Jenny Packham (Q3206)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Jenny Packham is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Jenny Packham |
Jenny Packham is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Jenny Packham often draws on the glamour of the past to dress her glamorous woman in the present day. Yet her journeys across cultural and cinematic history typically locate themselves somewhere in the 20th century—and not in the annals of ancient Egypt. “I’ve been waiting for ages for the Grand Egyptian Museum to open in Cairo, and it’s now in the soft-opening stage,” said Packham, who, despite her brand’s association with upper-crust Englishness, is also something of an adventurer. “I went there years ago and got very inspired, so it felt like the right time to return to that inspiration.”Unsurprisingly, perhaps, one of Packham’s starting points was Cleopatra—whether representations of the great Egyptian queen from her own time, or her famous interpretation by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 blockbuster opposite Richard Burton. But given Packham’s magpie’s eye for glitz, she was also drawn to the ancient Egyptians’ dazzling use of color and metallics. “They were the first to create a blue pigment from lapis lazuli, so we incorporated that into the collection,” she said, smiling. “And plenty of gold and silver of course.” (As Packham also noted, some historians say ancient Egypt was the first civilization to introduce the concept of luxury goods.)Packham’s party season dresses were all present and ready for their big nights out come summer 2025, whether a dress dripping in royal blue sequins and beading with fierce power shoulders, or a more playful gold and silver sequin and crystal tunic dress that seemed to shimmy off the hanger and straight onto the dance floor. But Packham also noted that her styles with capes and those made from crepe fabrics have been flying off the shelves, in particular designs that offer a more restrained opulence.For while Packham’s designs are certainlyopulent, they’re also—for the woman with the occasion to wear them—strangely practical. There’s a reason why it’s a certain kind of no-nonsense creative woman that is drawn to them, notably Kate Winslet, who has worn Packham on the red carpet for a handful of premieres for her new Lee Miller biopic, and Adele, who wore several styles during her sold-out concerts in Munich and Las Vegas this summer. The timelessness of Packham’s gowns seems to hold a particular appeal for the kind of totemic cultural figure whose legacies will likely remain for centuries to come—the Cleopatras of today, you could even argue.
27 September 2024
In London, the first warm days of summer are rolling in, and it seems the Jenny Packham woman is ready to party. Describing the client she was designing for this season as “international, independent, determined, free,” it was a notably youthful-feeling offering, with Packham’s signature glitz and sequins dialed up to the max.Top of mind for Packham this season was the ’60s, which may have had something to do with those daring proportions. (The designer cited icons including Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, and Anita Pallenberg as being on her mood board, noting that they’ve remained “symbols of the era’s rebellious spirit” over the decades.) That came through in a series of mini dresses that carried an arresting shimmer. One especially dazzling example featured swishy embellishments that swung from its surface like pendants. A number of more figure-hugging silhouettes were decorated with strips of twinkling Swarovski crystals to accentuate the wearer’s curves. One new style even featured sheer cutouts (well, they were sheer except for the gauzy webbing of crystals that covered the model’s midriff).Aside from those va-va-voom moments, there were a number of more demure styles in royal blues and corals to keep Packham’s more traditional clientele happy. And what struck you most was the craftsmanship: the punchy, illusory effect created by the ingenious use of silver and gold beading against black fabrics, or just the level of intricacy involved in the various styles of beading used more broadly, from honeycomb patterns to ’60s-inspired teardrops. It was fun to see Packham get the party started.
21 June 2024
High glamour was the order of the day for Jenny Packham’s fall collection, which neatly picked up where her pre-fall left off: reveling in the glitter and hedonism of the 1970s. “I was thinking about David Bowie last time, which led me on toStarmanand it all got a bit cosmic,” she said. Aside from the first dress in the collection—a showstopping gown in a shade of acrylic-nail red decorated with grids of square sequins and bugle beads, with more of a straight-down ’60s silhouette, the designer was loosely inspired by Anjelica Huston—this was all-out ’70s decadence, with a Packham twist.As ever, her work with crystals and sequins shone (both figuratively and literally). A sweeping liquid-gold gown featured power shoulders and chunky crystals at the neckline, the latter cascading down the dress like a meteor shower and dissipating into sequins of increasingly finer proportions. A playful black crepe number with a high neck was decorated with bursts of stars on each shoulder fashioned from golden shadow crystals. A particularly pretty gown cut from a silvery diaphanous tulle was layered with further crystals and sequins over the layers of ruched sheer fabric, like a gauzy constellation of stars sheathing the night sky.“The dresses that make up this galaxy of style aren’t made to sparkle for one night, but to shine on forever,” Packham wrote in the notes accompanying the collection. Decade-hopping her designs might be, but it’s their timelessness that has earned her such a fiercely loyal clientele—and it’s not hard to imagine how these pieces will hang in her customers’ closets for many more decades to come.
29 February 2024
With awards season in full swing, it’s Jenny Packham’s time to shine. Quite literally. If you’ve spent the past few weeks scrolling through the red carpet galleries from the Golden Globes and Critic’s Choice Awards (among the many, many other events taking place in Hollywood right now) you’ll have seen plenty of her gowns doing the rounds—not least on Emerald Fennell, a long-time fan of the brand who included some the designer’s looks in the costuming forSaltburn. (Packham’s brand of upper-crust, hedonistic glamour has Rosamund Pike’s Elspeth Catton written all over it, after all.)Still, this season’s offering looked to a very different corner of throwback razzle-dazzle for inspiration: namely, the late-’70s heyday of Grace Jones, David Bowie, and Bryan Ferry. “It really allowed me to go full glam,” said Packham, before admitting, with a laugh: “Although I know I often go full glam.” With the intention of designing for movement—diaphanous blouson sleeves in a yellow chiffon; draped, lavishly sequined fabrics that appeared like liquid metal; dramatic beadwork and tassels hanging from sleeves and swishing skirts—the end result was just as splendid (and sparkly) as you might expect.Arguably more surprising, though, was the increased presence of separates alongside Packham’s signature dresses, notably in a series of tops and bolero jackets bedecked with crystal embellishments and paired with simple, sleekly-cut silk trousers. According to Packham, sales have been booming over the past few seasons, and the inclusion of these tailored pieces was as much a response to commercial interest as it was an opportunity to flex her creative muscles in a different arena. “They’re quite classic shapes, but they sell very well both with dresses and on their own,” said Packham.It turns out Packham’s cinematic streak isn’t ending anytime soon, either. Those watching the new season of Ryan Murphy’sFeud, which drops later this month, and focuses on the fall-out between Truman Capote and his glamorous high society swans (the latter being regular sources of inspiration for Packham) will be rewarded with more of her glitzy gowns making an on-screen appearance.
19 January 2024
Since she’s something of a history buff, it’s always a pleasure to see which corner of the past Jenny Packham has been diving into. This time around, she’d been watching documentaries and reading up on the glamour and scandal surrounding Truman Capote’s “swans,” the high-society women whose jam-packed social calendars were matched only by the supreme elegance of their wardrobes. If there could ever be a better jumping-off point for Packham—herself a beloved go-to for whatever the equivalent of the swans might be today—it would be a struggle to think of it.When translating that energy into clothes, Packham honed in on the infamous Black and White Ball of 1966. “I wish I could have done the whole collection in white, but I’d probably put us out of business,” Packham said jokingly. “But we took inspiration from the beading of some of those dresses, and tried to capture the spirit of that event.” The collection might have started in the ’60s, but there was a touch of Studio 54 disco fever in the mix too, whether in the Cher-worthy flamboyance of a bedazzled gold and pewter gown, the eye-popping sparkle of the dresses dripping in bugle beads, or the swishy pleats and billowing sleeves that came in featherlight chiffon or bedecked with—you guessed it—sequins. At the same time, there was plenty for the more buttoned-up of Packham’s modern swan clientele here, with a handful of flattering, formfitting gowns in black and powder-pink crepe. Packham’s offering this season carried all her usual beau monde elegance but came with a welcome dose of something a little brasher and more confident.Packham also has a knack for a well-timed homage, and her glittering ode to the high-society swans will arrive in stores just in time for the release of Ryan Murphy’s new season ofFeud. The show’s latest iteration will focus on the fallout from the salacious book extract Capote published inEsquirethat mocked the swans and saw them turn on him, and will feature a star-studded cast that includes Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, and Demi Moore. If they’re looking for a knockout red carpet dress for any of the premieres (pending a resolution to the actor’s strike), their stylists should know exactly where to turn.
28 September 2023
At an event last year, Jenny Packham met Lisa Hynes—a representative of Ocean Rising, an initiative launched by the California nonprofit Schmidt Ocean Institute—and was struck by the organization’s work to bring awareness to their conservation research through the arts. So for her latest resort collection, Packham joined forces with the group, heading under the sea to charming results.In Packham’s hands, the oceanic motifs you might expect—cascading waves, seashells, starfish—were delivered in ways you mightnotexpect. First, they were realized in dazzling embroideries that carried the hypnotic shimmer of sunlight on water or in crystal-encrusted details that decorated the sleeves and necklines of stretch crepe cocktail dresses. Delicate bodices erupted into floor-swishing skirts of pleated silk chiffon—in mint greens and bubblegum blues, naturally—while one lighter-than-air gown came in Blackpool rock candy stripes reminiscent of the historic heyday of the great British summer.It’s not hard to imagine Packham’s established clientele snapping up the glitzy eveningwear as they jet off on vacation or tee up their social calendars later this year. But the more relaxed, summer-ready pieces also spoke to a younger generation enchanted by the regal magic of Packham’s world, possibly less willing to go the full hog on sequins and bugle beads.That growing interest is visible in Packham’s recent celebrity hot streak: Paris Hilton wore a dazzling ice blue sequin gown for Sofia Richie’s star-studded wedding in April, and Sarah Jessica Parker wore a cheerful midi-dress with polka dots and bows for the opening of theSex and the CityExperience in New York City, marking the 25th anniversary of the show. Packham’s designs are beloved for their timelessness, but their cross-generational appeal is just as noteworthy—especially when she’s in a brighter, breezier mode.
