JENA THEO

It was a naval affair at Jena Theo this afternoon with what looked like all the ships sails billowing down the catwalk. A promising start of voluminous maxi dresses, palazzo pants and chunky mohair in the deepest aquatic hues of blue, with layering of beach pebble grey soon gave way to a more “Judi Dench” aesthetic. The cocoon structures seemed to sag with age and seemed more SAGA than stunner, a surprising departure from her wonderfully youthful previous collection. Things improved and seemed a lot fresher with a series of delightfully draped mini dresses, the chocolate racer back style paired with thick woollen legwarmers being of particular note. Although I’m sure the models appreciated the flat bow-tied pumps, some of the mid-calf length dresses could have benefited from a little sexing up, to avoid erring on the side of frumpy. During one point in the show I could be sure I heard the lyric “Your navy blue, it’s drowning you” in the accompanying music – however it could well have just been my subconscious playing tricks on me. Nevertheless, one word that might as well have been plastered all over the blurred graphic print tunics was ‘swathe’ – and in abundance. Although very effective when wafting down the runway you couldn’t help but imagine taking a pair of scissors to some of the more dramatic fishtail finishes – all in all a hearty collection that contained it’s fair share of treasures, but not without its barnacles.