Yesterday I was invited to the launch of the new Cos Magazine. The evening was a multi-sensory celebration of the fresh fashions for which Cos is fairly famous for.
The ground floor was almost completely dark. Instead of light to guide us , we used our tongues. We were made to eat different flavors and feel the clothes to find our way through. Along the way we were proffered treats. A salty chocolate was matched with thick knits, a sweet creamy chocolate prepared us to pore over the shimmering silks. Slowly we worked our way upstairs, at time overwhelmed by the combination of two senses which rarely predominate. Arriving finally on the first floor which was brightly lit was a euphoric moment. Like an Eleusinian initiation or an Isiac ritual.
The first floor was loud with the sounds of phresh trax laid down and some of London’s hottest high street fashionistas sipping wine. Among the clothes were little scent units spread. We were invited to compare different scents matched with the different coloured cloths: expansive middle notes amongst the sky blues, woody base notes amongst the dark blues. All matched with the harsh high notes of an aural soundscape and the soft undertones of a sauvignon blanc 2007.
Deconstructing the clothes into the component parts, not of stitch and rag, but of the primordial senses allow us to reinterpret the clothes and reconstitute our relationship with them. Ultimately however it is only when the clothes are this good, does the concept work.
Overall a very fascinating insight into the inspirations of some of the sharpest creative spirits working in high street fashion
Rhakotis 