23 June 2023
If there’s one major trend to take away from this season, it’s designers choosing to emphasize a quieter, more subdued form of luxury. On the surface, Jenny Packham may seem a world away from all that. Yet while her evening gowns dazzle, it’s worth noting that Packham’s knack for balancing a magpie’s eye for glitz with thoughtfully constructed clothes has seen her ride through everything from recessions to a pandemic—not just because her clientele is so loyal but also because, with their impeccable construction and surprisingly comfortable fabrics, her designs are more pragmatic than they might seem. Packham’s dresses might be bold, but they don’t shout—they sing.This season, Packham picked up where she left off last season with her exploration of the racier thrills of pre-Code Hollywood, here presented in front of a shimmering silver curtain rather than Oscar-trophy gold. “We decided to think about this almost as part two, as we had so much research and inspiration from prefall that we weren’t able to use,” said Packham. As her muse, she looked to the groundbreaking career of the Chinese American actor Anna May Wong, who fought against the racist stereotyping of the time to become one of the leading lights of 1920s Hollywood—and whose career has become a subject of interest once again in recent years, partly thanks to fictionalized versions of her life portrayed in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix seriesHollywoodand Damien Chazelle’s recent Tinseltown spectacularBabylon. “She was such a trailblazer, as well as being completely inspirational in her style,” said Packham.There were odes to some of the specific elements of Wong’s wardrobe that have made her an enduring fashion icon: draped satin in a rippling, oil-slick black; two-piece outfits dripping with metallic beading; toweringly high necklines; and plenty of silver embellishments and sequins as an homage to Wong’s famously elaborate hair jewelry. Of course, all these throwbacks to the sweeping silhouettes and unbridled glamour of golden-age Hollywood dressing came filtered through Packham’s 21st-century lens; and as fanciful as this inspiration might seem, in practice the clothes made sense. It’s not hard to picture her loyal clients, who now extend beyond high-society Britain to all four corners of the world, slipping into one of her sleeker riffs on those classic gowns, designed to flatter the body as much as they indulge in fantasy.
Flicking through a rack of Packham’s clothes is a multisensory experience: Sure, there’s the cinematic dazzle to initially draw you in, but running your hands across her gowns thick with sequins—or hearing the wind-chime tinkle of beading as one of her gowns twirls on a model’s form—carries a special pleasure all of its own. In Packham’s hands, silent film never sounded so good.
2 March 2023
Jenny Packham is no stranger to an Old Hollywood reference—her signature metallic gowns dripping with sequins and beadwork could have stepped straight off the sound stage of any Golden Age extravaganza. But this season, she turned her attention to a more unlikely corner of Tinseltown history: the pre-Code era.This brief seven-year window beginning in 1927—following the introduction of the “talkies” and before the enforcement of censorship rules—saw a wave of impressively racy and transgressive films hit the silver screen, with nudity and sexual innuendo running rampant. “Basically, there were no rules,” said Packham. “The films at that time were very unrestricted and flirty and naughty and very risqué.”Of course, Packham’s version of risqué still exists within the realms of good taste; the skin-baring elements here mostly came courtesy of a few more plunging necklines and sheer panels than usual. Instead, for Packham, it was more about channeling the hedonistic energy of the era into a collection that celebrated the irreverent women—Norma Shearer, Jean Harlow, Clara Blow—who embodied that moment in film history.A gown of liquefied hot pink sequins, and featuring a draped shoulder detail knotted over the neckline, exuded a particularly eye-popping kind of cinematic glamour, as did a series of capes. (One of which, lavished in spangly golden paillettes and beaded tassels that audibly rustled as it moved, would be perfect for any on-screen femme fatale looking to make a serious entrance.) Elsewhere, a mini dress with thigh-skimming hemlines and power shoulders embroidered with patterned pearls and crystals seemed to take the racy pre-Code spirit and update it in a thigh-skimming silhouette that could only exist now. As we enter the final stretch of awards season, there’ll surely be some starlets of today looking for a touch of Old Hollywood oomph—albeit done the Jenny Packham way.
19 January 2023
Jenny Packham’s roving eye often takes her back in time to spark inspiration—recent collections have featured nods to everyone from Truman Capote’s swans to the grandeur of Old Hollywood—but this season she mostly had her eye on the present. More specifically, an upcoming trip she is taking to the Maasai Mara; and even more specifically than that, the rich array of wildlife that populates the region’s rolling hills and vast open plains. (Still, there was one subtle throwback in the images Packham shot for her look book, which were loosely inspired by the high drama of Peter Beard’s fashion photography and visibly leaned a little more theatrical than usual.)The sartorial nods to Packham’s impending trip were woven in lightly, coming in the form of a midnight blue gown decorated with a glittering leopard print, and an abstracted zebra pattern crafted from delicate strips of bugle beads. But as usual, it was Packham’s eye for glamorous, sweeping gowns that dazzled most, with plenty of her sumptuous tulle dresses dripping with sequins on offer in an endless array of colors from zingy greens to delicate pastel pinks and yellows. “It’s obviously a real boom time for eveningwear at the moment, which I’ve been enjoying—even if it’s kept me very busy,” said the designer.Perhaps the most interesting development in Packham’s reliably luxurious repertoire was her increasing nudge forward into sharper, more architectural silhouettes, with ’80s power shoulders aplenty. (A particularly striking gown offered a more restrained riff on Packham’s vision of after-dark opulence, split into four graphic black-and-white panels that were elegantly knotted together at the center, with a subdued touch of sparkle on the cuffs.) Packham said with a laugh that one of the pieces looked like it could have come straight out ofDynasty, and she wasn’t entirely wrong, even if she also made sure to give those references a very 2022 sense of refinement. These were clothes inspired by and designed for a spirit of hedonism—and the addition of a sharper, more dangerous edge only made them more intoxicating.
28 September 2022
When the first lockdowns rolled around in 2020, Jenny Packham faced a dilemma. As a designer whose livelihood hinges on eveningwear and bridal, should she compromise and lean into more casual territory, or stick to her guns?Having run her business for well over three decades—weathering multiple recessions in the process—Packham savvily did a little bit of both. There were some easier, breezier pieces in her collections over the past two years, but she also remained confident that when those galas and weddings did return, her customers would not only come flocking back, but would be looking for the most flamboyant pieces she could offer.Packham has been proven very firmly correct. A particularly fruitful decision was to partner with Farfetch, allowing her to deliver gowns to customers far removed from her flagship stores in London, Beijing, Shanghai, and Seoul. Her latest report from e-commerce giant saw her sales shoot up 300% year-on-year, and on the wholesale side, her sell-through currently sits over 80%. “It’s almost unheard of over the many years I’ve done this,” Packham said. “It’s really opened up the market for us, and we’re reaching places we were never able to before.”In keeping with that sentiment, Packham’s new collection leans into decadence and freedom, taking as its strongest aesthetic cue the spirit of Truman Capote’s swans; in particular, C. Z. Guest, whose quote about pastels felt particularly appropriate for resort, Packham noted. “Pastels look magic poolside, they just do,” Guest is known to have said.Pastels came to the fore here, from a powder blue sheath dress decorated with geometric sequins across the sleeves (and padded shoulders to give it a gentle ’80s twist), to a dazzling gown in a pleated gold lamé that recalled the Hollywood va-va-voom of Marilyn Monroe’s William Travilla dress inGentlemen Prefer Blondes. Packham’s very English brand of feather-light flounce was on display too. A set of gowns lightly bedazzled with sequins and featuring dramatic feather-trimmed sleeves looked worthy of any garden party.“I think people are being quite hedonistic about their decisions at the moment, and they want to make the most of everything,” Packham added. In these dresses, her customers will once again be able to do just that.
28 June 2022
After six seasons showing her collections remotely, Jenny Packham is back in her Paris showroom—and clearly back in her element. “With the kind of clothes we make, you really need to touch it, to see it under the lights, to twist and turn it,” says Packham. “No matter how hard you try, that will never translate online or in photographs.” It’s true: Getting to grips (so to speak) with the irresistible luxury of Packham’s designs will always require the full tactile experience of folding the fabrics between your two hands to appreciate the craftsmanship embedded in every single sequin and hearing the satisfying rustle that accompanies it. That’s something you’ll never be able to experience through the digital looking glass.So instead of the throwbacks to Old Hollywood and party girls from decades past that Packham has looked to over the past few collections, she was instead inspired by something more immediate this season: the zippy, sprightly energy of the hummingbird. “I suppose hummingbirds are quite reminiscent of people at parties, aren’t they?” Packham says. And that’s, of course, where her pieces truly shine, with their extravagant plumes of feathers, rich patterns of shimmering sequins, and lavish embroideries. Most striking of all was a series of gowns in cool tones with billowing skirts cut from layers of gossamer-light, translucent tulle to create breathtakingly romantic silhouettes.But Packham has also been studiously working on making her pieces as environmentally friendly as a luxury dress can be in 2022, with impressive attention to the tiniest of details. It’s been a long-standing goal of Packham’s, but one she wanted to make sure was done right. Her dresses are now made up of recycled silk satins and chiffons, as well as recycled sequins sourced from India after an extensive period of research. “You have to take baby steps, as you need to be sure you’re doing it the right way,” she says. “I was conscious of the fact you have to fly these materials around, and there’s no point in doing it if you’re suddenly increasing your carbon footprint. It’s about balancing all these things together, and it’s going to take a bit of time, as I want to respect the process.”For that, Packham deserves credit, as she carves out her own lane in sustainable eveningwear. Still, as always with Packham’s work, it was the sheer sense of fun on display that charmed most.
