Having graduated from Central Saint Martins and founding her own label in 2010, Carlotta Actis Barone is the Italian born designer creating clothes for real women, with a simple approach to a highly sexual and seductive collection. AW13 is the season where Barone’s collection combined her signature long legs, large breasts and strong features with the new inspiration of compatriot artist Manuela Corti reflecting the artist’s own inspiration from the cubist and dadaist movements heavily altering Barone’s recognisable style.
Showing for her sixth consecutive season at London Fashion Week, Barone unleashed dancers onto the catwalk continuing her love of creating all things theatrical with the “real women” mainly styled in bell bottom dresses. Sexuality and femininity always play paramount in Barone’s runways, in the past she may have been well known for her loud choices of palette yet this season blacks, whites and shades of grey and cream, formed mainly dresses, cocktail dresses and evening gowns with elegant jackets and coats to accompany.
The collection appeared to be much more minimalist and simple than former collections however the consistency and quality showed signs of maturity. What may appear as the simplifying of Barone’s usual Technicolor arrays seems much more like the coming of age of one of London’s hand-reared talents.
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– Words: Declan Higgins
– Photography: Bex Day