Their Spring Summer Collection just arrived at Joyce and it’s a fest for the deep dark fantasies of women who want to channel their inner baby doll into an outer Can Can girl. Think Lady GooGoo rather than Gaga.
While all things sweet can sometimes be too much and the Meadham Kirchoff collections can occasionally veer from fashion to costume there is a charm about all that they do which makes each collection a beguiling treat. There is a good reason why Vogue recently described the duo as both “sinister and unnerving” and “pretty and romantic”.
As with Aesop’s Fables, Meadham Kirchoff’s sewn and stitched versions of Little Red Riding Hood always seems to have a vulpine subtext that implies prettiness with a scent of wolf. Kirchoff is from the south of France and met Meadham when they were studying fashion in Central St. Martins. They established Meadham Kirchhoff 10 years ago.
Their shows generally get warm reviews and the collection that has just arrived at Joyce was especially feted. Both men are antagonists of the “fast/disposable” fashion fad that recently brought Top Shop’s dull rubbish to Hong Kong.
Meadham Kirchoff prefer to focus on the kind of things we like at The Fashionable Truth. “Femininity and craftsmanship are very important to us,” says Kirchoff. “We’d like to give women the freedom to dress, and aim to offer beautifully crafted pieces of garments for them to enjoy.” All of Meadham Kirchhoff’s fabrics are hand printed and they rightly disdain digital prints.
“All of our printed fabrics are hand-printed exclusively for us,” Kirchoff told Lucienne Leung Davis in a story for joyce. “We don’t touch digital printing because we think it’s cheating. It’s like photocopying something onto fabric. When I see digitally printed clothing sold at an expensive price I get so angry.”
That anger is most frequently channelled into a passionate creativity that has made Meadham Kirchoff stand out from the crowd. And the duo’s experience of trying to do it differently has given them a keen perspective on their chosen industry.
“I think there’s fear in fashion,” says Kirchoff. “Magazines are afraid of advertisers. Shops are afraid of not having enough budget to buy so they would go for big brands to ensure a good sell through. JOYCE is pretty brave when it comes to our pieces. For that I’m grateful. It also shows that there is a market for it.”
So if you want top fashion at a true top shop, head to JOYCE’s store at Pacific Place and whisper In bocca al lupo as you go.
…More stories like this are available in Quintessentially Asia