9 March 2022
Jenny Packham’s vision as a designer has always been closely entwined with her British identity, whether in the frothy confections that gently recall the Norman Hartnell tulle gowns worn by mid-century royals in their Cecil Beaton portraits, or the glitzier pieces that speak to London’s status over the past few decades as a hub for the international elite. Ironically, it’s this firm sense of place—and, of course, Packham’s sharp eye for universally flattering color and silhouette—that has earned her a robust clientele far beyond her homeland.This season, Packham turned her attention to the other side of the pond, where she found inspiration in an unlikelier corner. Namely, that of turn-of-the-century interior designer Elsie de Wolfe, whose glamorous individualism (she lived in a so-called “Boston marriage” with another woman and practiced vegetarianism and yoga) saw her overhaul the stuffy Victorian salons of upper-crust Manhattan for a fresher palette and a breezy simplicity. Well, breezy for the 1910s, at least. “I loved reading people say those rooms were simple and uncluttered when today they look anything but,” Packham says wryly, having drawn primarily on the pastel hues of de Wolfe’s interiors for the collection. “But really it says more about what went before.”As a designer working through a pandemic whose bread and butter lies in eveningwear, delineating a sense of before and after has been at the front of Packham’s mind. As she explains, the market for more formal designs picked up again fairly soon after lockdown restrictions began to be eased, thanks to a backlog of postponed weddings and birthday celebrations. Instead, it was the in-between styles that took longer to come back around—the cocktail dresses and more relaxed gowns for after-work events, say—but are now finally making their return. Ever ready to meet her customer’s needs, Packham’s pre-fall selection featured a number of shorter, more casual styles, including a sleek midnight blue dress in a thick, sculptural crepe with crystal-adorned cut-outs running down the side, and a particularly gorgeous navy sequined dress with power shoulders and a contrasting white peter pan collar.The softer palette of her spring collection continued with princess gowns in delicate carnation pinks and duck egg blues, here cut from frothy tulle and featuring smatterings of iridescent sequins and crystals.
More playful touches emerged in the form of saddle shoulders and romantically draped sleeves, ensuring they’d look just as appropriate on a debutante today as they would have in de Wolfe’s era. It feels well-timed, and not just for the return of cocktail hour. With the impending arrival of Julian Fellowes’s new big-budget period bonanza,The Gilded Age,set in late 19th century Manhattan and spotlighting the tensions between old and new, you can expect the show to have a similar fashion ripple effect to his previous show,Downton Abbey,a decade ago.For Packham, though, this interest in a rarefied corner of New York design history lies primarily in its relationship to change. “They were stepping into a new age,” she says, “and it feels a bit like that at the moment, doesn’t it?”
24 January 2022
Jenny Packham has had quite the week. When we connect, she’s en route to the U.S. to celebrate the capsule collection she designed for the 60th anniversary of the James Bond franchise, consisting of six dramatic gowns inspired by a film from each decade. Even more notably, Packham set the internet alight when her riff onGoldfingerwas worn by the Duchess of Cambridge to the London premiere ofNo Time to Dieon Tuesday, here reimagined as a caped dress featuring a dazzling explosion of golden sequins, crystals, and glitter tulle. As far as promo for a new collection goes, it doesn’t get much better than that.With her headline-grabbing return to high glamour, it seems the Duchess is ready to put on her dancing shoes again—and thankfully, so is Packham. “Everyone I speak to at the moment is talking about dressing up and going out, and I think you really are designing for people to escape all of the burdens of life right now,” she says. “After the year we’ve had, there’s even more reason to design in a much more free-spirited way. I can’t give that any more gravity, that’s just what we do. That’s our job.”For spring, this energy was channeled in a way that felt lighter, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. First, the color palette. Packham moved away from the heavily sequined jewel tones of the past few seasons and into something lip-smackingly fresh, from pastel blues and peachy pinks to a delicate ombré tulle that faded from pale yellow to a gossamer white. Second, the textiles. Lurex chiffon was draped into a Grecian dress with loose sleeves that fluttered in the artificial wind of the studio, while crepe silks were lightly smattered with teardrop paillettes that managed to feel ethereal rather than heavy.For Packham, this sense of lightness wasn’t just one embodied by the look and feel of the clothes, however; it was also the collection’s philosophical backbone. In a more cerebral reference than her usual odes to Old Hollywood or classic English glamour, her starting point came about after she re-read Milan Kundera’sThe Unbearable Lightness of Being—a favorite of hers from her days at Central Saint Martins—and began thinking about the way in which Kundera’s characters negotiate the twin pulls of pleasure and instant gratification with the responsibilities of adulthood.“I think as a designer, especially at the moment, people want more depth,” says Packham.
“In the book, Milan Kundera talks about how you have a choice in life: You can either sign up for this burden of commitment that gives you long-term, steady contentment, or you can go for this lighter, freer approach devoid of responsibility and the highs and lows that come with that.” For so light a collection, it feels like heady stuff—not that it matters much to her loyal client base, for whom these delightfully playful dresses will be catnip regardless. Still, with her shrewd ability to balance whimsy with commercial nous, what side of the fence does Packham sit on? Ever the diplomat, she adds, smiling: “For me, it’s a combination of both.”
1 October 2021
There’s a certain type of woman who comes to mind when picturing the Jenny Packham customer. She could be a well-heeled socialite looking for the perfect dress to attend a friend’s wedding in Cape Cod or the Cotswolds, or a globe-trotting debutante on the hunt for an opulent frock to hit the town in Dallas or Dubai. So it made for a fun twist this season that alongside the more expected types Packham drew inspiration from—famous New Yorkers including Nan Kempner and Gloria Vanderbilt—she also namechecked a new generation, mentioning the likes of Paris and Nicky Hilton.“Looking back at women like Nan Kempner, they were sort of the original influencers, or at least their predecessors. They had the time, the places to go, the people dressing them,” Packham said, before adding, with a laugh: “I mean, they were just the luckiest women in the world.” The results were realized here with enough sparkle to blind even a magpie. Particularly ravishing were the sheer princess dresses embroidered with hundreds of tiny crystals to create an ethereal shimmer, or the gowns cut from swishy tulle dyed in an ombré from pastel pink to white. Meanwhile, a crepe silk column dress with fluttering sleeves featuring a collar covered in crystals and costume gems was inspired by a look worn by Diana Ross in the 1960s. Packham’s deep dive into disco glamour was partially inspired by a binge-watch of Netflix’sHalston.It felt resonant not just for its celebration of post-lockdown hedonism, but also in the way it dovetailed with the broader cultural trends of the past year. The rhinestone dresses wouldn’t look out of place on Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware, or Kylie Minogue. Miley Cyrus wore an explosion of frou-frou pink Packham feathers as a minidress IRL for her live-streamed Pride concert in Nashville last week. “We’ve been getting some really interesting people in our clothes,” Packham said. “I’m so glad to see someone like Miley wear it in her own way.”The new collection also taps into Gen Z’s ongoing love for Y2K style, represented even more recently this week in Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour Prom” concert film, which drew from the subversively feminine gowns worn by Courtney Love in her performances with Hole.
Indeed, after a Packham dress was worn by Iris Apatow (daughter of Judd Apatow, and not by coincidence, one of Rodrigo’s BFFs) to her prom last month, it sold out on Net-a-Porter in two days, lending Packham the confidence to offer more pieces in keeping with its short-skirted, sugary-sweet spirit.Packham is clearly ready to get the party started again. What’s unexpected, perhaps, is her new fanbase. “We still have the classic pieces too, but it just feels like the right moment to try something new,” Packham concluded. If the response is anything to go by, she’s clearly hit the mark.
7 July 2021
Given that she launched her pre-fall collection only a matter of weeks ago, it makes sense that Jenny Packham’s latest offering picks up where she left off: delving into the sartorial tastes of Old Hollywood icons. Not that you’d be able to spot the quick turnaround, given the labor-intensive and meticulous craftsmanship involved in her sumptuous, hand-beaded, sequin-dripping dresses for fall.The point of difference this season, however, was finding Packham in an even more playful mode. Inspired by Beth Bernstein’s book exploring the intoxicating myths behind celebrity jewelry collections, titledIf These Jewels Could Talk, Packham imagined her gowns hanging in wardrobes the morning after a night out, the layers of tulle rustling together to whisper their illicit secrets. “With my dresses, while I’m always very happy that they’re worn out to these fabulous parties to make memories, sometimes I wish I could go with them,” Packham says. “I mean, it would be wonderful to know what they get up to.”Looking not just to the sparkling metallics of a 1950s Tinseltown starlet’s necklace, or the Elizabeth Taylor–inspired ruby and amethyst tones that cropped up across a number of pieces, Packham saw what is likely to be her first “après-lockdown” collection as an opportunity to dial up the volume. A series of gowns is decorated in gold and silver sequins that radiate outward like glittering fireworks. Two dresses in hot pink—one with a gorgeously swishy full skirt smattered with further sequins, another exploding with feathers and tied at the waist with a satin sash—are as party ready as they come.It isn’t just the thrill of indulging in these flights of fancy that has nudged Packham toward the more decadent end of the spectrum, but a very grounded response to the requests she’s received from stockists and customers. An ethereal, Grecian-inspired dress from last season was a particular hit, prompting Packham to work on a series of crepe silk gowns with sensual draping across the back. Many of them come in white; unsurprisingly, perhaps, she has an eye firmly trained on the bridal boom many are anticipating over the next year.While Packham notes that she’s already booking in her bridal appointments ahead of the lockdown easing in mid-April, she’s also charging ahead with her offering of ready-to-wear bridal for online, in anticipation of the post-pandemic shopping habits that may be forever changed—even when it comes to that special day.
“People who have waited may just want to order something, as they won’t have the time to go through the whole process,” says Packham. “Either way, it should be a really exciting year for weddings.” And when those parties and celebrations do start up again, you can be sure that if Packham’s dresses could talk, they’d have plenty to say.
