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22-year-old Claire Barrow has just graduated from her BA at Westminster. Last year she was on i-D online customising punky leather jackets (see here), this year she presented with Fashion East, collaborated with Joseph and read about herself in Vogue, The Independent and i-D. But success hasn’t gone to her head yet, there’s enough student charm there still. Accompanying the usual press release was a crumpled envelope containing a stapled book filled with Claire’s a-bit-Shrigley illustrations; tiny drawings of faces wearing tiny sentences reading ‘Life is long when you’re lonely’. Claire’s SS13 offering was based on alcohol packaging. Cocktail hour came early with a silk illustrated coat reading ‘GIN’ in blurry handwriting, a bourbon whiskey kimono, a 50s Martini woollen shirt and a brown paper packaged Tequila shirt. Based on her illustrations, the for-men-and-women collection was punctuated by heavy ruffled hems and heavy-duty zips. The only vestige of her leather inclination was one customised jacket, proving she’s not shackled to a signature yet. A pair of un-placeable shiny rubber dungarees were a nice surprise. It had all the excitement and sound of a fresh graduate but the class of a post-. She’s a good one. We like her.
clairebarrow.com
fashioneast.co.uk
Text: Sarah Raphael
Images courtesy Fashion East.
See all of our SS13 womenswear coverage here.
