A Saturn return is a bit like a bar mitzvah, a final lunge into maturity, a cosmic rite of passage for anyone inching closer to 30. Lo, 29-years-young, titled his S/S 19 collection 'Saturn Returns' after the occasion, but rather than showcase a newfound adult perspective, Lo's collection exuded a naïve vulnerability.
One expected a dirty thirty cosmopolitan affair after reading the press release, which was peppered with Sex and The City quotes such as 'One couldn't help but wonder...' and that instantly recognisable phrase from The Devil Wears Prada, 'Florals for spring? Groundbreaking'. Instead, what followed was delicate, delightfully saccharine and youthful. Far from the cocktails and grit of New York, this was a Lolita fairytale.
Nymph-like models glided as if weightless in water-colour pastel dresses with romantic florals and puff shoulders. Hats by longtime Lo collaborator Stephen Jones were witchy and long - much like a child dressing as a Disney character. Jones' pumpkin hats from A/W 18 were here transformed into dinky bags adding to the fantasy fable being spun. Dainty socks tucked into silver Mary Janes and glossy pink buttons felt both elegant and juvenile.
Ruffles, organza and the most beautiful embroidery reminded one of cotilion; these were girls coming of age, coming out and searching for a suitor. And so I got to thinking, is Lo himself looking for love?
Snakeskin and satin shoes by Gina, in shades of black and magenta, felt a little jarring to the eye against the Parma Violet palette but were well suited to the Samantha-like character Susie Lau described in the notes.
As a knight in shining armour walked the bride - kitted in tumbles of white oversized crochet - down the aisle, I couldn't help but wonder, does a woman have to find her Prince in 2018? Does this prim princess need to find love to find success? Despite the perhaps old-fashioned tropes, one hopes that as Saturn returns we can have it all: love, luck and Lo's wonderful designs.