3 March 2021
Throughout Jenny Packham’s three decades in the fashion industry, she’s steered her brand with an impressively steady hand: consistently hitting the sweet spot between extravagance and restraint for the discerning, high society women who flock to her designs again and again. Yet when the pandemic hit, the logical pivot for many designers of Packham’s ilk—those whose bread and butter lies primarily in evening wear—was to expand their offering to more casual items. Packham, however, made a risky but carefully considered choice to stick to her guns.With hindsight, this seems to have been the right decision. Talking to Packham at the end of a busy week of sales appointments, she notes it’s the more flamboyant pieces lighting up the attention of her stockists. “A lot of buyers have been saying they’re thankful we’re going full steam ahead with evening wear, because they’re not seeing enough of it,” she adds, noting her more whimsical flights of fancy are proving something of a balm to her loyal clientele. “With all the beading and these dramatic shapes, it might seem completely out-there for this point in time, but it’s the super special pieces that people seem to be responding to,” says Packham. “I’m just doing what they want and going with the flow, really.”While Packham’s design sensibility feels distinctly British—in no small part thanks to her close association with some of the country’s most visible global style ambassadors, from the Duchess of Cambridge to Adele—the continued interest in her more decadent pieces makes more sense when viewed in light of Packham’s now very international market. With major retailers in the Middle East and Asia still happily snapping up her more opulent gowns, she’s managed to make it through this challenging period without compromising on what she does best.So it figures that her pre-fall collection—made without her usual ability to trawl far-flung destinations or costume exhibitions for inspiration— pays tribute to the Old Hollywood stars Packham found herself revisiting during lockdown. (Where else have any of us been able to find glamour over the past year but in cinema?) Ursula Andress’s penchant for ivory white appears in the guise of an exquisitely-cut sheath dress with a draped, shawl-like top from which Swarovski-bedazzled sleeves poke out; Ginger Rogers is paid tribute in a feather-trimmed, intricately-beaded minidress that would blind even Fred Astaire under studio lights.
But despite the gentle nostalgia of her inspirations, Packham is keen to add that her design process is firmly rooted in the real world—and more specifically, in thinking about what the customers she’s in conversation with will be looking to wear when the lockdowns are over. With the vaccine rollout underway, and hopes that travel restrictions may be eased by the end of the year, Packham will be there to ensure that her clients’ parties and events can finally take place in all their deserved pageantry.“When I look back over my career, experience has told me that when you have that feeling that you should be more conservative or try to lower prices, you actually need to go the other way,” Packham adds. “Sure, there are a whole lot of weddings and events that have been cancelled, but they’re still going to happen at some point—and hopefully then we’ll be there.”
24 January 2021
Not only has Jenny Packham spent the summer designing her new collection, but she’s also been putting the finishing touches on her memoir,How to Make a Dress,which will be published by Penguin next year. The book’s title poses a simple enough question, but the answer has proven more complicated as lockdown measures have fluctuated unpredictably in London across the summer. Packham’s response to this was to evolve—four times, in fact. Of the collection’s many iterations before she settled on the current lineup, Packham explains, “I just felt the need to keep revisiting it, as I felt the mood had changed.”Like any designers specializing in occasionwear, Packham has also meditated long and hard on how to reinterpret her codes into something that speaks to the present moment. Yet the limitations imposed by the slow reopening of the designer’s usual factories in Italy and India came with a silver lining: the opportunity to dig deep into her (now more than 30 years’ worth of) archival designs and reimagine some of her classic styles anew. The process left her feeling somewhat sentimental. “If I pick up a piece of beading or a dress from the archive, I know who made the pattern and the whole story around it,” says Packham. “When my team and I had to go home for a period of time, I did feel quite lost, actually, and so bringing some of those archival elements into the collection became comforting in a way.”At the same time, this moment of pressing pause brought with it a new perspective. “There were three or four weeks where we were not designing at all, which is rare,” she says. “It definitely did happen that, when you started again, there was a freshness to it and a different mood.” Perhaps unexpectedly, the new collection finds Packham in a looser, more playful mode. There are the reliably floaty, summer-ready styles that will prove catnip to her long-established, upper-crust clientele, but also a handful of daring looks that point toward something hedonistic—notably via an embellished caftan in blazing orange that nods to Talitha Getty, and a flared, lavishly sequined jumpsuit that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the dance floor of Studio 54.“If you look back to the past, when there have been times of hardship, you generally see a swing toward hedonism,” notes Packham. “It’s quite difficult to design something optimistic during this time, but when the parties start again, we’re definitely going to see some amazing fashion.
” That might be a little while off, but Packham is content to open up her archive to bring smaller doses of late-night decadence to the wardrobes of her loyal customers in the meantime. For the rest of her secrets, though, you’ll have to buy the book.
19 September 2020
The couturiere of choice to royalty, both real and Hollywoodian, is celebrating 30 years in business. You don’t get that far without racking up a few tales and also learning how to be flexible. To that end, Jenny Packham is readying a book, titledHow to Make a Dress, which is about the clothes, of course, but so much else besides. Resilience, for one. And as for the flexibility—the day after our meeting, she was planning on packing up this collection and sending it to New York so that buyers who are not traveling this season can see the looks. It’s not a perfect scenario by any measure. But it is what’s necessary and what will work. This might be a good place to mention that Packham is already fielding calls from panicked brides, whose gowns—The Dress—have become unexpected casualties in a world gone haywire.Packham’s got those ladies covered (and so does her recent collaboration on bridal lingerie with Kiki de Montparnasse). And she has a few ideas inspired by the world as Helmet Newton saw it, the one where women take the lead, own their desires, and honor their truth. “Personally, I love that androgynous look,” the designer said. In the fall collection, shown here photographed at Blakes Hotel in London, masculine tailoring meets geometric sequins; hot monochromatic colors dally with graphic motifs such as a deep-V dress with black stripes and gold sequins (one of the designer’s personal favorites); and new variations on celebrity picks pop up, likeHilary Duff’s wedding gown(now in ruby red with sequins and floral appliqués) and a fully sequined, short puff-sleeve number inspired by a dress Dita Von Teese recently wore for her New Year’s Eve show (also in red). At the opposite end of the occasion-dress spectrum, the work of fashion editor–turned–photographer Deborah Turbeville was another touchstone for romantic ruffled and crystal-embellished tulle gowns. A ’60s-inspired green dress with floral sequins and ostrich-feather trim had spring party written all over it.Meanwhile, Packham is working to get ahead of the game, diving deep into the question of what makes an ethical sequin (she’s been looking at biodegradable ones). She’s also peeling back the layers on ethical fabrics and trying to get to the essence of the matter. Like her book, it’s a labor of love. “It’s important to our brides,” she said. “It’s all about how one relates to clothes.”
28 February 2020
You must admit, Elvis Presley seems like a zany starting point for Jenny Packham. Taking fashion inspiration from The King to dress the Duchess of Cambridge presents a wider aesthetic, generational and cultural crossing than the physical trip from Graceland to Mayfair. But Packham took the risk and seemed to have fun in the process. On display in her Paris apartment-style showroom were dresses more spangled, rhinestone-studded and glitzy than in recent memory. There were frothy gowns, such as the one in polka dot tulle, and glamourous numbers covered in silver starbursts. There were feathers and there was fringe—apparently a first for the designer—as well as zigzag sequins and oversized bows. The powder blue took cue from Priscilla (Packham’s team had prepared several photos) while the red read more rockabilly. From designs with integrated capes (apparently very popular at the moment) to those with plunging necklines, every statement was invariably maximalist.In this way, the collection felt a little like a guilty pleasure; a detour into camp as a one-time indulgence (please, whatever the theme, no props next time). But Packham mostly landed on the right side of gaudy, and a version of the emerald gown worn by Duchess Kate during a recent visit to Pakistan was proof that all-over shine can still look refined. There was something about the white tulle gown with bishop sleeves and a black velvet bow that was pleasingly Southern Belle meets Second Empire. Perhaps a little too haute for getting hitched in Vegas with an Elvis officiant, but for any other wedding, it could be lovely.
18 January 2020
Jenny Packham has spent a lot of time in Paris over the years. In her apartment, there is now a showroom that caters to brides-to-be and other women looking to dress for special events. It overlooks the British embassy, and she has come to know the place, its history, and its staff. Thanks to one butler, she even got to delve deep into the history of Pauline Bonaparte, aka Princess Borghese, who once lived here. Beautiful and frivolous, she was known to have strings of lovers, and adored causing a stir—a golden cup in the shape of a breast is one relic—and her decorative flair remains.During a showroom visit—a brief touchdown between visiting clients in China, Turkey, and Houston—Packham observed that the harder the headlines, the more people want to let loose and go all out for special occasions. “People are more experimental at the moment. Hopefully, we got that party vibe,” Packham offered during a showroom visit, half-jokingly describing her process as “an investment and a gamble.”Indeed, many pieces looked like a party in their own right: A feather-trimmed dress in pale blue sequins comes to mind, as do a few numbers in the season’s key colors of rose-petal pink and mint green. Crystal and fringe lent swing to a tiered gown and shimmy to the white bodice of a black-skirted bustier gown. A shower of gold sequins with an integrated cape made another gown look like an Oscar nominee’s dream date.Requests are surging for special cocktailwear, and pieces in fully embroidered stretch crepe are proving a hit: This month, Packham will unveil an exclusive capsule collection on Net-a-Porter. “There’s an intimacy with the customer that’s almost like it was when we started 30 years ago,” the designer noted. Today’s younger customer may be wildly different from her mother, but sticking to a niche, not to mention being willing to spend half her life on an airplane, is probably why Jenny Packham makes the new generation of actresses, royals, brides, and fans feel so at home.
