Down The Rabbit Hole: NAOMI HART'S SURREALIST LFW DEBUT
Light streams through industrial windows, casting geometric shadows across the raw concrete floors as models emerge from backstage. The atmosphere crackles with anticipation, heightened by the haunting marriage of David Lynch's spoken-word piece and Al Bowlly's vintage melodies – the same song that echoed through the empty corridors of Kubrick's Overlook Hotel. This is no ordinary London Fashion Week debut; this is Naomi Hart's "Unproductive Thinking," a collection that photographs like a fever dream captured in daylight.
Like Lewis Carroll's Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, Hart invites us into her fanciful world of opposites and contradictions. The collection begins with optimistic splashes of canary yellow – dramatic flared trousers that catch and hold the light, creating movement that begs to be captured through a lens. As the show progresses, this innocence transforms, morphing through sunset creams into crimson, black, and burgundy that photograph with rich textural depth.
"The collection represents the contrary nature of the human condition," Hart explains, "fluctuating between polar states of mind and fluid emotions." This duality translates beautifully through the camera, creating striking visual contrasts as heart-shaped necklines and quilted jackets appear alongside utilitarian floor-length coats in electric lavender.
The photographic centerpiece of the collection reveals itself in the marbled fabrics and magnetic stripes that reference the fluid lattice of sliced geodes. Under studio lighting, these panels of consecutive colors and veined merlot leather create dimension that transforms each garment into a sculptural object. Hart's background as a painter is evident in her approach to fashion as three-dimensional art.
"Every garment is tailored to a client's specific preferences," she notes. "Not one piece is the same or made by anyone else's hands. This is the beauty of bespoke tailoring."
The collection's most visually arresting piece – a sumptuously quilted scarlet taffeta coat gathered below the waist – exemplifies Hart's commitment to sustainability. Originally created as a toile (a test piece), the garment was deconstructed and refined for the runway, its voluminous silhouette creating a dramatic finale that captures the eye and holds it.
The motorcycle culture of Hart's childhood in the Peak District manifests in statement biker ensembles that speak to personal history while creating strong visual lines. "The 'Biker Girl' aesthetic in my past collections represents power, confidence, and liberty," she shares. "I've never felt more alive than when I'm on a motorbike."
As the show concludes and photographers rush forward to capture final details, what remains is the impression of a designer who understands how clothing photographs – how light catches a marbled panel, how a structured shoulder creates shadow, how fabric in motion tells a story. In "Unproductive Thinking," Hart has created not just a collection but a world of contrasts that through the camera's eye becomes a cohesive visual narrative – one that bridges innocence and sensuality, structure and fluidity, consciousness and dreams.
Article by Aaayush Anima Aggarwal, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Photography by @rosslynphotography
Tearsheets by Robin Chou, Graphic Design Intern, PhotoBook Magazine
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