Neurotica SS '09 Launch, Thursday 18th September

Yesterday, I was excited to go to the evening launch of Neurotica’s latest collection, ‘Gently With a Chainsaw. You might remember Neurotica designer Victoria McGrane from the BBC series Dragon’s Den on which she successfully achieved the support of Dragon Peter Jones.

The launch was held at the Royal Academy of Art (as part of On/Off) and the downstairs space had been transformed with an intriguing croquet theme. There was a live band performance from Angie and Alex from Piney Gir throughout the show and their folksy, sexy music went down really well with the crowd.

Victoria’s clothes were fabulous; I loved the movement of the dresses and the way her masculine tailoring cut through the feminity of the chiffon, jersey and silk. Victoria is becoming known for her excellent prints and this collection showcased them perfectly. Depicting poison ivy, venus fly traps and geometric spider webs in a very abstract way meant that you probably wouldn’t initially notice the subject matter until later. This subtly sinister mood was echoed in the colour palette where darker tones of pastel met grey and black. Lynn Cockburn’s styling added another dimension to this considered and confident collection, with hand knitted socks and bathing suits bringing a quirky charm. Illustrated jewellery was provided by Aude Koenig.

The clothes great and were shown so well-on models who looked so good and played with their croquet poles so coquettishly I thought the man standing next to me would pass out. I can’t wait to see more from Neurotica.

Peter Jones and Neurotica's Victoria McGrane