30 September 2019
Wherever the Jenny Packham woman is headed, she wants to shine bright. The designer’s glittery universe is so successful that she recently opened an airy, high-ceilinged, parquet-floored salon right across from the American and British Embassies in Paris, the better to fulfill demand for her flourishing bridal line.For Resort, the racks were lined with precisely the kind of gossamer, sequined confections that make Packham such a favorite on the awards and social circuits for high-profile clients ranging from Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Angelina Jolie, and Rachel Weisz right on up to the Duchess of Cambridge.On a recent trip to Madrid, a visit to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum sparked a fascination for the Impressionist artist Joaquín Sorolla, whose paintings of Mediterranean beach scenes sought to reproduce sunlight as it really is. Packham gamely transposed what she saw into fabric development, like pleated, gilded lamé, and finishings: key pieces included a sequined gold column dress with a matching cropped jacket inspired by the classic tweed variety; a blush-color ’20s-inflected dress with a diaphanous cape; a dégradé of green sequins on a short, flared evening number; or a tiered, gold-hued bonbon wrapper of a party dress.Elsewhere, the designer sprinkled tiny, richly colored crystals over flecked tweed trimmed with daisies. A few looks—namely a one-shouldered number with a neckline veiled in plumetis and cape, or a black column with a white ruff—picked up on current couture codes. A flamenco influence made itself felt in a handful of flounced dresses in saturated primary colors, also with daisy trim.
25 June 2019
Anything goes. That’s the liberating message resounding through the realm of bridal fashion right now. The wedding dress market—like so many arenas in our precarious world—is in a state of flux. In an increasingly global and crowded space, the masterminds of the dress of dreams must cater to a multitude of brides with a multitude of tastes in a multitude of locations. In other words, the days of one-dress-fits-all are long gone.“The Jenny Packham bride is harder to define nowadays,” says Mathew Anderson, the longstanding CEO of the firm cofounded with his wife 31 years ago. For her 2020 bridal collection, the British designer’s response was to get herself out of her comfort zone with some 32 diversified looks (though those with a yen for artisanal embroidery of the highest order can still find plenty here). Taking inspiration from across the globe, these creations will work as well at a South American beach wedding as at a French chateau or at an all-dancing, nocturnal New York affair.Understated this collection is not. There’s the Anaïs, a ruffled, jewel-free gown designed with the Asian customer in mind; the Margeaux, a shimmering minidress hemmed with ostrich-feathers that would be perfect for post-ceremony parties; and the sleekly caped Farrah with enough coverage—and shimmer—to perform in the Middle East. Packham’s take on the ’90s staple silk satin slip is particularly pretty when paired with a beaded mini cape.Packham is certainly canny to evolve her offering. As her husband says: “In the bridal equivalent of the big bang you have to ask yourself what to hold on to.” The answer here, happily, is “fun.”
2 April 2019
“It’s much brighter and lighter than our usual Fall collection,” said Jenny Packham from her Paris atelier, which felt fitting given the brighter and lighter weather that has been gracing the city all week. The London-based designer decided to expand on the Slim Aarons references from Pre-Fall, pinpointing his famous “Poolside Gossip” photo of Nelda Linsk in repose at her postcard-perfect Palm Springs home. “It’s a bit ’60s, ’70s California,” Packham said. “That cleanliness and perfection.”The palette ran a gamut of candy-colored pastels: a powder-blue gown embellished with sequins and jewels, or a shorter pink frock trimmed in beads and feathers. There were a lot of feathers for Fall, dripping down dramatic evening capes and rippling around micro hemlines; the latter look was inspired by a photo of Marianne Faithfull on a night out. Packham is pushing into new categories as well, adding separates and knitwear. The two worlds combined in a cute white top and feathered skirt set, though Packham couldn’t resist throwing a big ole cape on top of it for the lookbook. Despite the unsteady climate of Brexit-era U.K., Packham notes that sales have been up. “In troubled times, we find people still want to invest in something for evening,” she said. “It’s about that feel-good moment.”
28 February 2019
A well-thumbed book by the jet-set photographer Slim Aarons was the arresting visual clue to Jenny Packham’s inspiration this Pre-Fall. The London designer had been immersing herself in the fabulous world of Aarons’sWomen, in a collection that pulled its palette right from his saturated images. So a candid shot of legendary socialite Babe Paley off-duty at her Jamaican retreat gave rise to sumptuous cinder rose palazzo pants and a crystal-embellished crop top, while Jackie O at the April in Paris ball—and a bevy of dewy-skinned 1960s debutantes—inspired gowns that ran the gamut from pearl to golden quartz to cherry red.Packham’s midcentury source material resonated strongest in the simplest looks. Flared-sleeved gowns with clean-lined silhouettes and minimal sprinklings of hot-fix crystals, rich wool wrap coats with abstract crystal motifs, and a crepe cocktail dress with a lightly embellished tulle neckline—all were striking in their restraint. These are the looks that will most seamlessly make their way into the lives and wardrobes of Packham’s own glamorous circle of women. Whether that’s Rachel Weisz or Sandra Oh, her beautifying aesthetic feels entirely simpatico with Aarons’s own mission statement to capture “attractive people, doing attractive things in attractive places.”
23 January 2019
Jean Harlow—the straight-talking 1930s starlet who popularized platinum blonde—was the luminous muse at Jenny Packham’s presentation today. After a 17-season hiatus, the British designer returned to London with a sparkling but intimate outing at her Mount Street flagship store, marking the 30th anniversary of her company. “I have mixed feelings about the 30 years, really,” she said. “I’m very proud—but there’s also just so much more I still want to do.”Where better to start than this celebratory constellation of clothes for Spring 2019? There were snowdrop gray tulle confections whose layered ruffles were edged in black to mimic the naive scrawl of a child, taffeta and jacquard tailored numbers that played on the monochromatic palette of black-and-white screen star wardrobes, and a spectacular “Harlow” rose-print gown. Titled Today Tonight, the lineup took its name from the little-known fictional page-turner that was written by Harlow. Though only two-thirds of the outfits were on show, it still felt like a significant procession of the trademark sequins and sparkles that have seen this bridal-focused brand worn by everyone from the Duchess of Cambridge to Angelina Jolie.It was while staying in the storied Jean Harlow suite at the Chateau Marmont that Packham first hit on her inspiration. “When you watch films such asHell’s Angels, what comes across is an empowered woman who is feisty and feminist,” said Packham. “I think she was really groundbreaking at the time. She’s got this sexy, sultry image. It’s a fantasy.”Packham tapped into the fantasy most poignantly with her finale gown. Modeled after the portrait that Harlow’s mother commissioned after her death at 26, the “Jean” showcased a staggering level of craftsmanship. It took one machinist six days just to pintuck the ivory silk skirting, before getting to work on the gown’s complex, floral Swarovski-crystal embellishments. It’s on this forensic and fantastical level of detail that Packham has built her red carpet empire—and long may it shine.
17 September 2018
There was some seriously lustrous source material at the heart of Jenny Packham’s Resort line. The London designer, who celebrates her 30th anniversary with a homecoming show in the British capital this September, has been immersing herself in the staggering bijoux collection of Elizabeth Taylor. On the table lay a copy of the actress’s book,My Love Affair With Jewelry—and that adoration was replicated in the rails of resplendent beaded gowns shown here. Taylor’s jewels inspired both tones and textures: So a sweeping sequined look borrowed its rich hue from the Cartier suite of rubies that Taylor was given while swimming in the pool of her favorite French villa; a tulle-sleeved snowdrop-tone dress was scattered with cascades of pavé, marquise, and baguette crystals to mimic the floral formation of her Van Cleef & Arpels brooch; while a series of verdant floor-length gowns, some entirely hand embellished in beads and pavé crystals, were sparked by the Bulgari emeralds that were a gift from her great love Richard Burton.There were signs of gentle diversification here, too: Alongside the full-throttle, conservative evening gowns were jumpsuits and cocktail and little black dresses with more youthful appeal. Chief among them was a yellow-diamond-hue look, decked with iridescent petal sequins, that borrowed both from the Daisy Parure necklace Taylor once wore to the Oscars and her brilliantly original amber wedding dress—one of the designer’s all-time favorite bridal moments. Packham also emulated Taylor’s boudoir wardrobe, creating trailing silk chiffon robes and minidresses decked with marabou feathers, one of which is an iteration of a piece created for Dita Von Teese. These cover-ups brought an element of fun to the lineup, and hinted at the glamorous driving force behind the forthcoming commemorative show—an exploration of the golden age of Hollywood.
23 June 2018
Since opening its doors in 1906, the Ritz London has played host to countless events and spectacular soirées—but never a runway show. That changed on Monday with Jenny Packham’s Spring 2019 Bridal outing, which was held inside the hotel’s intimate Music Room, composed of an elaborate flower-strewn fireplace, strawberries-and-cream painted walls, and a prominent crystal chandelier (but of course).“It’s our 30th birthday—30 whole years,” mused the British designer backstage. “We usually show bridal in New York, but on this occasion, I knew we needed to celebrate in London with the whole team.” Packham felt the grand setting was evocative of her new collection, which drew style cues from the Jazz Age and, more specifically, the “heady and glamorous scenes of a twilight society” that author F. Scott Fitzgerald depicted in his prize-winning novels from the era. “He portrays that time so beautifully, with so much color and detail,” she added.The looks here gestured to that period, but stayed true to the present, offering brides-to-be a multitude of gowns and separates that ranged from ethereal to elegant to all-out glamorous. Those with a classical sensibility will likely fall for Packham’s signature bias-cut, cap-sleeve ivory satin gowns delicately embroidered in iridescent beads, while the woman who wishes to show a little more skin on her big day should appreciate the sleek tulle halter dress or the strappy gown covered in stone-blue sequins. Elsewhere, a dazzling cream jumpsuit, accompanied by a hand-painted leather jacket bearing playful matrimonial emblems, provided a welcome point of difference. Packham called it “a totally fun choice that people might not expect.”The show also championed several of Packham’s cost-effective bridal collaborations, including her capsule shoe collection with high-street stalwart L.K.Bennett and a series of engagement rings created in tandem with Goldsmiths. “We worked incredibly hard to pull all of this together,” she said. “In fact, the only thing I have left to design now is the chapel.”
