LONDON FASHION WEEK / — Recall the video for Whitney Houston’s ‘I’m every woman’? Her sassy smile and pregnant belly. For AW18, Marta Jakubowski celebrates women – our versatility, complexity, ambition and physicality – in a collection that evokes the early nineties, the days of shoulders and waists; The Bodyguard, Turlington and Crawford, all through the lense of her layered aesthetic.
“It’s all about my woman. She exists somewhere in my head and is growing every season”
“I’m every woman, it’s all in me Anything you want done, baby, I’ll do it naturally”
The collection is both celebratory of womanhood and reflective, paying homage to the sartorial choices of Marta’s late mother – the professional dress, and longline cashmere coat – and her own childhood clothes, loved and long-lost.
Marta’s personal trajectory towards womanhood is mirrored in her aesthetic evolution, from the vibrant draped tailoring and cut-out pieces of past seasons, to this season’s adaptable mix & match separates, party dresses and reconstructed trouser suits – a little bit grown-up, a little bit business. Layering techniques embrace the female form, while multiway fastenings offer us choices, and therefore power, and the trouser dominates.
For the Marta Jakubowski woman, ambition and sexuality are not mutually exclusive, so jacket lapels are cut low and dresses offer subtle reveals. She acknowledges our complexities – soft cashmere suiting is contrasted with denim cotton; roomy fits oppose pinched-in waists. While a colour palette of mint, lilac, evergreen and taupe is juxtaposed with brilliant red and colour clashing tartan. Marta knows her woman and revisits signature pieces – the trouser skirt with tulle under-layer and the seam split jean.
The cool and driven sensibility of the Jakubowski girl is reflected in the designer’s long-term collaborations with the likes of stylist Tati Cotliar and knitwear designer Helen Lawrence; while new additions this season include casting by Henry Thomas who has sought out girls with suitably strong personalities for Ryan Chappell’s choreography, and a soundtrack by Mimi Xu. For AW18, Marta Jakubowski is happy to have partnered with Jimmy Choo on footwear.
AW18’s spectrum of bold silhouettes, curves and clashing tones are uncompromising and speaks of our versatility. Now sing ‘I’m every woman, I’m every woman’
By Rosie Higham-Stainton
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: A model walks the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: Models walk the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: Models walk the runway at the Marta Jakubowski show during London Fashion Week February 2018 at BFC Show Space on February 16, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/BFC/Getty Images)
LONDON FASHION WEEK / — Recall the video for Whitney Houston’s ‘I’m every woman’? Her sassy smile and pregnant belly. For AW18, Marta Jakubowski celebrates women – our versatility, complexity, ambition and physicality – in a collection that evokes the early nineties, the days of shoulders and waists; The Bodyguard, Turlington and Crawford, all through the lense of her layered aesthetic.
