kate sylvester. the last sitting.

My evening with Marilyn. 

Marilyn Monroe's life was bittersweet. Thrust into the spotlight after a troubled childhood, skyrocketing to fame and epitomising the ultimate sex symbol, she was both compelling and complex. Her life was surrounded with as much mystery as her passing. Intriguing and enigmatic, Monroe's double life was captured in Kate Sylvester's latest offering, The Last Sitting. Bert Stern's portrait series of the blonde bombshell spurred the collection though this was by no means a tribute to Marilyn as much as it was a study of contradicting forces, of lightness and darkness, of certainty and ambiguity, of face value and the unsettling feeling of something below the surface. Her artful balance of masculinity and femininity was unprecedented, bomber jackets with soft embellishments, button down shirts with embroidered roses and solid leather with sheer organza. It was attention to detail at its finest. 

The baseball motif resonated throughout the collection, a reference to her second husband, Joe Dimaggio. Stitching on baseball mitts reproduced on tan bomber jackets, the edges of a baseball  replicated on the seams of pants, the spherical shape of the ball outlined on lace and linen dresses. And let's not forget the caps that provided to a nonchalant air to the Sylvester girl. 

1 comment Kate Sylvester , MBFWA , runway

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