Poltock & Walsh Thank Kate Moss

POLTOCK AND WALSH. PHOTO BY EDINA VAN DER WYCK

Kate Moss, who doesn’t owe you thanks and gratitude for their livelihood? An off chance spotting of  Moss walking down the street in a dress from Katie Walsh and Fiamma Poltock‘s Spring 2008 Collection saw the designers rocket to attention. It wasn’t MObama and Jason Wu, but it was close. And this wasn’t the Inaugration Ball,  was taking out the trash or something.

Poltock, a Scottish native and Canadian-born, Dublin-raised Walsh (both are 28) met at a fashion design course at Kingston University, where they appreciated each other’s work. Upon graduation, Poltock went to work for John Richmond and Walsh went to work for Alexander McQueen; they launched Poltock and Walsh in 2006. Walsh explains their collaboration, “Creatively, we try to keep things equal: we design together, choose colors and materials together, pattern cut together and do fittings together.” Browns London quickly caught on, as did a slew of US customers who buy directly.

Poltock & Walsh showed their Fall 2009 collection as an exhibition at London’s Sanderson Hotel, with photos by Poppy De Villeneuve. The 22 photos on view featured Jade Parfitt, Jasmine Guinness, and a number of other fashionable young Londonites. Poltock explains the collaboration, a way to avoid the anticipated fashion show or presentation: “De Villeneuve’s style suits us because she captures something natural about her subjects. Her pictures look so effortless but there is a real strength behind being able to see  someone’s true self.” Spring/Summer has taken last season’s late-80s silhouettes—body con dresses, high waisted, tapered trousers and strong shoulders—and injected it with the essence of Czech artist Frantisek Kupka. The result? A collection riddled with asymmetric details, bold use of colour and geometric shapes. The signature piece is a ‘Cut Shoulder Colour Block Dress.

But something gets lots in translation, especially for young designers with a cross-continental base. Says Walsh, “From the feedback we received in New York they really thought we pushed the boundaries in silhouette, construction and color. But then in London they love that it’s so wearable.” Apparently, you can please everyone.