Tableauxs of sand-strewn landscapes filled the clean, white canvas of Victoria House: sepia-tinged postcards of a nostalgic Americana, a tribute to its explorers dotted throughout. And from rocky terrain to the English countryside, the Liv Tyler x Belstaff capsule collection looked out over the re-appropriated space. Set amongst wheat stalks and wild flowers: a hazy setting of fading summers across the continent; appropriately themed, as Tyler herself leaves her native New York for her new home of London.
Colours were muted, drawing on natural, neutral tones - soft suede the colour of moss, a sand coloured mac loosely open over dark florals.
Drawing on a hedonistic, free-spirited nostalgia, muses Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull and Patti Boyd informed shapes and silhouettes: “I wanted to tap into the spirit of those women at that time" remarked Tyler of looks that met polka dot silks with military capes, fitted leathers with A-line skirts.
There was a borrowing of looks from the boys, an aesthetic integral to Belstaff; yet masculine and feminine felt one and the same within this nostalgic landscape. The practicalities of dress met with sinuous, feminine lines in soft, languid realisation. A suited suede co-ord over a pretty print was a stand-out look in its simplicity: a rough feminism against the smooth.
Seeking something timeless, there was an effortless wearability - unmistakably Belstaff, but with a twist of Tyler's relatable, everyday style: "I tried not to overthink it or feel pressured to do something, or think about what’s in fashion, what’s not in fashion", she remarked to Vogue before the show, adding, "I was excited to create pieces that I love that I want to wear in my wardrobe."
