Last night, Scottish fashion designer Hayley Scanlan launched her SS14 collection last night at the brand spanking new Malmaison hotel in Dundee with a champagne reception and runway show for various Scottish press, bloggers and buyers. The new collection, ‘Love Me Tender’, was inspired by the character of Alabama Worley in True Romance; it’s very flirty and feminine with pastels, frills, polka dots and sheer fabrics, yet retains the Hayley Scanlan signature edge with buckles, leather and snakeskin fabrics. It’s perfect for our current obsession with all things pastel and pretty and, because it’s Hayley’s diffusion line (HS), it’s affordable too with prices starting from just £45 up to around £100. However, Hayley’s passion lies in her high end label (Hayley Scanlan) so she has included some luxury items as part of the HS collection, including a pretty amazing patchwork leather biker jacket with Swarovski crystal detailing.
What I love about ‘Love Me Tender’ is that it clearly shows Hayley’s development as a designer: she started off designing the HS label with a clear focus on print, keeping the silhouette simple, but the new SS14 collection shows that Hayley has started to experiment with different shapes and softer aesthetics, without losing her signature style. It’s great to see the change and it’s exciting to think about what she might have planned for the future.
My top picks? The sheer polka dot full circle skirt and sheer polka dot pencil skirts (with or without frill, I’ll take either – or both!) and the leatherette pencil frill skirts. ‘Love Me Tender’ is definitely a collection to covet.
‘Love Me Tender’ is available to buy now.
Hayley Scanlan was awarded Young Designer of the Year at the 2012 Scottish Fashion Awards and has worked with Topshop and Debenhams (look out for her pop-up shop in the Glasgow store this summer) and her designs are regularly seen on celebs including Jessie J, Little Mix and The Saturdays.
