Prints leave the gallery and hit the catwalk

FIRST, some bad news, I'm afraid, for those who've never quite outgrown a fascination with the dressing-up box. Fashion no longer seeks to bedeck its willing victims as geishas, Mafioso molls, maharajah's mistresses, or Masai warriors.

But while this summer's muse may not be that sultry Romany who did such naughty things with the crumbliest, flakiest milk chocolate on the back steps of a gypsy caravan, she's no plain Jane or dull Jill either. For, although women enslaved to the rules of fashion will by now have dutifully stripped from their wardrobes every vestige of dippy hippy bohemian exotica, designers don't want to obliterate exuberance altogether from the human condition. Indeed, in a season charged with bold colour, exotic prints are key, which means there has rarely been a time more apposite for turning yourself into a walking (or cocktail-partying) original artwork.

The repatriation of pattern began more than a decade ago, and has already proved to be one of the major stories of early 21st century fashion. Women have learned to drool once more over Leonard florals, Missoni zig-zags, Pucci swirls... and snap up high street look-nearly-alike versions of any one of these iconic retro patterns.

Leonard, Missoni and Pucci all retain their appeal. Paisley patterns are enjoying a big comeback (what's not to like about Jigsaw's tangerine silk number?), while over-scaled florals vie for attention with graphic effects inspired, in no small measure, by the work of Scotland's very own master printmaker, Jonathan Saunders.

But this summer's hottest prints have a one-of-a-kind quality. Bold, beautiful, and every bit as individual as they are eye-catching, they're invariably the work of creatives who prefer their art to flow across the female frame rather than be hemmed in by three inches of curly-wurly gilt and hung on a gallery wall.

To those of you in the market for one such modern fashion masterpiece, it is my special pleasure to introduce Sarah Arnett. This Brighton-based frock-smith's sizzling prints are hotter than most - her digital gardens of abstract flora and artsy curlicues of eye-popping colour are sure to unleash the floodgates of envy and lust. Which makes them just the ticket for the sexy, modern, self-assured, woman. No chocolate flake required.

source:living.scotsman.com