‘I created all my own fabrics, mixing Lesage embroidery with leather – it really is couture,’ said Bouchra Jarrar, who has been building her line of streamlined clothes with a sporty edge, laced with intricate handwork. The tranquil beauty of a cloistered garden was a romantic background to knitted tweed on glazed leather or fluid track pants – often striped with a geometric, sporty line.
Melding modernism with intense handwork is a fashion movement and Bouchra Jarrar, whose clothes have a certain feminist decency, was on target, from her tailored tops to brogue shoes. Leopard print chiffon dresses took the designer in a new direction. But however much handwork went into creating them, this fluidity did not have the personal fashion handprint of the tailoring.