PPQ
PPQ Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear
By Meenal Mistry
Entering PPQ felt more like getting into a club, right down to the buzzy, not-above-shoving crowd and bullying security guard. Then there was the drag queen-ish character who sauntered in wearing a pea-green latex dress with an inflated octopus as a hairdo and a plastic doll face, daintily planting herself in the front row.
And why not? A campy, comic-book sensibility seemed more and more appropriate as living cartoon Nicki Minaj boomed on the soundtrack and designers Amy Molyneaux and Percy Parker sent out their vampy, glitter-lipped, double-plaited, and cat-hatted girls. The collection consisted almost entirely of dresses, save for a one-piece or two. Onto a ladylike, eighties-ish foundation, Molyneaux and Parker layered far older historical elements, like fanned Elizabeth collars and Victorian lace ruffles and bustles, as well as their own kooky details. The cleverest of the latter was to encase vintage jewelry, beading, and even a handbag into Perspex. "It's kind of like a preservation thing," said Molyneaux backstage. "Like amber or a cameo, but modern."
The overall visual had a coherent and immediate appeal, both to the club-kid element and to the post-Gaga fashion set, even if some of the dresses appeared a bit slapdash in construction, and maybe not-so-ready for retail prime time. Though one item that will surely make it to stores is the label's second collaboration with Office Shoes, seen here in lace-and-marabou-trimmed pumps and OTK boots. By the end, the show had become slightly repetitive. Not that this crowd, ready for the after-party, seemed to mind one bit.