Introducing the Spring/Summer 2015 collection

We're delighted to unveil and share Hangar: our Spring/Summer 2015 collection, inspired by the early Acid House movement. In the 90s, following the decline of much of Britain’s textile industry, Acid House raves breathed creative energy into a decaying industrial landscape, which for many became an epiphany. 

We wanted to make a statement about the importance of handmade and ethically produced clothing, so took inspiration from the relationship that the Acid House movement had with these industrial spaces for our latest collection. 

All of the pieces in the Spring/Summer 2015 collection are named in tribute to some of the Amy Hall team's favourite old school house tracks, and in celebration of this, renowned house DJ Jamie Bull created a mix of tracks inspired by the collection, downloadable now on Soundcloud.

Photography: Alyssa Boni, styling: Georgina Hodson, hair & make up: Jodie Hyams, retouching: Tim Bennett, model: Sophie Ellson

Amy Hall x Jamie Bull

With the launch of our Spring/Summer 2015 collection 'Hangar' imminent, we're excited to unveil this brilliant mix by DJ Jamie Bull. As this collection was inspired, in the main, by the Acid House movement of the late 80's and early 90's, we knew we needed a musical preamble. We're all big fans of Jamie Bull here in the studio - not a week goes by without at least one of his famous HomoElectric mixes blaring out while we're hard at work, so it seemed appropriate to ask him to provide his sonic interpretation of these S/S 2015 pieces. We're really proud of this collection and we're honoured to have Jamie create a mix especially for us. Let these sounds get you in the mood for the weekend... and if you like what you hear, check out Jamie's other mixes here.

The Nicolette skirt

One of my all time favourite bands is Massive Attack. I listened to them from around 1991 onwards and still can't get enough of Blue Lines. But it was Nicolette's (pictured below) voice that I really loved when I heard her on their second album, 'Protection'. I subsequently bought her album 'Let No-One Live Rent Free in Your Head' when it came out a couple of years later - which is an amazing, slightly bonkers CD which sounds as fresh to me now as it did when it was released.

The Nicolette skirt is the star piece of the Autumn/Winter 2013 collection. A ribbed panel wraps the waist and hips and supports more panels which are heavy, intricate layers of hand crocheted lurex, cashmere and brass chain. It took around 60 painstaking hours to make and the image below does not do it justice! For the time being, you will have to take my word for it that it feels amazing to wear. 

The Justine Cardigan

With the Autumn/Winter 2013 collection out in the open, I thought it would be a good idea to explain a little about how it came about and where some of the pieces' names came from.

After a rummage at my Mum's on the Isle of Wight last year, I unearthed a load of my old CDs from my teens - albums by Garbage, Elastica, Massive Attack, Tricky and, going back a bit further, Shakespeare's Sister and Tori Amos, to name a few. It got me thinking about the music specifically and that time in my life in general. I was a fairly upbeat and happy teenager but a lot of that music was quite angst-y and moody, which pretty much the vibe at the time.

So I returned to London with an armful of my old CDs and proceeded to listen to all of them, reminiscing in that gleeful, indulgent way that you do when you rediscover gems that you'd forgotten all about. The music inspired a feeling that harked back to the 90's and the grunge period and so the seed for the AW13 collection was sewn. The dark reds, blues and greys all reflect a mood that was inspired by that music.

One of my favourite pieces from this collection is the Justine cardigan, named after Justine Frischmann of Elastica (below - I'm sure I tore this picture out of the NME and had it on my wall). When 'Stutter' first came out I couldn't get enough of it - I remember waiting for it to come on the radio and frantically pressing record on the cassette so I could tape it. It had pride of place on one of my favourite mix tapes which, sadly, has long since disappeared. I thought Justine was super cool and her love triangle with Brett Anderson (who I had a bit of a crush on) and Damon Albarn only made me admire her even more.

The cardigan itself is based on a bestselling shape from a previous season and is so dense it could easily be worn in place of a coat. It's knitted in a British blend of cashmere & lambswool, so is incredibly warm and the shape means it's versatile enough to go with almost anything in your wardrobe.