ESSAY 6

Diary of a journey at Somerset House through the London Fashion Weekend, lighting and M. C. Lam

INTRODUCING LONDON FASHION WEEKEND, SOMERSET HOUSE AND THE CONCEPT OF LIGHT

As one can only participate in London Fashion Week if one is directly involved in the fashion industry or belongs to the elite society, The London Fashion Weekend is a biannual convention of the fashion industry that allows a larger public to visit the otherwise hard-to-reach world. Simply by buying a ticket and spending the Saturday and Sunday at the chosen venue, one can go through pop-up stores and see the ready-to-wear exhibited on the rooms of the former Tudor Palace.

Beneath the superfluous excuse to get more funds into an already flourishing industry, London Fashion Weekend gives to those who like to express ideas of personal, social and cultural identity through their clothes, a place where they can dream, where they can meet similar people who have a story and are not afraid to tell that story in the way they dress or create.

I have always been fascinated by the meeting point of Fashion with Architecture. Architecture expresses a similar creative message, sharing the same primary function of providing shelter for the body, creating volume out of two-dimensional materials, addressing the human scale and reflecting the needs of the user and the beliefs of the age; yet it is different through its solid, more permanent and monumental presence. 

Recently, I have had the chance to attend the London Fashion Weekend at the Somerset House. Finding out that it will take place at William Chambers' spectacular neo-classical gem situated right in the heart of London, between the river Thames and the Strand, I could not help but keep my eyes and my heart open to dive even further into the experience of these two vast domains and observe the way in which they interact.

"My experience is what I agree to attend to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind - without selective interest, experience is an utter chaos. Interest alone gives accent and emphasis, light and shade, background and foreground - intelligible perspective, in a word."

William James, The Principles of Psychology, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., New York, 1890, vol. 1, p 402.

THE JOURNEY

As I immerse into experiencing the London Fashion Weekend, I find myself right in front of its gates from the Strand. I feel pulled into a darker space, surrounding by stone Doric columns and white arches that somewhat reflect the almost blinding light from what's on the other side of the entrance, the courtyard.

I begin to notice that light takes over a role of shaping my mind and guides me towards certain spaces, almost like telling a story through the way in which it makes me perceive reality. And as it starts to shape my experience, I let it guide me along my journey…

Light in here feels almost restricted from the visitors of Somerset, just so that the impact of reaching the outside becomes even bigger and more powerful, accentuating its neo-classical grandeur. 

The white ceiling with beautiful arches reflects the almost blinding light form the courtyard, directing one's sight towards the outside and building the excitement to reach the former official residence of the Queen of England, later demolished to make way for the new riverside palace that is yet to be discovered.

"Seeing is not a passive response to patterns of light; rather, it is an active information-seeking process directed and interpreted by the brain. Visual sensory data are coordinated with incoming contextual information from the other senses related to past experiences of comparable nature, and given attention or not depending on whether the incoming stimulus is classified as signal or noise. It is the information content and context of a stimulus, not its absolute magnitude, which generally determines its relevance and, finally, its importance. This in turn largely determines what we look at and what we perceive." (pag.35, LAM)

In front of my eyes, a world buzzing with ladies dressed in minimal, geometric, hard-shaped trapezoid dresses. And though these architectural details add a certain character to the place, the true personality lies within the venue itself that London Fashion Weekend has used for the last 5 years.

Although it may seem like there is not much of a connection between the London Fashion Week and London's architecture, the least poetic truth is that the chosen venues are a crucial part of designers' managing of their brands.

These places almost never make it into fashion reports but for those who attend the event, the venue and the clothes become hard to dissociate. It is the reporters and the journalists who will form a perception of the designer, his clothes and the show and later share that perception with the rest of the world. 

While the catwalk shows take place in the British Fashion Council tent located in the courtyard during the London Fashion Week, the pop-up stores are spread all along the first and second floors of the East, South and West Wings of Somerset. One can see here the creations of both established and up-and-coming designers featured within the shows and one can interract with the fabrics, the colors and the designers themselves, if they happen to be there at the time. 

I can't help but notice the relationship that is created within the inside and outside and that, while the promotion of the industry happens within the centre of the Somerset premises, the actual retail business moves throughout the building.

