The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2023 - Issue 34

bitedesignerprofile I found these photographs by Etheldreda Laing of these two sisters who were always wearing pastels and beautiful dresses in an Oxford garden,” he ex- plained. “I loved all the colours; they had a painting quality and a timelessness. They might have Vic- torian-style hair, but the clothes could have been now.” Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, Queen Victoria’s goddaughter, influenced the AW17 collection. The hand-embroidered words in pastels on collars, cuffs and tights reflected her vital contribution to women's voting rights as a Women's Social and Po- litical Union (WSPU) member and co-founder of the Women's Franchise League. The models wore vintage-looking dresses in a palette of baby blues, pinks, lilacs and yellows, accompanied by bonnets tied under the chin with ribbons. Fast forward to AW22, the designer chose medie- val writer, historiographer and advocator for wom- en’s equality Christine de Pisan as his muse. “Her works are considered some of the earliest feminist writings, including poetry, novels, biography and autobiography, and literary and political commen- tary. De Pisan was the first woman in France and possibly Europe to earn a living solely by writing. Her timeless approach fascinates me, and I want to bring her into our time.” American enigmatic artist and writer Henry Darg- er and Canadian artist Marcel Dzama’s fanciful im- aginings themed the SS23 collection blurring the lines between innocence and perversion. In this offering, Bora portrayed a woman who embraces a harsher masculine aesthetic, reflecting a more forceful feminine maturity in draped trench coats, signature tailored shirts and 1930s-style military jackets paired with knee-high boots. The usual dis- tinct lines, bold silhouettes, silk satins and colours carried the collection. Following a trip to Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Bora looked to Edvard Munch, the Norwegian painter best known for The Scream painting and gothic icon Wednesday Addams, for his AW23 inspira- tions. The designer emulated the artist through repetition, using details, silhouettes and techniques LFW AW18 LFW AW17 LFW AW17