A strange collection. Weird, indeed. Let's give Patrik Ervell the Sister George Award for Most Peculiar Inspiration. "The men's clothes that masculine women wear" -that's exactly what he claimed backstage as his starting point. That, and a book of pictures by Dutch photojournalist Gon Buurman, whose work focuses on lesbian lifestyles. But don't assume that meant Ervell opted for bull-dyke tweediness. Despite a definite emphasis on outerwear -a little sky-blue shearling layered over denim, a hybrid peacoat-, there was a fragility to his clothes that was almost feminine in the conventional sense. Not just a Fair Isle sweater delicately studded with pearls, but a mac cut from a cotton so paper-thin it was transparent, even though one side was coated with rubber. And no tweed, just a light wool mélange, which the designer showed in unstructured layers of varying lengths that floated around on top of skinny little pants. He also hooded some of his models in what looked like plastic bags. This curious, tentative styling touch was enough to underscore tentativeness as a tendency in the collection, which was a bit of a disappointment after Ervell's strong strides for last season. Maybe bull-dyke tweeds wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all.
