Hardy Amies' new design director, Ian Garlant, vowed to breathe new life into the British label as he presented his first couture collection on Wednesday.
Giving fashionistas a fresh view of the dressmaker preferred by the Queen required taking a unique approach to the models displaying the exclusive frocks on the catwalk. In addition to the face of Hardy Amies - Lisa Butcher - other beauties who showed off Garlant's creations at the Savile Row show included a teenage aristocrat and a septuagenarian.
Eighteen-year-old Lady Laura Cathcart was making her runway debut, while 71-year-old Carmen Dell'Orefice has been gracing catwalks for more than 50 years. "By showing the range on women aged between 18 and 71 we show how we can span the generations," says Garlant.
"A beautiful dress and a beautiful woman is ageless." The designer aims to "re-establish Hardy Amies as a couture house" nearly two years after 94-year-old Sir Hardy, Garlant's one-time mentor, retired after selling the company to the Luxury Brands conglomorate. The new attitude of the label, he says, is "combining respect for the past with modernity, elegance and sex appeal."
Hardy Amies, which became known as the Queen's favourite fashion house after receiving the Royal Warrant in 1952, has gone through some turmoil since Sir Hardy's retirement. The previous chief couturier, Jacques Azagury, left his post in June 2002, not long after the label introduced – and then abandoned – a ready-to-wear line.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
