How devastating!

I got an email today from a friend encouraging me to have a look at Devastee, a french design duo that it turns out are a bit good. Ophelie Klere & Francois Alary's website is all very dark and gloomy with an awful lot of references to death which, i have my reservations about. But, despite the sombre website, the clothes really appealed to me. The new collection is all a bit french women in their 30's meets a more modern nautical chic. And i especially like that they've used mostly black and white despite the fact that it's a summer collection.

Summer 2009

Speaking of death gimmicks, the same friend brought me to Noir Kennedy in Paris that is famous for its interior, skulls and coffins abound. Now, as much as i love gimmicks, and i really do, this didn't do it for me at all.

Dead rats in the window display, you get the idea. But, they do sell April 77 jeans so all is forgiven.

Moving on. As i was browsing through the Devastee collections i spotted a very familiar face. Antonia Campbell-Hughes, ex-designer and now actress has been doing a spot of modelling for them.

Embalming Party Winter 2008/2009

It'd been ages since i thought about this girl. I used to absolutely adore her clothes. When i was 17, i tried on this dress in that really nice shop that used to be, and perhaps still is in the Swan Shopping Centre in Rathmines. I remember thinking, "this is the dress i want for my debs". It was about €200, which seemed like an absolute fortune at the time.

Spring Summer 2005

It seems that she got a good bit of press coverage when she was designing as i remember cutting out pictures of her designs from magazines and sticking them in my fashion scrap book.

Spring Summer 2004

Autumn Winter 2003/2004

However, what i find most intruiging however is the photo in which she is wearing a top designed by someone i went to school with. The only reason i know this is because we used to have photos of end of year projects that were particularly good up on the walls in the corridor. And this pink top was framed and hanging outside the science lab.

Cat