The tent this year is made of a reflective material that not only captures the flashes of the photographers, but also glares out on a clear blue sky day. Although standing on its own, in contrast with the Portland stone of London's epicentre and disrupting the pattern of a neo-classical architecture, the specular addition to the courtyard blends in with the color of the surrounding environment.

PICTURE of tent showing its reflective qualities

"When bright light sources are directly visible, or when their images can be seen reflected from some specular surface such as a piece of glass or a wet roadway, pattern becomes even more important than usual as a signal. Pattern is an easily perceptible form of order, and triggers expectations of completeness and consistency. [...] Expectations and a patterned context draw the eye to an omitted element of the pattern, which becomes a de facto focus, whether intended or not."

(pag.41, LAM)

Projected onto the tent, thousands of images and films of the runway shows that took place just before that weekend, making everyone stop and get a glimpse of what they should expect to find onto the shelves of the pop-up stores. The bright, luminous screen is definitely a point of attraction in the courtyard where most of the people gather around as they are unconsciously lured towards it.

PICTURE of screen with projections

I make my way through the courtyard and into Somerset from the South Wing entrance, looking forward to see how Somerset House makes room for the talented British designers to sell their work. The building itself actually extends the brands' image in a much more effective and exciting way that what the Mayfair's boutiques could. Pop-up shops allow versatility in terms of light and arrangement that the fixed layouts of their previous stores cannot provide.

PICTURE of reception area

A luminous room where one can find the reception area is filled with staff handing fliers on the event, vouchers to brands selling their items in the following rooms, and the map for every floor. Here, the natural light comes inside both through the entrance and the exit, making the space seem like a hub for those who either begin or end their journey, before exiting though the terrace door.

As I look around, I begin to notice that Somerset would actually classify as a "sequence of spaces organized along fixed corridors", as William M.C Lam would argue when defining specific requirements of lighting according to different types of buildings. 

I make my way into the corridor, to start discovering what fabrics and tones will make it to the shelves of clothing shops this season. 
A corridor is, in Lam's opinion, an "anchor, giving fixed condition to which other elements can be related." (pag.176, LAM)

PICTURE of the corridor

"One simple form of this sort of consistency (in orientation and guidance) in the luminous environment is the differentiation of public and private corridors with various kinds of lighting systems, colors, and materials. Another is the distinctive illumination of the walls of service cores and vertical circulation elements. A third is the use of decorative light fixtures to call attention to circulation nodes and important destinations."

(pag.27, LAM)

PICTURE 2 of the corridor

I notice that light changes completely its qualities from the precedent room. The narrow walkway is flooded by artificial light of a slightly lower intensity, coming from above, all the way to the other side of the wing.

The hanging pendant fixtures aligned on an axis parallel to that of the corridor present a clean profile when viewed from beneath and thus informing a linear flow through the space in order to reach the areas of main interest.

To add to their intensity, the fluorescent strips concealed behind the upper edges of the walls add more height to the ceiling thus increasing the sense of spaciousness.

"We are afraid of the dark at least partly because it is inherently informationless"(pag.56, LAM) 

The only intrusions of sunlight come from the opening of the side rooms. I am naturally attracted towards the exterior, so I focus my attention to my right and left. This wing is only occupied by one cafe and restaurant before reaching to the staircase. Although I was impatient to dive into the clothes and necklaces, something about the tall window and the sudden wash of light coming from the adjacent rooms makes me want to start my so-called shopping spree with a large latte first.

PICTURE  of the latte, and PICTURE of the hanging lights

The lights hanging from the ceiling are placed just above the tables, creating the perfect conditions for those who want to sit down and go through their maps or read. They also bring a warmer feel to the diffuse natural light coming from the clouds that make their way over Somerset.

After looking at my map and pin-pointing the names I would mostly like to see, O go on with the journey and reach a majestic staircase.

With natural light coming from above, spotlights all along the staircase, illuminating the steps towards the first floor, I give into my curiosity to explore where the six meter long Nelson Stair will lead to, whilst also admiring the balloon installation.

