“Very selfishly, I was like, this is my opportunity to design for myself 15 years ago,” Harry Lambert previously told British Vogue of working on his inaugural collaboration with Zara, coined Cutie Chaos, at the end of last year. “The high street was really important to me for discovering my own style.” Now, the super-stylist – who counts Emma Corrin and Harry Styles as clients – is back with another instalment, entitled Cutie Circus.
It’s no secret that Lambert is a fan of theme parks – “whenever I’m away for work, I always try and slip a visit in!” – and for Cutie Circus he harked back to his childhood; of being brought up by the seaside and going to arcades. “I find these spaces that are created for joy and for fun such fascinating places,” he explains. “I think fashion brings me so much joy as well, so these two worlds coming together felt appropriate.
” Much like the avant-garde looks he pulls for his styling roster – Corrin’s glossy JW Anderson goldfish dress and Styles’s on-stage looks come to mind – Cutie Circus explores colour, patterns and prints in a bold yet considered way. “It was clear people were really inspired by the graphics and the sense of nostalgia,” Lambert says of building on the narrative he curated last season. Vintage is at the heart of his wardrobe – when we speak, he reminisces about a suede Prada coat he thrifted in LA, “there was a little bit of white paint on the sleeve so I got them to take another 20 per cent off, and I just picked it off in the car park after I got it!” – and vintage women’s Peter Pan collared jackets inspired the outerwear in the collection.
“I’ve always thought about making things I would love to stumble across,” he asserts. “I love timelessness and the feeling of nostalgia in clothes, and I think if you have that nostalgia it feels like it’s eternal and can be worn forever, because it’s not so trend-focused.” Rainbow block-knits, candy-hued striped tees, slogan hoodies – “I’ve really got into hunting for vintage T-shirts that have these funny sayings on, I thought about what I’d want to wear to put a smile on my face” – and polka-dot shirting is combined with enduring staples like barrel-leg trousers, jeans and tailoring.
(The pinstriped suit was a resounding favourite among his inner circle, who all bought it on pre-order.) “My number-one-piece is a baby-blue shirt with embroidered graphic on it based on an illustration is done by my nephew, Adam,” he says. “There are so many pieces in here I’m really excited to wear.
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