggles, for the girl on the go and bright pops of kelly green and red. According to the gospel of Goddard, winter is the time you should be wearing your brightest colours. As these girls chat and schmooze, serving drinks, the colours match those of the carrots and greens atop the table. These characters and individuals, this story-line even, brings Goddard’s designs to life. You already know that, despite some pieces’ amplitude and strong silhouette, they are wearable in everyday life because it is happening right before your eyes. 'People see an image but they don’t see the girl who’s wearing it, I just make clothes that show that attitude. She’s confident, uninhabited and having a good time.' concluded Goddard.
A good time was undeniably had by all; Goddard's is no doubt the most joyous and smile-inducing offering on the schedule.
