Fashion Feature: Jen Kao Spring 2012

image:S.Whittle for Style Wylde

image:S.Whittle for Style WyldeThe dreamscape where images are constantly shifting and changing right before our eyes, sometimes with a vertiginous effect, was the clear inspiration for Jen Kao's Spring 2012 collection.  Part tropical fantasy world with faintly Hawaiian prints and oversized paper flowers adoring the pieces, and part vaguely menacing nightmare with clashing prints that created discord, the collection was undoubtedly one of the most visually elaborate to show during the week.  

image:S.Whittle for Style Wylde

image:S.Whittle for Style WyldeAt times the collection did feel a little overwrought with accessories, especially when the paper flowers gravitated upwards and became hats and masks.  But despite this over-the-top element, there was so much artistry and raw skill in both the design and execution of the pieces that they seemed to explode off the runway with Kao's creative force.  Every garment was multi layered in a complex manner  that many more seasoned designers would have a hard time handling, but which Kao embraced with true artistic bravado.

image:S.Whittle for Style Wylde 

With all of this complexity, some of our favorite moments in the show were truthfully the slightly more simple pieces, such as the exquisitely sewn summer dress (pictured above right).  This particular piece which was supremely delicate  showed Kao to be  as capable of exercising self control as she is at delivering wildly fantasy-driven design; a remarkable duality that we have not seen in the American market for a very long time. 

For more information on Jen Kao, visit the designer's official web home, and check back with Style Wylde later in the week for a full gallery of images from the Spring 2012 collection.

image:S.Whittle for Style Wylde