The Bite Magazine Issue 17

Photography: Tony Wellington Vivi Callanan visits V&A’s Fashion in Motion featuring the House of Holland and gives her verdict on some of the looks. bite fashion T he V&A’s Fashion in Motion is a long-running series of live catwalk events held in the beautiful and spa- cious Raphael Gallery. The series was started with the intention of present- ing fashion as it is supposed to be viewed (‚in motion’) to the general public, and what better venue to host such an event than the beautiful historic Victoria and Albert museum? Established in 1852 after the success of the Great Exhibition that made “works of art available to everyone”, the museum now boasts one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of clothing in the world. It continues to stay true to its found- ing principle and has been a source of inspiration for many artists and designers today from Zandra Rhodes to the late Alexander McQueen, who was in fact the first designer to exhibit at Fashion in Motion with his spring/summer collection in June 1999. The event quickly gained popularity and Fashion in Motion went on to feature promi- nent designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier. On October 21 st 2016, the House of Holland held a retro- spective show in celebration of the brand’s 10 th anniversary including some of the most iconic looks from past collections. The show began exactly the same way founder Henry Holland’s design career did back in 2006; ‘80s inspired baggy t-shirts printed with rhyming slogans (such as “I’ll tell you who’s boss Kate Moss” and “Do me daily Christopher Bailey”) that referenced his industry peers in humorous ways. The first item on show was particularly striking; a black t-shirt with “FLICK YER BEAN FOR AGYNESS DEYN” printed in neon green and paired with black over-the-knee socks and matching green boots with pink laces. Friends since the age of 12, Agyness was first spotted in Kentish Town shopping with Henry and modelled many of his early designs. I specified ‘designs’ career because Holland actually grad- uated from London College of Printing with a