Cybele Wiren makes people work at her clothes, they're draped and cocooned, and wrap the body in fluid shapes, sometimes oddly configured - this season with backs cut high and necks extended - but at their best they're beautifully inventive and somehow simply elegant on.
Distinctive silk prints, panelling and georgette handkerchief hems are a recurring theme, with screen printed cotton-jersey singlets and dresses ensuring an easy access point to her collections.
This season the theme entitled Nieriya evoked a pagan cult of nature, with a hawk symbol printed on some pieces, including a luxurious black silk velvet shift. Velvet was also used in a purple sleeveless pantsuit and a bronze tunic, both standouts.
A wreathed totem pole stood at the end of the runway and underlined the connection with the elements that Wiren often works from. Equally totemic was a patent leather corset-style bustier belt that sharply defined fluid fabrics.
Screened silk featured a rippling water effect in gold and jade. Molten yellow tones conveyed the mood of an elemental volcano.
The fluidity of colour and movement is illustrated by the way some of these silk pieces can be worn draped in several directions. Knits featured an extended polo that turned into a hood and denim pieces in earthy tones could be domed differently.
