Joe Casely-Hayford (Q5598)

The mere fact that Joe Casely-Hayford has had a 15-year career in London makes him some kind of a national veteran—certainly considering all those who have been in and out of business during that time. His beat has always been easy, naive clothes with an off-kilter, homespun charm, and the look still has an appealing freshness and lack of pretension.Casely-Hayford's Spring 2002 collection, called "Pretty Hard," incorporates puff-sleeve blouses, skirts with layered ruffles, and vests with cow horns studded on the back, all in a South American, tobacco-and-sand palette. While everything looks natural and almost homemade, the designer says he's working with luxury, high-tech fabric that is "made to look low-tech"—like a pair of hand-painted smock dresses, in a mix of cotton and silk, that ended his show.