Royally Screwed Summer 08

Kate Sylvester is a Royalist. Always has been, always will be. Kate Sylvester's latest collection was born out of this obsession and her collection of coronation cups. Kate started by looking at all the things she loved about Royals - their ceremony, pageantry, regalia, military tradition and madness - and in typical Kate Sylvester fashion, she took that tradition and messed with it.

Kate played on the concept that ‘familiarity breeds contempt'. She wanted to capture that effortless disregard, the nonchalance of being so familiar with the trappings of wealth and tradition that would make one pair a ripped bodice with some trackies, or sling a fencing jacket over a priceless lace dress.

What resulted was a clashing of couture and sportswear. Mixing silks with sports tencel and men's singlet mesh with lace, Kate has disregarded century old rules like a royal anarchist. The look is disheveled glamour and sees queen's corsetry and the royal sport of fencing reinterpreted in a new and modern way. This royal really doesn't give a damn. It feels natural for her to wear a satin shirt dress open over a cotton tank and leggings, or her grandfather's military blazer, sleeves rolled, over a rose printed ruffle bodice. This nonchalant attitude is perfectly captured in a floor length silk gown adorned with medals, which, roughly tied and knotted, becomes a mini and this aristocratic punk is ready to go.

Strongly conceptual and resolutely modern, Kate Sylvester has yet again managed to turn a historical theme on its head. The palette is very modern - royal blue, red and purple freshened up by crisp white, grey marl and military olive. A customized Kate Sylvester royal crest adorns organic cotton t-shirting while crested buttons, mandarin collars, and striped ribbon harks back to military regalia. Styled with military spats, a loosely slung coronation sash and tiara, it's completely modern, irreverent and very light.

Royally Screwed is about the unraveling of royalty to reveal an uncouth madness underneath. Kate Sylvester's punk aristocrat may cause murmurs in the royal court, but this blueblood really doesn't give a damn.