“Baby Love, my baby love, I need you, Oh, how I need you.”
Crooning these words in 1964, The Supremes couldn’t have known how they would ring true for every House of Holland fan on sight of the zany label’s latest output.
The House of Holland Resort 2014 “Baby Love” collection is a delightful circus of geometric prints, tessellated patterns, embellishments, volume and a colour spectrum that extends from salmon to teal green and lots of hot pink and navy in between.
Henry Holland’s latest oeuvre is expectedly eclectic, but in a manner that veers away from his last Resort collection. Far from the varsity-style pastel hued cardigans and candy stripes, with fuzzy pom pom prints, inspiration seems to have skipped forward from ‘50s soda shop girl to sassy ‘60s diva.
Geometric patterns in a sea of vibrant hues are played out on simple tunic shapes with novelty sleeves, and a starburst pattern features prominently, splashed across blouse dresses, blazers, prom dresses and kicked out bell-bottom trouser pants. Round brooches like gleaming barnacles adorn jumpers, tennis-style skirts and structured tops with oversized sleeves.
Blouse dresses, tunics, drop-hems, bodycon, shift dresses; the styles are all a slight twist on a classic shape, and all in a litany of star spangled, geometric, tessellated hyper-coloured dynamite.
A single galaxy-patterned tee shirt screams, “More taste than money”, in a dripping paint font, the standalone casual look paired with geometric-print shorts and a glittery clutch showing the pointed tips of a folded star-shape.
Blinged-up leather in a deep teal grey is seen in structured tunics, a leather halter neck and midi skirts with three-dimensional glittering stars pinned all over.
Also featured within the collection are embellished, knitted woolen pieces, a tube dress in a multi-coloured print that almost hurts the eyes to take in, it’s so bling, and more double denim than you can poke a curling wand at, with enlarged polka dots and high necked patched denim shirt dresses with drop hems and kicked out skirts.
The “print de resistance” for this collection is clearly the tesselated cabbage flower print, like something straight off your nonna’s couch, the teal, orange and green geometric-floral print is strikingly ‘60s inspired, especially as paired with blown out mod silhouettes.
Another highlight is the distorted-Edwardian shaped white brocade dress with pinkish barnacle brooches running up the centre; a line of scattered shells on a perfect sandy beach.
The collection is both eclectic and refined, zany and simple, with bold shapes, 3D elements and intense patterns used throughout in a very cohesive way.
With indirect homage to The Shangri Las, Marianne Faithfull, and The Ronettes, as well as those soulful crooners The Supremes, this collection is the violent implosion of a ‘60s pop goddess, your Aunt’s retro holiday house and a futuristic space woman.
The psychedelic geometry and retro fun of “Baby Love” is seductively sweet, quirky and ultimately lovable.
Baby Love, I think I actually need you, Oh, how I need you…
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