27 March 2018
This season, the Jenny Packham woman headed to outer space, as the designer cheekily imagined a collection of gowns meant for the first intergalactic awards show red carpet. “It’s a form of escapism, isn’t it?” Packham said of her far-flung inspiration. Indeed, when the outlook on Earth is so bleak, where else to look but upward? (Elon Musk, at least, would agree.)Current affairs aside, the cosmic references were such a natural fit for Packham’s ornately embellished gowns, it was a wonder she had never thought of them before. There was a stunning black tulle number and matching cape, whose crystals and milky beads were shaped into starbursts, and a fluid organza skirt that looked like silver mercury as it moved. Molten lava like one might find on a yet unformed planet was rendered two ways: as a plunging copper sequined wrap dress that had been originally made for Dita Von Teese (though in a more salacious flame red hue) and as a deliberately uneven stream of silver beads on a sheath that resembled flowing lava.There was more black than usual—not a deliberate nod to the all-black dress code that will unfold at the BAFTAs and other awards season events to support the #MeToo movement, Packham said. Rather, her growing number of East Coast American clients prefer the shade. Still, many pieces seem destined for the red carpet, where they’ll shine beautifully.
11 February 2018
This year is a significant one for Jenny Packham: 30 years as a brand. Official anniversary plans include a special show during London Fashion Week in September. The Pre-Fall collection, in the meantime, offered sufficient shimmer to set the celebratory tone. What’s more, several of the special-occasion styles revisit the archives. But since Packham’s designs are typically so timeless, the past has held up well with barely no hint of feeling retro.That said, some followers may recognize the floor-grazing tulle gown with crimson beading as a bridal mainstay whose floral detailing has been replaced by a modern application of textured sequins and crystals coursing downward. And if the silvery blue cap-sleeve gown with copper feels familiar, that’s because the original in illusion tulle with red flowers was worn by Taylor Swift in 2012 and now resides at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Packham’s wrap dresses aren’t necessarily her strongest statement, but as best-sellers with a wide range of women, they rightly deserve to be back among the mix.The designer may now be so known for her dreamy red carpet aesthetic and photo op cocktail looks worn by Kate Middleton that the beaded separates—T-shirts, a fun crop top, relaxed pants, and racer-back tanks—reinforced how she has always applied her couture-approximate sensibility in a more relatable way. New developments in surface detail—bubble-effect beading and a fade effect down skirts—were significantly different enough to paint a picture of Jenny Packham in the present. Special mention, however, goes to a body-skimming gown called the Fontaine; covered in holographic sequins, it was a mermaid vision from the future.
19 January 2018
Jenny Packham is tired of the traditional fashion-show format. “I felt like I needed a break,” she says, reflecting on the backstage whirlwind that had begun to drive her mad. Then there was her growing frustration with the runway images, which failed to capture her eveningwear in the right way. “Because these pieces are to be worn at night, you don’t get the right lighting or composure on the catwalk,” she says. Instead, the designer hosted an intimate photo shoot, followed by a series of private appointments. A mere handful of people graced the Highline Stages set, leaving plenty of breathing room for Packham to focus. “Today, I can tell you, is the happiest I’ve been in a long time,” she says with a relaxed smile. “This is fabulous, I’m looking at the images and thinking yes.”Last time she came to New York, Packham picked up a vintage ’30s tunic at a shop uptown, delicately embroidered with white walking cranes and pagodas. It inspired this season’s exploration of traditional Asian gardens and the artists who have depicted them. The woodblock prints of Hokusai figured in: His iconicGreat Wavewas turned into an abstract print and laid out across wisteria-colored tulle as silver sequins. In more conceptual form, Packham created a fluid sequined dress in green and blue ombré to recall dripping water; the gradient came from a painting by Lee Ufan, a Korean minimalist based in Japan. There were many embellished evening gowns—tiered tulle with velvet-flocked polka dots, gold wisteria hand-embroidered on French lace—sure to make a splash on Kate Middleton and her like.A long-sleeved minidress came covered in what appeared to be red and blue sequin stars. They were, in fact,asanoha—overlapping hemp leaves taken from an antique kimono. As one of several cocktail pieces, it represented Packham’s desire to expand her line, taking her ornamental style into more casual territory. There was even a cyan jumpsuit that plunged down its ruffled and beaded front. “We find if we try to do simple party dresses, there’s so much of that happening, so we want to go quite full-on,” she says. No doubt the red carpets will be full of them.
14 September 2017
A summer garden might seem like a prosaic point of departure, but as envisioned by Jenny Packham for Resort, it became something well beyond ordinary. This was somewhat owing to a palette completely devoid of green. Beyond that, delicate raw-edged leaf embroideries, jagged “deconstructed” paillette flowers, and finely pleated poppies were proof that the designer wasn’t feeling boxed in. Surface detail comes easy to her, though; she could lay out the beading on a bodice and conceive the crystal lattice of a bolero overlay the way a landscaper plants roses and boxwood. Conversely, two multipurpose designs opened up the versatility of her evening wear. An embellished bodysuit, further developed from her most recent bridal offering, appears in the lookbook as a plunging halter with a tulle ball skirt, both in midnight blue. Now picture it with tuxedo pants, which Packham might wish to consider going forward.See also the second-last look, whereby a cap-sleeved top with garlands of beading gives way to an open skirt of tulle; here, it is shown with tone-on-tone crepe pants; but again, imagine it with jeans or even, as the brand director suggested, a cheeky pair of briefs.These separates, along with a Champagne-hued peplum top dripping with gold ornamentation, and a breezy top paneled in zigzagging sequins, are bound to draw different women into the go-to gown brand. Ideal scenario, they discover Packham’s unwaveringly refined approach and recognize the newness—including wispy “dragonfly wings” shooting up from shoulders, or else a blurred animal print paneled over with Lurex paisley. Within Packham’s repertoire, these count as wild. But it’s also plain to see she just wants women to pick their favorites.
24 June 2017
Jenny Packham’slatest bridal collection may have been inspired by Falling, Colin Thubron’s book about trapeze artist Clara the Swallow, but the 35-piece lineup also seemed to take cues from Packham’s own fashion icons. A flutter-sleeved mini was reminiscent of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s embroidered Valentino wedding gown, for instance, and a streamlined slip à la Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was updated with an embellished capelet. “Our brides have always been a little bit alternative,” Packham said, adding that separates—new for this season—were included for “girls who want to create their own outfits.”That sense of eccentricity also came through in three scarlet dresses with fanciful details like marabou feathers, ruby sequins, and satin bows. “It’s this idea of being a bit daring in bridal and taking a few risks,” she explained. Corseted bodices had a fashion-forward edge with metallic stitching, embellishments mimicked tattoos on a few long-sleeved gowns, and soft fringe lent a haute-saloon spin to a deco dress. In the end, though, this collection honed in on what Packham does best: graceful femininity fit for a princess—or perhaps a duchess.
24 April 2017
“The collection is all about what it means to be British,” said Jenny Packham backstage at her Fall 2017 show. “I think a lot of people are thinking about that right now.”Packham confronts this question of British identity by reinventing classic British tropes, like tartan plaid, pearls, and punk. The first look set the tone: a satin biker jacket embellished with mother-of-pearl and crystal studs worn over a matching dress. Punk—the Jenny Packham way.Plaid has been a big motif this season, and it was refreshing to see Packham play with it for evening on floaty chiffon gowns and skirts, accented by a hint of sparkle. It was a little unexpected but it worked, particularly in the nude and black palette, with ribbons of crystal embellishments.Packham also collaborated with London-based artist and printmaker Magda Archer, who created the British-centric graphics seen in the collection, most noticeably on silk T-shirts. The designer had the right idea to mix casual concepts, like the humble T-shirt, with eveningwear, such as a ball-gown skirt. That juxtaposition appeared throughout this lineup; highlights included thePearly Queensilk T-shirt worn with a lace skirt, and a crystal-embellished lattice sheer T-shirt draped over a silky slip. It felt modern and fresh. The last look played with this idea: a tulle scalloped gown in powder blue worn with a leather biker jacket hand-painted by Archer. “I hope that kind of sums up the collection,” said Packham.
13 February 2017
GivenThe Crown’s popularity, Jenny Packham could have easily conceived a collection inspired by the wardrobes of Queen Elizabeth II or even Princess Margaret. Then again, that would have been too obvious. But the Queen did factor into Packham’s Pre-Fall collection: In 1958, her majesty banned the tradition of debutante balls in the United Kingdom and it was this moment—along with a foreshadowing of the feminist-leaning ’60s—that Packham felt was rich with possibility. The first look, for instance, offered a crystal-clear idea of how she started with a retro princess style, gave depth to the pink tulle by undercutting it with gray, and added a storm of gunmetal spangles to put a faintly punk spin on a dress so dainty.As the lineup progressed, the designs moved further away from what the debs of yesteryear would have worn, mainly because Packham broadened her range beyond obligatory white into a tight palette of gemstone hues (apparently inspired by the heirloom jewelry that debutantes would have worn). Packham also achieved knockout dresses by being respectfully suggestive. Embroideries meant to delineate bows did double duty by outlining the chest, just as her burnout lace panels plunged deep. For both, the new, impressively soft faux-fur toppers would come in handy.Packham must feel proud of her diverse offering, given that Millie Bobby Brown (ofStranger Thingsfame), Gillian Anderson, and Kristen Bell all wore her designs on the Golden Globes red carpet without any overlap. According to the brand rep, some new designs weren’t included here because they’ve already been requested by stylists. They shouldn’t wait any longer to claim the fourth dress with its waterfall of hammered, iridescent paillettes—an update on Old Hollywood glamour, if not 1950s London.
