Jenny Packham looked at nature’s bounty and thought, “How can I compete with this?” which is why she chose flowers — wild and cultivated — as her muse this season.
She also liked the idea of confident, spontaneous — and sometimes wild — women such as Courtney Love, Winona Ryder, Debbie Harry and Jane Birkin, and wanted to channel their “liberated glamour and unapologetic opulence.”
Flowers blossomed across the collection, as silvery embroidered slipper orchids down the front of a cream gown and damask-like blooms picked out in sequins on a cocktail dress.
A gold and lilac ombre gown had a fitted bodice and Art Deco flair, while another strapless tulle gown took its peachy pink color from a bouquet of peonies.
Packham looked at nature from all angles, adding sparkling starburst embroidery to the neckline of a long black dress with embroidered bracelet sleeves, and vines and firefly embellishment to the bodice of a long peach gown.
There were lots of metallic embellishments, too, such as gowns awash in silver and lilac sequins and a long dress with strong, sculptural shoulders that looked as if it had been dipped in gold.
Packham said business is thriving and she’s preparing to launch a “beaded and shimmery” bridal party range (for the before and after parties) and relaunch her line of cocktail dresses, which has been growing steadily.
She also has a strong bespoke business and recently created custom dresses for Sarah Jessica Parker for the Paris premiere of “And Just Like That,” for Dita Von Teese, for the press call of her new West End show “Diamonds and Dust,” and for Paris Hilton for the Breakthrough Prize in Los Angeles in April.