What Malia Obama Will Not Be Wearing Next Season

Catwalking.com
What will Michelle Obama wear next? Honey, that was a preoccupation of New York Fashion Week. Now it's London's turn and here's a battered, tattered, black leather jacket with "Malia Obama" scrawled across the back of it.

By referencing such a young First Daughter, of course, the intent of designer, Charles Anastase, was to shock. Then a model came out smoking a cigarette, but who is shocked by that kind of lawlessness anymore? Certainly no one in the UK fashion pack, all hooked on "Mad Men" (The second series of which has just commenced on British TV).

The "Malia tribute jacket" was modeled by Jethro Cave, the grunge-y teenage son of goth-troubadour, Nick Cave and he was followed out by the lead singer of trash band, Gallows, sporting just skinny jeans and his own impressive array of (real) tattoos. They were followed by a whey faced girl, bound in ropes and another with a silk shirt on which a print, as delicate as rose buds, read "dementia" when examined close up.

"How London," shrugged a seen-it-all senior editor as we jostled to leave after the show. "Aren't we supposed to be more commercial this season? And to reference such a young girl is horrible." But the younger crowd were bright eyed. Rebecca M Johnson, a fledgling fashion scribe of 22 called the show, "Post modern brilliance! It felt like he was picking through the detritus of everything that has fallen apart and finding something exciting." Strangely, I found myself thinking of T.S. Elliot's "The Wasteland" and the line, "These fragments I have shored against my ruin." Poetry amidst a trash, grunge, punk mash-up. Surprising.

Hilary Riva is the chief executive of the British Fashion Council and it is her belief that London will thrive in these uneasy times because of an unfettered creativity that holds no bounds. Plus Anastase is not just a provocateur-stripped of the outrageous styling, his collection from last season is currently hanging on the rails of Dover Street Market-the nexus of fashion-forward shopping in London-and looks adorable.

But will today's tatty tops and t-shirts scrawled with "I'm in training, Kiss Me," ever hit the sales floor? Unlikely, although the baby pink mohair pea coat and the little tartan blouse might. "It looked so rough!" one young observer enthused, overheard on the stairs as we left the show. "I'm surprised there wasn't a mangy dog as well," said her friend. Weird, it sounded like she meant that would have been a good thing, like she was referencing the next must-have accessory now that the "it" bag seems so tired.

That's the thing with fashion in London, the breeding ground of course for the creativity of Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan and Vivienne Westwood. You might not like what you see at first, but no one can accuse those who show in this fashion capital of hedging their bets.