20 January 2017
To art buffs, the invitation toJenny Packham’s Spring ’17 show might have looked familiar: It was the same one Peggy Guggenheim sent out for her controversial “Exhibition by 31 Women” in 1943. Packham “nicked” the idea today with a collection of 31 looks inspired by 31 distinct and stylish women. Frida Kahlo was one of them, but the dresses weren’t all dedicated to artists; a pleated, caped chiffon mini with a Guggenheim-inspired graphic print was for Florence Welch, and a floor-length gown patchworked with swaths of sunset-color silk was Iman’s. A black-and-white chiffon halter gown was instantly evocative of Elizabeth Taylor, but it bordered on the costumey. Other red carpet–bound dresses riffed on modern Hollywood starlets likeJulianne Moore, Rachel Weisz, andJennifer Lawrence.That being said, you couldn’t really view all 31 looks as a “collection,” since they each captured a very different personality. But there were a few through-lines to unify the show. Packham’s signature embellishments were as lavish as ever, but she was experimenting with embroidery, too, which had a more casual feel. She also loosened up her silhouettes a bit, focusing less on the sequined, body-skimming column dresses and more on flowing, lightly embellished frocks you can style multiple ways. The “31 Women” theme was a welcome twist—and a nice way to work feminism into a collection—but will shoppers know which woman inspired which dress when it hits stores? Perhaps it would be helpful to have their name sewn into the labels, or at least detailed on a tag. Fans of style icons likeBrigitte Bardotand Courtney Love would be especially excited to discover that.
11 September 2016
Jenny Packhamshows her collections in New York, but it’s worth noting that she has a significant business in the Middle East. Here in the States, eveningwear is shifting in a cleaner, more minimal direction—and not just because of changing trends. Nineties-era slip dresses and simple columns are more comfortable, more affordable, and lend themselves to more occasions, than, say, a crystal-encrusted gown. Of course, Packham’s shoppers in Dubai are still embracing her embellished, princess-worthy confections, and they might buy a new one for every major event.With that in mind, Packham aimed to satisfy both camps with Resort. Taking inspiration from India, she mixed classic sequins with flower-shaped paillettes and paisley motifs that added a playful feel, and plucked rich colors like “Rani pink” and ocher from India’s spice markets. New Yorkers won’t find anything particularly minimal here, but a few gowns with rich floral embroideries did feel more casual; a nipped-waist chiffon number in pale buttercup would look sweet at a garden party or summer wedding. Still, it would be nice to see what Packham might do with a slip dress—after nearly three decades in business, they would no doubt be lovely.
24 June 2016
Jenny Packhammarried her partner of 26 years in December, but she didn’t opt for one of the sparkling gowns she has built her business on. Instead, she wore a simple taupe lace sheath with sky-high platforms and a net veil. “I actually was never really interested in being a bride,” she explained. So it made sense that the best dresses in her Spring ’17 bridal lineup were a little unconventional; there was a green tea–color chiffon gown with balloon sleeves and a smattering of pink flowers inspired by the “plains of the Midwest.” It would be ideal for a summer garden wedding. Elsewhere, one champagne V-neck number looked as easy as a T-shirt. Silhouettes on the whole were slinky and unstructured, not a single ball skirt or corset in sight. In keeping with the rustic theme, Packham also nixed classic white in favor of beige and cream, which lent a softer glow to all the jewels and embellishment.
19 April 2016
Sometimes a fashion show can be so hyped and over the top that it really just feels like a giant party. That wasn’t exactly the case atJenny Packham’s Fall show—it was a standard runway presentation—but each dress she sent out seemed destined for a night on the town. Ross Whitaker’s party photos from Paris in the ’80s inspired Packham to infuse her clothes with a newfound energy, so she layered on thick swaths of shine and shrunk hemlines up to mid-thigh. Clashing shades of lemon, blush, jade, and poppy were a departure from her signature jewel tones, and cooler silhouettes—like long-sleeved minidresses, high-slit skirts, and ruffled V-neck gowns—gave it all a youthful spin. One of the best looks, though, was a sparkling slate tank dress that hit right at the ankle. Elsewhere, dresses were either floor-sweeping or up-to-there, but Packham should have included more “awkward-length” numbers like that one. It felt just slightly more casual and off-hand than a standard gown.Also easy to like were the dresses styled with Mary Jane flats. Comfort is still top of mind for women, and Packham made the case for wearing satin and velvet flats with everything from lace minis to swishy, hand-beaded chiffon gowns.
15 February 2016
As relayed by a member ofJenny Packham’s team, the designer arrived at her Pre-Fall collection by adapting certain elements from Ang Lee’s celebrated filmCrouching Tiger Hidden Dragonto her 21st-century princess style. Thankfully, the outcome wasn’t first-degree East-meets-West, or even explicitly Chinese-inflected. And irrespective of the starting point, the impression remained unchanged: Packham’s pursuit of relevance within a rather rarefied niche. A dress covered in a staggered pattern of metallic sequins was the strongest proof that she’s exploring her commercial extremes. But even some of the dresses suggested a confident equilibrium between embellishment and restraint; for starters, the first look with its bloused top and uniform shimmer. The finery on several dresses in satin-backed crepe (the satin side facing out) was limited to the shoulders and back, while a black shirtdress with glittery gunmetal striping was cool by way of its relative understatement. Without question, every creation within this tight offering could be described as pretty, particularly the grouping in which intricately embroidered pansies and Swarovski-bejeweled insects emerge from delicate tulle. The question Packham leaves unanswered is whether she’s evolving alongside shifting tastes. And as a leader in the category of special-occasion fashion, she has an opportunity to direct those shifting tastes herself.
24 January 2016
Click throughJenny Packham’s past 10 or so collections and you’ll notice a common theme: Each one opened with an embellished dress. So when the first look at today’s show was a black and red floral-printed suit, you had to wonder how Packham got there. When she rattled off a few of her favorite musicians backstage—Mick Jagger, Nick Cave, and David Bowie—it all started to make sense. Packham was inspired by rock ’n’ roll legends who resisted gender strictures and weren’t afraid to indulge the more “feminine” aspects of their personalities. Packham herself was dressed in an oversize blazer, cropped pants, and creeper brogues: After decades in business, it was only a matter of time before she started taking a page from her own personal style.While the new emphasis on day-to-night dressing was promising, the androgynous concept didn’t quite translate for many of the looks. The suits were a bit too boxy, and Packham’s clientele relies on her for glitzy embellishments, not wildflower prints. Perhaps it was just muscle memory, but the glittering, red carpet–worthy dresses were the ones that stood out. Consider Packham’s most visible customer,Kate Middleton: You’d be hard-pressed to get her in a mannish blazer, but the jade georgette gown with draping at the hip would work perfectly.
14 September 2015
Considering the fact that many designers show jeans, knits, and other "buy-now-wear-now" essentials for Resort, walking into Jenny Packham's showroom to find nothing but hand-embellished gowns felt like a shock to the system. While Packham's pre-collections aren't quite as lavish as her ready-to-wear offerings, she's got plenty of clients in Dubai and Cannes who need a showstopping gown (or three) come November. Those far-flung shoppers inspired the designer to experiment with super-bright, saturated hues, like the ones you'd find in a Guy Bourdin photograph from the '70s. Honeybee yellow and morello red columns were offset by flashes of bright white and glittering multicolored tropical flowers. Similarly, in lieu of the strict geometric designs she's known for, Packham indulged in a mash-up of textures, like a champagne cocktail dress fused with delicate lace at the bodice. The best pieces, however, were the ones that had a newfound sense of ease, like a white beaded gown with a sweet peasant-style gathered neckline.Kate Middleton recently wore a buttercup-print Jenny Packham dress to introduce her new baby, Charlotte. You couldn't help but picture her in the yellow dresses on display here, particularly a short-sleeved sheath with crystal flowers scattered across the shoulders.
22 June 2015
The Jenny Packham girl is getting cooler. While Spring channeled Marilyn Monroe with sugary pastels and bugle beads, Packham's inspiration for Fall was a little dark. A trip to the Prado Museum in Madrid afforded her a closer look at Spanish artists like Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, and the lesser-known Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta; years apart, the painters had loose brushstrokes, dramatic themes, and deep, saturated colors in common. A room full of Garreta's salon-style portraits of society women particularly caught Packham's eye. "They seemed like they were really enjoying being dressed up, and I suppose not much has changed," the designer mused.In lieu of a full-on Spanish collection, Packham's main takeaway was lots of texture. Lace and velvet were lifted from those paintings, and she played with sequins of every size, from microscopic specks of glitter to giant paillettes. In the past, she has leaned heavily on Art Deco motifs, but that stale reference was happily missing here. Instead the embellishments took on a softer, more organic quality, like the bits of silver on a nude body-skimming dress. The opening look featured a belted coat so encrusted with paillettes that you wondered if it could stand up on its own. It was stunning, but it sounded like a rainmaker as the model breezed by. Packham used the technique on a few mid-length skirts and long cardigans, too. Those pieces were more conceptual than anything she's done in recent seasons, but could anyone actually get away with wearing them? Not only were they noisy, but they looked pretty heavy, too.Of course, Packham's territory is really the red carpet—she's dressed everyone from Charlize Theron to the Duchess of Cambridge. Either of those women would look great in one of the collection's simpler ankle-length gowns, while the ball skirts and sheer tops were suited for pretty young things like Taylor Swift.
17 February 2015
Jenny Packham is an eveningwear specialist who has built her business on satin gowns dripping in beads and handmade embellishments. For Pre-Fall, she stuck to her familiar codes; despite the season's "buy now, wear now" reputation, Packham isn't going to start making jeans and sweaters anytime soon. Her version of pared-back, year-round elegance came in the form of ombré ball skirts and silk pajama pants, both of which could be styled with one of the collection's crystallized knits (or your own white T-shirt). The abstract, leopard-ish beading on a few champagne dresses was noteworthy—it was a modern move away from her signature geometric designs. A girl can only buy so many art deco gowns. Packham filled in the rest of the collection with a slew of red-carpet numbers in mermaid-teal, crimson, and deep violet. Those were nice, if somewhat predictable. In the end, Packham was most successful when she kept things simple, like the black V-neck dress with soft ruffles down the bodice. The less-is-more approach and easy silhouette will appeal to lots of women; its jeweled velvet bow added just the right amount of pretty.
