By Katie Dominy /asdf 25-11-2010

Amber Siegel and Wouter Baartmans met in 2007 while working at Viktor & Rolf and have worked together since then on their label Baartmans and Siegel that launched exclusively at Harrods, London, this autumn.

Baartmans and Siegel certainly don’t wait around. After meeting at Viktor & Rolf, they both decided to continue their studies at the London College of Fashion (Wouter Baartmans had studied previously at AMFI Amsterdam), culminating in a showcase of their autumn/winter 2010/11 collection Moonshining Werewolves at the college’s MA show which was held this January at the V&A Museum. After seeing their work, the head of Harrod’s buying team visited Baartmans and Siegel’s East London studio where the duo was invited to take part in the store’s new initiative ‘Fashion Launches’ – a platform which supports graduates from UK universities, helping them break into luxury retail.

The duo continues: ”We are the first menswear label to take part in ‘Fashion Launches’. Selling in Harrods has been such a wonderful experience and we can’t thank the team enough for their endless support; we are now in our second season of retail with Harrods.”
 
Baartmans and Siegel describe themselves as ”essentially traditional modernists who believe in modern luxury for contemporary menswear. While we work with classic masculinity, we also like to experiment with a tactile aspect to our garments, using natural fabrics such as cashmere, wools silks and cotton. We engineer shapes that are accessible yet distinctive, with subtle, yet confident silhouettes.”
 
The upcoming spring/summer 2011 collection ‘Vingt mille lieues sous les mers’ (twenty-thousand leagues under the sea) follows this concept. ”In this collection, we were exploring the Jules Verne aquatic sci-fi adventure novels, which capture an element of travel, action and excitement. We were inspired by his fictitious worlds and male characters; elements from the novel have been directly translated thought our colour palette and tones, aquatic shades, as well as textural reference through fabrications.”

”Silk print scarves convey the murky, inky depths and fluidity of the novel. Hand knitted wool jumpers with inverted wave patterns, subtly nod to the novel as do textured velvets, flecked, crinkled cottons and powder blue cashmere shirtings. The heavy use of textured and woven silks adds luxury and depth. All the pieces are extremely accessible and wearable; they’re also very much interchangeable, allowing the wearer more freedom.”

Similar to last season, the duo’s autumn/winter 2011/12 collection which they are currently designing will be shown on Men’s Day at London Fashion Week ”The collection draws from cubist shapes and structures, initially looking at fabrication construction, then placing these structures in a futuristic city environment. While still wearable and masculine, the collection builds on domineering silhouettes and layering, mainly expressed through earthy tones of greens, browns, greys and blacks. We continue to work in conjunction with Grenson, the renowned bespoke English shoemakers.”

Stay tuned for our review for Baartmans and Siegel‘s new collection which will be unveiled at the upcoming February edition of London Fashion Week in 2011.

Main image: A/W 2011
Other images: 1. MA show 2. MA show 3. S/S 2011 4 S/S 2011 5. S/S 2011

Click on the images to enlarge

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