AW17 AW17 / Camofleur
“I would not have believed I could have been so deceived.” King George V on visiting the Dazzle Section at The Royal Academy of Arts, 1917.
Our AW17 Camofleur collection starts its surreptitious journey just a short step from Savile Row in a covert corner of the neighbouring Royal Academy of Arts, where it squints, scratches its head and stands in awe before the astonishing, jarringly geometric work of camofleur Norman Wilkinson’s top-secret Dazzle Section.
Winning wonk Wilkinson worked as an unassuming seascape artist and illustrator before he was struck by razzle dazzle, his bold, acutely conspicuous form of anti-camouflage, the cunning if chancy concept of which was to confuse and confound more than conceal.
His radical ruse was used to protect Allied shipping and went on to influence a raft of artists, not least those of the intriguingly illusionary Op Art movement of the Sixties and early Seventies, who found a welcome home for their work hard by Wilkinson’s erstwhile workstation at the Royal Academy in the galleries of Cork Street.
This is a sharp, standout collection that celebrates an original, buoyantly befuddling British innovation and the extraordinary art it impacted on.
Base colours of soft grey, charcoal, taupe, caramel, chocolate and mushroom, pointedly punctured by accents of ochre, orange, burgundy and lucid blues, sweep through tailoring and knitwear like surely shrouded ships on a quiescent sea.
Graphic, zigzagging Op Art prints give a pressing presence to big cable and cashmere knits, cashmere and silk scarves and silk pocket squares.
Lightweight soft flannel lends warmth to relaxed, double-breasted tailoring and casualwear with velvet and corduroy adding depth and texture. Oversize herringbone overcoats clearly echo the strong lines of razzle dazzle design.
Come and join us on an eye-opening journey of optical obfuscation in the company of a noncomformist camofleur par excellence. 1 1 2 18 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 01 02 03 04 09 10 11 12 OCHRE NEEDLE NAVY DARK TWILL TAN & ORANGE ZIGZAG OCHRE CLASSIC CHARCOAL & BISCUIT TAUPE PLAIN MILITAIRE CALF-SKIN SOFT GREY / TAN CORDUROY SUIT DB COAT CASHMERE INTARSIA BENGAL SHIRT BROKEN CHECK WEAVE SUIT LEATHER ZIP BOMBER MOTTLE BOUCLE SJ37L/T116/26552 C18/26522 CREW NECK SH059/26841 J43/26533 J37/T666/26501 RJ194S/26577 JACKET KN364/07 J37/26545 BROWN CROSS SULPHUR/SMOKE OCHRE FLANNEL DB SUIT TAUPE NATURAL IVORY LUXURY SULPHUR V-INSERT HATCH SHIRT 10-PLY GEELONG WOOL CHOCOLATE SHEARLING SJ45/T120/26562 STRETCH FLANNEL HERRINGBONE SHIRT CREW PULLOVER BROWN / PINK OXFORD SH067/26831 MELANGE SHIRT SH067/26822 PULLOVER PEA COAT OLD GOLD LATTICE TIE TROUSERS KN384/02 KN387/01 RJ192S/26575 SH059/26834 TAN DIAGONAL TIE2/B5923 T116/26509 DEEP ORANGE BLUE TONAL ZIGZAG TONAL STRIPE GREIGE MELANGE RODS TIE OLIVE BROWN CAVALRY OCHRE NEEDLECORD BEIGE COLOUR WAVES GREY FINE SILK SQUARE TIE2/B5884 T666/26523 TIE2/B5856 TWILL TROUSERS TROUSERS SQS/286 FLANNEL TWILL SQS/268 T116 /26520 T116/26552 GOLD OPTICAL SH059/26806 ORANGE/GREY TONAL KHAKI COTTON RUST/PLUM DIAMOND GOLD OPTICAL DIAMOND BRONZE/BURGUNDY ZIGZAG SCARF TWILL CHINOS COLOURED SHARDS SILK SQUARE SILK SQUARE COLOURED SHARDS TIE SC023/84 T446S/25627 TIE2/B5802 SQS/271 SQS/271 TIE2/B5803 BROWN TONAL ZIGZAG SAND STONE LUXURY BEIGE COLOUR WAVES SILK SQUARE DAZZLE SCARF SILK SQUARE SQS/267 SC076/01 SQS/286
