Look Forward to Summer Dressing by Emilia Wickstead
The easy elegance of Emilia Wickstead’s resort collection fulfils all Vogue Australia’s holiday desires. The magazine declares the New Zealand-born designer will have you wishing it was summer.
In the world of Emilia Wickstead, the women are elegant and worldly, heading to work, perhaps, in one of her wool crepe sheaths in dusty pink, saffron or cream; going out for evening cocktails in a toffee-toned, bell-sleeved silk blouse; or attending garden parties in floral-printed dresses with portrait necklines updated with ruched waists and offbeat hues. And what would these women wear on holiday? Well, now that you ask … the London-based designer has just the thing.
“I used this one line: ‘Once upon a time, a place in the sun’ as a sort of moving inscription within the collection. It’s a kind of by-the-sea approach,” says Wickstead on the phone from her London offices about her high summer collection, which showed at Australian fashion week and is just now available to purchase online.
The ease of the collection stems from its prints and shapes with shorts, frilled jumpsuits and short cloqué pieces to be worn over swimsuits. “We want to transport you to another time, another world. A lot of the styles are very much from a time past, but done in a very modern way,” she says, mentioning in-house-designed floral prints, which are a twist on the patterns seen in 50s upholstery and furnishings.
“I am quite particular; I don’t like things to be too conventional. I like it whimsical and I’m often inspired more by interior prints as opposed to those used in clothing.”
Her best-loved escapes? Having spent time in Milan, where she moved with her family at the age of 14, she nominates Italy as one of her favourite places, for its food and climate. “I love the beautiful water and rocky beaches, which are so charming … the cobblestone streets, the old buildings with shutters,” she says.
New Zealand, her birthplace, is also a regular destination. “It’s the complete opposite: it’s where you go for long walks on huge beaches and eat fish and chips outside. I thank my lucky stars I am from New Zealand and it’s such a big part of my life and who I am.”
Original article by Zara Wong, Vogue Australia, May 16, 2018.
Photo by Indigital.
