Richard James new line from exquisitely light fabrics

Sundown Lights by Walt Whitman.

Our Spring/Summer ’14 collection, Sundown, captures that cool, colour-drenched hour when the spent summer sun slips away from another long day and the dark of night steals in, bringing with it a fresh energy and delicious sense of expectation.

Sundown is a prismatic prelude to the hidden pleasures of the evening ahead, a time to reappear refreshed and bask in the warm afterglow of the day under a sky swathed in deep reds, pinks and oranges.

Fleeting pastel pinks, yellows and blues of sun-bleached parasols contrast sharply with a parade of kaleidoscopic, colour-blocked cocktails. The vividly orchestrating sky gives way to the cool, mirrored blue stillness of a now empty pool. Poolside is the place to promenade as a soundtrack of ice happily tinkling on glass cuts through the excited hubbub.

This is a markedly sensuous collection that is defined by exquisitely light fabrics, soft, largely unstructured and unlined precision-cut tailoring and bold, playful prints and strokes of colour.

Cool Wool, fine worsted-spun cashmere, cotton and linen, and cotton, linen and silk mixes feature prominently throughout tailoring and casual wear with beautifully natural flax and silk mixes and wool, silk and cashmere jersey piques adding subtle texture and form.

Tiny sailing and rowing boat and rolling wave prints add a jaunty touch of playfulness to shirts and accessories. Floral and sharp geometric prints bring points of focus and brilliance.

Richard James