JUST MAKE SURE YOUR WALK IS DEADLY AND YOUR SHOES ARE FIERCE!

Show Review: L.A.M.B Spring/Summer 2011

 

There’s no doubt Gwen Stefani has a thing for Jamaica. With a son named Kingston, another son whose middle name, Nesta, is the same as Bob Marley’s, and frequent trips to the tropical isle, she clearly uses Caribbean culture as a muse. She set L.A.M.B’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection to a dancehall beat, but this time around took a slight departure to West Africa, parading a series of dresses and separates in African print adorned with ethnic beads, topped off with cool fedoras, canvas bags, and strappy platform heels.

 

An onslaught of ikat, tie dye, and ethnic patterns paraded down the catwalk to music by Sean Paul, MIA, and Santigold. Printed crop tops with off the shoulder details were paired with railroad striped pants with macramé belts, and silk chiffon ruffled shoulder dresses were worn with blazers with peplum details. Animal print tanks played with low crotch cropped pants while oversized sweaters draped over harem trousers. There was a lot to see in 47 looks, but Gwen managed to capture every Afro-Caribbean influence under the sun before she took her final bow.

I loved the collection, probably because it seemed all too familiar. Remixing and reworking African prints has been done before by other, smaller brands who don’t have the benefit of a celebrity backer to put their work in big lights. The key to inspiration is to offer a unique take on something that has been seen before. Gwen narrowly managed to forge her own path with lovely loose fits, asymmetric hems, and a bold color palette of black, white, red, yellow, blue, and olive green.

100% original it was not, but 100% fun it was. And of course the shoes and bags were b-a-n-a-n-a-s.