19 December 2014
"It's blatantly Marilyn Monroe," Jenny Packham said of her Spring muse. "She's been there all my life, but I've rediscovered her again." The designer took her research quite seriously this season, poring over images, visiting Monroe's bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel, even traveling to Jersey to glimpse a private collection of Monroe's dresses. "She's still so relevant," said Packham. "What she wore doesn't date."While Monroe's influence could certainly be felt, there were no white halter necks in the lineup. Instead, Packham designed mid-calf wiggle dresses in fuchsia and azure blue, the latter topped with a chocolate brown bed jacket. Packham deals primarily in gowns, and this season's were often cut close to the body, like a red bugle-beaded strapless number or a pink column with a sweetheart neckline, beaded with palms meant to mimic the Beverly Hills Hotel's famous wallpaper.The palms showed up again on a print that more directly referenced the wallpaper. Packham used it to cover a ball gown, and it looked a little too busy. On the other hand, a long-sleeve boatneck gown in gold lamé offered just enough shimmer. It felt very Marilyn.
9 September 2014
Ang Lee's 2007 thriller,Lust, Caution, which is set in China in the late thirties and early forties, was the starting point for Jenny Packham's Resort collection. Although it was generally pretty in Packham's typical, made-for-Kate Middleton way, a few of the looks were more sensual than usual. "I was inspired by the idea of presenting a collection of eveningwear that fused traditional Far Eastern style with Western fashions," said the designer, who often looks to films for inspiration.Packham upped the sex appeal by using jewel-studded illusion tulle on a few of the necklines. For instance, a fitted magenta number in stretch crepe looked demure on the rack but offered plenty of clingy oomph when worn. An almost-minidress, beaded in an allover star pattern, had waistband side details that accentuated the natural figure.The 1940s East-meets-West influence was quite subtle. Slight kimono sleeves appeared throughout, including on a white chiffon gown beaded with tiny pink-and-blue bugles. The embellishment on a flutter-sleeve V-neck dress had an Imperial feel. But when it came down to it, the references meant very little to the end result. Resort, for many designers, is about offering crowd-pleasing favorites that are almost guaranteed to be best sellers. On that front, Packham did well for herself.
9 June 2014
Jenny Packham's Fall collection was loosely based on Bianca Jagger. "Not what she wore, but how she wore it," the designer said backstage. "Eclectic, with intelligence and wit."And indeed, other than the eggshell tux jackets thrown over the shoulders of a few models—which conjured images of the seventies style icon inthatwhite suit—the reference was abstract. Instead, Packham focused on injecting a Jagger-tinged eccentricity into her pretty gowns and glittery separates. Ball skirts were done in taffeta—to add "punch," the designer said—and paired with relaxed V-neck sweaters covered in sequins or sweatshirt-shape tops accented with chunky crystals. Gowns, too, were relaxed: One shell-neck burgundy number hung stick-straight, with lines of bugle beads elongating the body. Packham's "daywear" this time around was more like cocktail attire, although a certain kind of woman could take the wide-leg satin trousers in a dusky mauve from late lunch to late-night dinner.Packham isn't too obsessed with everything hanging together perfectly; she uses her color palette to pull it all in rather than sticking with just a few silhouettes. Generally, that strategy works for her, although this time it felt like the show could have ended before it did. (There were a lot of different looks to take in.) But she achieved what she set out to communicate.
10 February 2014
The young women of the 1975 Australian cult flickPicnic at Hanging Rockwere Jenny Packham's Spring muses. "Our mood board was already together, and it reminded us of the film," Packham said backstage at her Lincoln Center runway show. "It just had the right feeling." Set in an Edwardian boarding school, the film's period costumes were cast in the glow of seventies celluloid. To give off that vibe, Packham combined high necks with prairie silhouettes, and collar embellishments with warm colors like rust, burgundy, and blush pink.Packham is a master at beading, and a taupe chiffon minidress adorned with tiny pink rosette embellishments—as well as multiple crystal-covered gowns in celadon, chartreuse, and powder blue—showed off that talent. But it was the less glitzy looks that really shone, including an easy-elegant burgundy-plaid shirtdress with a ball-gown skirt, and several halterneck numbers in pleated chiffon, both short and long. A pink pussy-bow gown, which hit right above the ankle, was as striking—and glamorous—as anything with a thousand sequins.It was good that Packham went for a bit of new, because as pretty as her beaded dresses are, they don't change much from season to season. It was nice to see that she's capable of more.
9 September 2013
Don't expect to see day clothes on Jenny Packham's runway anytime soon. "Other people do day better," she said backstage before her Fall show, going through racks of beaded gowns in washed pastels and muted jewel tones. "We've found that the more niche you are, the better off you are."Packham's philosophy is welcome, as it resulted in a tight collection of gorgeous formalwear that was broad-reaching but not boring. Inspired by seventeenth-century Paris salons—"where strong-minded women met to discuss arts and culture"—the designer put out a line of relaxed gowns and a few separates. A red tea-length dress, beaded in the style of Dorothy's ruby slippers, was made sexy by significant sheer paneling down the front. A dusty peach organza crop top, covered in red and white floral-patterned beading, paired nicely with cherry-colored high-waist trousers.And then there were the coats. "Everyone always seems so cold on the red carpet," Packham said, referring to her extensive celebrity client list (which includes Emily Mortimer, Angelina Jolie, and of course, Kate Middleton). The solution—beaded wool dress coats in peach, gray, and black—should belong in every opera-going girl's wardrobe.Packham may not be cashing in on button-ups and miniskirts, but her business is nonetheless growing. For Fall, the accessories collection, launched just a few seasons back, featured earrings with geometric-cut sky blue and opal stones laid in rose gold, and a fancy white clutch adorned with wing-shaped Swarovski brooches. "It ties in well with the clothes," Packham said. She's right.
11 February 2013
The world needs Jenny Packham. Or, at any rate, it needs designers like Jenny Packham—designers who make dresses that make women feel like movie stars, and movie stars feel like princesses, and princesses feel like the queen of the whole damn world. Directional fashion types may find it tempting to condescend to Packham, but there's a market for what she does—unless she does it badly.This was a clunky season for Packham. And it made you realize, watching her sixties Vegas-inspired sheath dresses come down the runway, that there's a craft, too, in making straightforwardly glam frocks. Glittery Vegas should have been good source material for this designer, who's never met a sequin, bead, or crystal she didn't like, but like many a gambler, Packham went too far. There were just too many looks so over-dappled with embellishment that they looked heavy; the short dresses were OK, but the models had to muscle the floor-length gowns to the photographers' pit and back. Packham had a few interesting ideas, like creating a kind of flock pattern with sequins, and her dangling paillettes created a nice sense of movement. But the overall impression here was of a collection that—vintage references aside—just didn't feel modern.
10 September 2012
If it was a coincidence that Dita Von Teese was in the front row at this morning's Jenny Packham show, it was a mighty convenient one. This season found Packham trying her bad girl on for size, showing bias-cut gowns and embellished pencil skirts that paid obvious homage to the forties femme fatale.The collection wasn't particularly racy, though. Packham's default setting is sweet, and despite all the lipstick red and noir-ish black on the runway, and the sexy dive of some of her deep V-necks, there was nothing here that would raise any eyebrows at a charity gala. (Or at Buckingham Palace, for that matter.) There were some solid gowns, though, several of which looked likely to be whisked straight off the catwalk to Oscar fittings in L.A. Packham's gold and black beaded bias-cut gown and voluminous floral printed silk were particularly memorable; a strong-shouldered black bias-cut gown with a plunging neckline, meanwhile, made for a fine approximation of the kind of thing that Barbara Stanwyck or Lauren Bacall might have worn at the Copa, back in the day. The problem here was with the emphasis on embellishment—Packham can be awfully heavy-handed, and a few dresses covered in crystals and sequins looked terribly weighty. Still, there were enough winners here to keep Packham's star on the rise.
12 February 2012
Jenny Packham is either your cup of tea or she isn't. Kate Middleton is one girl who can't get enough of the London designer's oh-so-pretty eveningwear, and today's show reaffirmed why. There's a sense of decorum about Packham's dresses, even the ones that are shambolic in sequins and slit up to there.You may recall what HRH the Duchess of Cambridge wore to meet a bunch of movie stars in L.A.: a draped, long-sleeve gown that was a nothing color, yet diaphanously sparkly. That was Packham, and there were more of its ilk on view this morning. Indeed, some of the strongest looks seemed to direct pretty directly toward the K-Mid constituency. For example, there was a beaded Grecian gown in gold, and a handful of lean, bias-cut dresses covered in shiny, Deco-esque rectangular studs. But the news this time was color: Packham turned out a ton of lacy, frilly dresses and gowns in a Jelly Belly-bag palette, including lemon, lime, tangerine, and cherry red. Several of the colorful looks featured dégradé fading fanned out over Madame Grès pleats, an idea with punch. Elsewhere, the designer found an even savvier use of color, applying sequins in a floral arrangement on nude or cream-tone lace to create an effect like a three-dimensional placement print.Packham's primary fault was a tendency to either under-work her looks or over-finish them. A short handkerchief-hem dress with a narrow belt, Chantilly lace detailing, and sequins was just too sweet; a cocktail dress in white with one fluttering sleeve and sequins and a floral appliqué could have used some simplification. And on the other hand, there were a few Halston-esque draped one-shoulder dresses that hardly set the pulse racing. People will buy them, but perhaps not Kate Middleton.
11 September 2011