Northern Soul

 Karen Walker's style is often described as a mixture of elements. Masculine and feminine, cute and Gothic, pleasant and ugly. Her juxtaposing style and androgynous tailoring is what gives her designs an edge. The New Zealand designer has a very big international profile and sells her designs world wide.

As soon as I saw Karen Walkers A/W 11 collection I thought, this is right up my street! I then discovered the collection was inspired by the northern soul movement (a dance and music movement during the 60s in the north of Britain) WELL!...anything with the word North in it and my ears prick up! Members of the movement were young working class youths who would dance all weekend at the popular northern soul clubs then return to their jobs come Monday morning. I think its the working class feature that I can really relate to, I find this collection accessible, cute and girly but at the same time cool and edgy. I particularly LOVE the printed shirt teamed with masculine cut trousers.

Although the collection has a very obvious, clear reference to the northern soul movement, when I see it I often relate it to "indie kids", maybe it is the androgynous styling of the clothes, as indie girls are often seen donning feminine clothes with an edge, for example the calf length floaty skirts with black vinyl detailing, making it feel contemporary and fierce. Also following the theory that somewhere along the lines subcultures will link together (see 'small world') then I feel these two closely fit. Both influenced heavily by music and a working class youth subculture.

Pieces of the collection do stand out as fitting with the indie style for example the polo shirt, very iconic amongst indie kids and often worn by the male members of the group. The baggy jumper, indie kids often sport an over sized, vintage jumper for a more casual look. Also the mix of floral print and black vinyl reminds me of indie festival chic, when girls wear floaty floral summer dresses with leather biker jackets or waistcoats. The combination of feminine and masculine reflects indie style and the overall styling with brogues and ankle socks, sets off the whole mood. Another amazing collection from Karen Walker, I think you would agree.

Karen Walker from my perspective does relate to the indie kid subculture of our time, her juxtaposed often mix matched style reflects the style of the indie kids, who often opt for a mash up of vintage finds, rather than a high street trend. Walker also designs a range for 'urban outfitters' a popular high street store, which manifests a vintage style for an urban lifestyle, also a store which is popular amongst youths with an indie style.

If we adventure back in time and take a peak at Karen Walkers past collections we see more influence of that individual style, for example 'the society of bright young things' 2001 collection again the juxtaposed style is present, graphic printed t shirts teamed with floral skirts and the 'Queenie was a dog' collection spring/summer 04 presents buttoned up shirts with braces and masculine cut trousers, close to the androgynous style of the 'indie chicks' its the cool edgy detail of her collections that make it really appealing to the indie kids. Her style is a whole bricolage of different looks nicely moulded to create an individual look. I guess every collection has room for ambiguity, different people take a different view, I like that, its what makes fashion fun and all the more exciting.