A Family Affair
I first came across Egg a few years ago in Dover Street Market on a particularly grey and rainy day. It had been a day of aimless wandering under a thoroughly overcast sky where it felt like dusk even in the middle of the day. I found myself unconsciously following my usual window shopping path (fashion is always on the brain I suppose), and walking up Dover Street I thought I would go into DSM for a leisurely look through all the collections on display. At the beginning of each season I tend to have a proper browse to get my initial thoughts in order, but whenever I have the time I always like to revisit and look again - you would be surprised how your feelings change over the course of the season as you re-approach pieces, and there will inevitably be things you missed as was evidently the case here.
I remember walking in through the glass doors and leaving my umbrella in the right hand corner, but instead of going down to the basement and working my way up as I usually do, I thought I would go straight up and work my way back down. I had assumed that the Comme Comme would be the highlight on the uppermost floor, before swiftly moving downstairs, but instead I found myself standing there for what seemed an eternity running my hands over each and every Egg piece on display. There were only a handful of pieces, but I remember just standing there in silence stroking the fabrics - here was something special. The cuts were fascinating, the colours muted, the fabrics wonderful in hand, and there was a pervading sense of comfort that I could not shake. Not necessarily comfort in a literal sense, although the fabrics were thoroughly inviting, but more in the sense of welcoming, like a hug in clothing form. On the hanger the clothing looked simple enough, but I could tell they were hiding their true beauty, waiting for a body upon which to flower into life.
Fashion (not to mention the world) gets louder and noisier, and in that sensorial storm I inevitably find myself drawn to the quieter beauty of life. And, as so often seems to happen, that whispered beauty demands an even greater respect and attention than that which shouts, and I think that is what I felt when I first encountered Egg. Whenever I get tired of the relentless cycle of fashion, it is always a comfort to remember that clothing like this exists and that my path leads me in this direction.
xxxx