Pampilion
Dai Rees Autumn/Winter Couture Collection 1998
Judith Clark Costume Gallery
21 February - 29 March 1998

Pampilion: a fur used in the 15th and 16th centuries for the trimming of garments and hats; also the name of the animal - its identity now unknown - that bore this fur.

In the opening exhibition at Judith Clark Costume, the surreal millinery of Dai Rees and the dark, brooding photographic images by Mat Collishaw created a new, spellbinding vision of couture. To admirers of his work who had witnessed his collaborations both with Alexander McQueen and Julien MacDonald, the sophistication with which his material has metamorphosed into glamorous styling had already been acknowledged, but this collection gave a glimpse of an ever-expanding and exciting vocabulary.

Both structural and decorative, the quills that appeared as a mysterious leitmotiv in the collection appeared to have a wonderfully soft flocked skin in stark contrast with the vicious-looking steel spikes capping many of them. Peacock feathers were stripped and 'sun-burned'; others were made precious with brightly coloured glitter. Feathers sewn together one by one gave the impression that, suspended from the ceiling and trembling slightly in the breeze, they had come full circle and become magnificent birds once again.