Twilight Zone

Viperfish

When I was small nature programs were one of my favourite things to watch. every Sunday afternoon I would tune in to whatever animal-related show was on. My favourites were those presented by David Attenborough, there is something about his manner and soothing tone of voice which means that to this day I could happily listen to him for hours. Coming accros the book for the BBC series 'Blue Planet', which looked at life in oceans accross the globe, brought all of these memories flooding back. The program was a joy to watch aesthetically and though it did not have the emotional pull of some of the more 'cuddly' wildlife shows it was fascinating

My favourite episode was the one focusing on the Deep Sea, featuring animals that live below 200m where there is little or no light. They look so alien and exist in such inhospitable climates that it is hard to believe that are not the product of a sci-fi writer's imagination. In fact one species 'Cystisoma' was an inspiration for the creature in the 1979 film 'Alien'.

 

Many designers took inspiration from under the sea in their S/S '12 collections. Most of these took a lighter tone, with seafoam hues and bright corals, fishy prints, drapes and sparkling scales.

Scales, drapes and opaque/sheer layers at givency reminded me of bleached coral and sparkling shoals of fish

Anenome-like frills at Alexander McQueen, interesting bondage-like touches with the masks and laced/strap detailing

Neon scenes from the sunlit shallows at Mary Katrantzou

However I would be fascinated to see more approaches influenced by the dwellers of the dark undersea world. I could see some of this at Paco Rabanne but it seems like a great subject for McQueen, I am also now really lusting after a Christopher Kane-esqe tee with a print of an anglerfish or similar.

Warrior-like masks, surreal silver shapes and rainbow irridescence nod to life where the sun doesn't shine at Paco Rabanne

Bloodbelly comb jelly

Hatchet fish

Gulper Eel

Catwalk images from style.com