It’s time to roll up to the Cutie Circus, as the second collaboration between fashion stylist Harry Lambert and ZARA invites you to enter its very own fantasy Big Top.
For this 70-piece offering, Lambert found inspiration in the colour palette and design details that define such a bazaar. Yet, first and foremost, the items all share in creating a sense of joy inspired by the way places like a circus, a seaside coast or a rollercoaster-packed theme park evoke such a feeling.
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Harry Lambert’s Vision
Lambert brings his signature which has long been established as one that calls upon references from the past into this collection. Without limitation or exclusivity, he presents a lineup that comes together to offer up a wardrobe of vintage-inspired pieces accessible and available to all.
‘What would I love to find when thrifting right now?’ he asked himself when moodboarding began, finding the answer primarily in the Seventies era. Lambert’s thorough research quickly traversed to see him look through countless photographs and souvenirs from dress-up masks to circus arenas to create a collection that imbues the spirit of Cutie Chaos but in a whole new staging.
The Collection
This manifests in polka-dot shirts and tie sets, oversized tartan outerwear and retro zip-through Harrington jackets, along with a concentrated look at palette and surprising, additional details of joy and fun that speak to both his exacting eye and the response from his community and the elements they loved from the first collection.
So, take a closer look and you’ll notice the spirit of the circus woven throughout — especially in silhouette. A cropped ringmaster-like blazer feels as though it’s been rediscovered in a fancy dress box, now worn without the requisite top hat but styled with a ringer tee instead. Trousers come from the performer’s costume with barrel-leg trousers akin to a clown’s feeling familiar but now come in sweet pastel corduroy and denim fabrication.
Prints and slogans also feel appropriate for a Big Top setting, whether the intarsia harlequin vest, homespun-feel patchwork knits or tongue-in-cheek mottos. ‘Free popcorn’, anyone?
At the heart of this collection are T-shirts that Lambert has meticulously created to ensure they are perfected, not just through fit and form, but in the wash that gives them a lived-in, authentic vintage appeal. These T-shirts, whether in stripes, with slogans or bright in plain colour-pops, are there to bring an easy sense of joy and uplift when worn with each of the other pieces day in, day out.
Aysha Works Her Magic
All good line-ups need its star attraction and Cutie Circus’ tentpole is illustrations created in collaboration with Aysha Nagieva. Lambert has called on the artist to create bespoke prints inspired by his thorough research and her own signature. “It was such a fun, immediate process where every idea could be developed and expanded upon. It was so fun to show the illustrations and to eventually see where Harry and the ZARA team took them with the clothing,” she says.
“I worked primarily in watercolours on paper when creating the illustrations, whereas in my usual practice I mainly work in oil paint. This was essential to replicate this ‘vintage’ circus feeling yet also to make all the visuals contemporary. It is such a big honour for me to contribute to the collection and for Harry to trust me with the execution of his brilliant ideas,” she added.
Cutie Circus is available online and in selected stores from September 20.