05 06 07 08 13 14 15 16 OLIVE/RED MOTTLED KHAKI HERITAGE MELTON PEAT/BLUE MOTTLED RUBBERISED COTTON IVORY/BLACK/PINK P.O.W. GREY NEEDLE INK/CLARET MIX MARK BLUE/NAVY CHECK ZIP-FRONT FIELD JACKET J37/26546 HOODED BUTTON WITH PINK OVER CHECK CORDUROY SUIT CHUNKY RIB ZIP BLURRED SPOT SJ46/T120/26540 J37/T666/26551 BOMBER RJ180Q/26566 BLUE/RUST EYE BOMBER JACKET SJ20/T116/26530 RJ182Q/26563 DISRUPTED ZIGZAG SPOT SHIRT RJ190/ TAUPE TAN HAIRLINE WINE FINE MERINO KN386/01 LIGHT BLUE OCHRE SWISS POPLIN PRINT SHIRT SH059/26830 OCHRE FINE MERINO STRIPE SHIRT ROLL NECK NAVY LUXURY JERSEY OPTIC DOTS SH067/26812 KN382/05 WITH ZIGZAG EMBROIDERY SH059/26878 CHARCOAL/RED ROLL NECK SH059/26851 SH059/26817 SH062/26801 KHAKI COTTON BLURRED SPOT KN382/06 DEEP PINK RADAR RED OPTICAL DIAMOND NAVY COTTON SKY BLUE/TAN OLIVE BROWN CAVALRY TWILL CHINOS TROUSERS NAVY COTTON TIE2/B5867 SILK SQUARE TWILL CHINOS FADING CHEVRONS TWILL TROUSERS T446S/25627 T116/26529 TWILL CHINOS SILVER BLUE FADING SQS/274 T446S/25628 SILK SQUARE SQS/278 T116/26520 MINT OMBRE BLOCKS T446S/25628 SQUARES SILK SQUARE NAVY FADING SQUARES SQS/295 DARK BROWN PUNCHED SQS/289 SILK SQUARE DARK BLUE ZIGZAG PEAT RIBBON LEATHER BELT SQS/291 TIE2/B5934 STEPS TIE B05/02 BROWN PUNCHED TIE2/B5899 INK WOOL LEATHER BELT EMBROIDERED SCARF B05/02 SC080/01 17 18 19 20 INK CHUNKY WAFFLE KNIT SEA BLUE LUXURY AIRFORCE CAVALRY MIDNIGHT FINE BOMBER JACKET SLUBBED BLEND TWILL SUIT VELBET ZIP BOMBER KN385/02 J37/26536 SJ20/T116/26519 RJ182Q/26555 JEAN 2-PLY CREW KNIT BLUE FINE BLUE DIAGONAL BLACK OPTIC KN364/08 CREW KNIT FLANNEL TWILL STEP SHIRT CUBES SHIRT BLUE MELANGE TROUSERS SH059/26807 SH059/26816 SH059/26821 T666/26524 BLUE MELANGE NAVY ZIP THROUGH NAVY SUBTLE SLUBBED BLUE/NAVY AUTUMN TROUSERS CARDIGAN T116/26547 CHEVRONS PRINTED SCARF T666/26524 KN383/01 BLACK/WHITE DAZZLE SC023/82 GREEN LINEAR DEEP SKY TONAL CAMO PRINTED SCARF SQUARES SILK SQUARE VECTORS SC023/88 SQS/279 TIE2/B5804 PEACOCK BLUE BLUE OPTICAL DIAGONAL RODS TIE DIAMOND SILK SQUARE TIE2/B5849 SQS/273 1 4
21 22 23 24 BLACK/GREY STRONG RAVEN SHEARLING MOLE FINE VELVET BLACK BLOACK CHEVRON DB COAT BLOUSON EVENING SUIT JACQUARD C18/26550 RJ193S/26576 SJ15/T115/26556 EVENING SUIT GREY FINE PIQUET CHARCOAL DARK BLUE/TAN HOPSACK SJ15/T115E/26542 SH059/26856 OXFORD SHIRT MELANGE WHITE FINE OLIVE BROWN SH067/26811 SH067/26837 PIQUET SHIRT CAVALRY TWILL BLACK PLAIN BLACK GROS GRAIN SH059/26854 T116/26520 SHANTUNG SILK BOW TIE NAVY SPEARHEADS TAN DIAGONAL T115/26570 BT02-01 TIE2/B5816 BARS TIE SILVER GREY RED TONAL ZIGZAG BLACK/WHITE DAZZLE TIE2/B5897 TRIPPY CHECK SILK SQUARE CAMO PRINTED SCARF GREEN FADING TIE2/B5870 SQS/270 SC023/88 SQUARES SILK SQUARE ORANGE/GREY TONAL SQS/288 ZIGZAG PRINTED SCARF SC023/384 8 3 enquiries
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Hair Daniel Jordan Artistic Director at Paul Edmonds Richard James 29 Savile Row, London W1S 2EY
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