Carrie-Ann Stein AW14

After a successful showcase at Graduate Fashion Week in 2013, Carrie-Ann Stein showed her follow-up collection as part of Ones to Watch in February 2014. She pursued a similar idea with a slew of logos, slogans and other commercial imagery printed on square two-dimensional dresses. Presented under the name ‘Signs of the times’, the clothes were evocative of Warhol’s Campbell’s soup days.

Although you could still see the oversized penchant of her ‘Postcard’ collection, this time around the frocks were a tad more wearable. That’s not to say that Stein has gone dull. Fashion blogger and notorious quirky dresser Susie Bubble, who was sitting front row at the show, seemed to take a liking to the garments. It was indeed the only of the four Ones to Watch collections that she tweeted about.

But on top of the unique, directional designs that she keeps presenting, Stein introduced no-less exciting sweatshirts, crop tops and A-line skirts. For the gal who’s fallen head over heels for her clothes but feels shy about such a bold statement, there’s even a printed tote. This designer clearly has commerce on her mind… and on her sleeve.

Marie-Ève Rochon