The House Of Holland Show Will Convince You That 70’s Psychedelic Prints Can Work IRL Right Now

They say write about what you know, so no doubt the same applies to catwalk designers – none more so than Henry Holland whose collection for Spring/Summer 2014 was inspired by girls who can firmly say, ‘I’m With The Band.’ OK, his front row – think Ella Eyre and Rita Ora alongside the usual suspects Alexa, Pixie, and Daisy Lowe – are as much the band than merely with it but they certainly know the scene.

And what a scene it was. Taking inspiration from the trippy times of the ’70s there were tunics over wide trousers in psychedelic prints, crocheted dresses in zingy citrus colours and denim embellished with flowers. (Incidentally, his mum Steffi’s favourite pieces.)

READ MORE: Henry Holland Is Immune To Stress. Models Are Pretty Brainy. And Other Things We Learnt Backstage At House Of Holland

But the genius of this House of Holland show was that the old-school shapes and prints that could have looked like they belonged on set of Almost Famous had been adapted into perfect fodder for anyone who thinks about what their outfit’s going to look like on instagram (read: most of us). A perfect duster coat, sportswear inspired lurex tops that were a cooler take on your school Airtex shirt, suede jackets emblazoned with slogans like ‘Chief Fluffer’ and ‘Crew’ and a T-shirt that perfectly defined ‘groupie’ were classic, cheeky Henry Holland pieces that have shot to the top of every girl’s next-festival-season-checklist.

And in case you’re wondering about that definition? Henry had a clear answer. ‘Groupie: a young woman, who seeks to achieve status by having sex with rock musicians, roadies, security, and other band related guys,’ he wrote. ‘Days spent stalking hotels in last night’s make-up and arranging outfits for the nightly pilgrimage to a dingy dressing room or backstage bar.’

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Irreverent, sure – but that shouldn’t detract from some showstopper pieces that didn’t just feel fun but were totally wearable, too. Strappy dresses to be worn with six layers of kohl, Woodstock-esque bomber jackets to be paired with stompy boots and a metallic blue polka-dot parka that would be your throw-it-on-and-standout coat of the summer – there was something for every occasion.

Hardly a surprise then that model Sam Rollinson high-fived her way down the finale, Alexa danced in her front row seats to Joan Jett’s classic tune Cherry Bomb and Henry and friends headed straight to the pub to celebrate. As his mum Steffi told us proudly after the show, ‘So much work goes into the collections, he’s always a bit hyper afterwards. He once described his life during show season as exactly like that book Fashion Babylon. But without the cocaine.’ See – who doesn’t want to be one of Henry’s groupies?

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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.