Savannah and Sienna Miller’s Twenty8Twelve line made its catwalk debut at London Fashion Week on February 22nd. Showing it’s 2009 autumn/winter ready-to-wear collection, Twenty8Twelve held its own amongst other established fashion designers like Christopher Kane and Betty Jackson, who also showed collections that day.
While Sienna’s recent fame and success as a film actress surely helps to boost publicity for and popularity of Twenty8Twelve (which stands for Sienna’s birthday: December 28th), we are quick to point out her sister’s credentials as a fashion designer. Savannah Miller, the older of the two, graduated a star pupil from London’s elite Central Saint Martins College of Fashion and Design — a design school which has produced other fashion designers such as John Galliano, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, to name a few. Incidentally, after graduating, Savannah worked with Alexander McQueen and also Matthew Williamson.
This is, therefore, not your run-of-the-mill celebrity-turned-fashion-designer fare where a famous face decides to launch a fashion line without any formal fashion design training and whose interest in fashion seems to stem from little else than their having the chance to wear designer fashions to things like red carpet events.
Revealing where her priorities lie, Sienna, who could have easily attended the Oscars and its various parties Sunday evening, was front-and-center to support her sister and their fashion endeavor at the London Fashion Week venue. In fact, before their catwalk show, Sienna was herself putting finishing touches on pieces from the collection, in an old dairy in London.
According to the Times Online, “[the] Miller sisters are so unguarded that interviewing them about this collection can feel like butting in on a family get-together. Bottom line: this is an appealing synthesis of their shared penchant for slouchy, hip clothes, with a nod to strong, Balmain-esque shoulders. There are cute, cropped trench jackets, rugged khaki parka-style coats, minidresses layered over denim leggings and luxurious knits. It’s eminently shoppable and unpretentious. Which, with 70 stockists and a solid fan base, should make it perfect for now.”
It thus appears that the convergence of the fashion design training and experience of Savannah and the celebrity of Sienna has proved to be a winning formula for the sisters. In other words, their fashion talent means that they have credibility in the fashion design world and are able to offer interesting and appealing designs to their niche of buyers. Add to that the celebrity element, which offers them exposure that is likely exponentially higher than they could achieve otherwise — at least, not without a stellar marketing team and a budget to match.
Addressing this very topic, the Guardian points out that, “[the] celebrity connection perhaps explains how, at a time when many fashion labels are struggling to keep afloat, Twenty8Twelve has been able to make the leap from being a cool, under-the-radar label to a high-profile slot on the London Fashion Week schedule.”
They also quote Sienna Miller as saying, “[this] is absolutely the right time for us to grow [...] The way the economy is right now, if we had stayed as small as we were, we might have struggled to survive. We needed to push the label forward.” Thus far this push is doing them well, given that they have seen an increase in orders from boutiques.
Overall, the Twenty8Twelve fall/winter 2009 collection is decidedly wearable and accessible. As is the case with designers who are just starting to establish themselves, Twenty8Twelve needs time to develop and mature. This year’s fall ready-to-wear collection tended to offer much of what is already out there, especially in young fashion.
Some of the heaviest criticism has been the idea that such collections should not be showing at London Fashion Week, for they are, in a sense, too wearable.
What the collection does show, however, is promise of good things to come, which is essential to their future success as an established fashion line as the sisters cannot count on the celebrity boost to keep Twenty8Twelve relevant.
As pointed out in a review in the International Herald Tribune, “[the] duo’s forte is knitwear, with a patterned cardigan right in the comfort zone.” Also present in the fall/winter 2009 collection is “an occasional touch of sophistication, as in a shoulder cape, worn as if abstracted from a trench coat.”
Furthermore, Style.com notes that there is definite “strength [...] in Twenty8Twelve’s leather jackets, a staple they can work on as a signature. Savannah noted that none of them retail at more than £500, which is reason enough for young customers to start watching the line.”
Another reason to keep an eye on Twenty8Twelve — and further good news for Savannah and Sienna Miller — is that the British Council of Fashion has awarded Twenty8Twelve an official time slot, which not only shows interest in the line but will also hopefully motivate the sisters to really step up to the competition for the next time.
Sources: Times Online.
- Guardian
- Style.com
- International Herald Tribune
- All images are from Style.com
There is some real fashion trends!
Great work!