Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large
Oh, as I write it has just begun to absolutely bucket down with rain and hail just outside our office window. The sky has turned an angry, bleak shade of grey and there's a chill in the air. So, out goes the "now it's getting a bit Spring-like, this is the collab for you" angle I was going for. Thankfully, there are plenty of other reasons to get excited about Comptoir des Cotonniers' collection with Calla.
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| Calla AW13 (via style.com) |
For the uninitiated, Calla is the fashion label designed by Calla Haynes, a Paris-based, Toronto born designer who shows at Milk Studios during New York Fashion Week. Her clothes are sweet, young and exactly the kind of thing I (and probably you) go mad for; pretty sweatshirts, printed trousers and fun skirt suits. Just easy and lovely, but you also wouldn't be surprised to see someone wearing them on Streetpeeper (I just checked, it hasn't happened yet, but it's only a matter of time, surely?). Anyway, lots of people like to use the two significant cities of Haynes's life to explain her clothes. Style.com said they are "friendly" just like everyone in Toronto but "with a whiff of couture in the materials and construction" which is where Paris, obviously, comes in.
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| Calla Haynes |
Paris fashion isn't just about couture these days though; it also encapsulates that fabulously thrown-together, brilliantly basic and chic look which the French Vogue team encapsulate as they strut around fashion weeks with rumpled hair, smudged eyeliner and minimal accessories or fuss. And this is where Comptoir comes in because you can basically buy that whole look from them- apart from the nonchalant glamour bit which I've heard requires specific gallic genes.
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| Vest £55, skirt £85 |
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| Shirt dress, £85 |
The collaboration with Calla brings a softer, more girlish element to Comptoir's usual offering. There are all those throw-on things which are the cornerstones of French easy chic like a loose-tee, sweeping maxi skirt and skinny jeans but made carefree with Hayne's smudgy hydrangea prints. My own favourite thing is the shirt dress which is like a grown-up version of those lovely checked and striped dresses we used to wear as Summer uniform at Junior School. I think it is an especially sweet/ clever touch (or coincidence) that the model in these shots has exactly the same choppy fringe and beach waves as Calla Haynes herself. Selling the whole package. And just like that, the sun is out again and wearing that shirt dress is a distinct possibility. Yay.
Calla x Comptoir des Cotonniers will be available from 24th April in stores and on-line
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| T-shirt £75, jeans £110. Skateboard sadly not included. |
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| Dress £185 |
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