The first floor is nothing less than what I anticipated it to be. Although it has the same layout as the ground floor with the corridor leading into the better lit rooms, there is almost no one walking on the corridor and instead, they're using the alternate openings to go from one pop-up showroom to the other. Of course, the highlight shines onto the clothes using track lighters on the ceilings and wall washes to brighten the name of the designers. In the middle of almost every room there is a table with accessories varying in color, depending on the influences of their creators but always brought to life by direct pendants lighting them from up above.

The sharp shadows that they create on the floor contrast with the luminous air of the room.

It is almost as if the artificial warmer light symbolizes the consumer’s experience where one enters a universe of desires and temptations and the natural blue tinted light gives a sense of return to the reality of the outside world, turning one's awareness towards the 19th Century piece of architecture one is actually experiencing.

Moving forward to the central area of the first floor where the emerging designers exhibit their ready-to-wear, I enter the brightest and most crowded room so far, with four different windows towards the river bank.

"When all buildings were designed around a single, fixed light source -the sun- the difference between great architecture and mere building could be measured to a large degree by the skill with which that source was used. The shapes and sizes of rooms, and the materials and details in them, were determined largely by the appearance the room would take on when rendered by daylight." (pag10,LAM)

The natural light plays a major role in this space, as all the clothes are distributed in the proximity of the windows. Together with the bright white of the surrounding walls that reflect even more light upon the rest of the room and the high ceiling which gives air and lightness to the space, this is by far the most crowded room yet and still, there is an energy to it that makes it stand out from the rest. 

PICTURE of map showing room

As it is the largest room on this floor, the placement of the two pendent fixtures at equal distance from one another helps illuminate the space when desired and to also houses adjustable reflectorized lamps that are directed towards the walls so that they accentuate the displayed names of the designers.

PICTURE of room

The names of the artists are written in black letters on the wall next to the windows which makes them hard to read in the blinding contrast created from the outside.

"Since the brain is constantly monitoring the visual environment for new information which might be of significance with the regard to biological or activity needs, things which are unexpected or which contrast with their visual backgrounds because of some unusual quality are likely to be treated as figures by the visual-processing system, attracting the attention of the beholder"

(pag.19, LAM)

As I notice a jacket that I like, I immediately go towards it to feel its fabric and once I reach it, closer to the wall, I can see who its creator is. Lucilla Gray matches the name on the label to that on the wall and I finally feel like I have my pick. I check the price and suddenly, I'm brought to the harsh reality. There appears to be no student discount for high end products! What a surprise... I carefully put it back next to its monochrome similar pieces nonetheless, and decide I should go for the more affordable accessories, located on the first floor.

Reaching now to the Stamp Stair, I descend into yet another corridor and what amazes me is the exposure to light. The door located just in front of the last step is inviting towards the outside terrace, almost begging for a minute of stare at the river outside. But continuing to the corridor, I notice the drastic change from the sunlight to the enclosed walkway that almost makes me feel trapped in a maze, eager to go anywhere that opens up to more space.

"Kruithof had measured the range of color temperature under which objects appear 'natural'  and pleasant at different levels of luminance.[...] We expect illumination to be of a high color temperature (relatively blue) when luminance levels are high because we refer them unconsciously to daylight, which has a relatively high color temperature. We expect low color temperatures (a warmer quality of light) when luminance levels are low - perhaps by association with firelight, candlelight, and so forth." (pag.51, LAM)

I find myself moving rapidly through the contemporary jewellery room and into the bags and shoes area, this time in the East wing. Following a similar layout to the clothing department, the accessories differ from all the rest through the more minimal approach to lighting. One can only see wall sconces illuminating the arched entrances from one room to the other and the rest is kept to the simplest.

PICTURE of accessories room

It is six o'clock already and the gates of Somerset are announced to be closing in one hour.

I have to stop wondering around and head towards the exit. On my way out, I see an advertisement of a very appealing designer that has the most beautifully flowing dresses, Elie Saab. I suddenly remember he has a fragrance line and think to myself : Maybe his perfume would make me feel as if I’m wearing haute-couture. Maybe I'll give it a try on my next shopping experience."

Walking out of Somerset and along the river, I can’t help but think that the location made for a perfect backdrop for the London fashion scene, becoming a context that accompanied the event majestically. 

"The clarity with which an object is perceived is influenced by its context."

On the outside, the palette of grey colors were brought to life by the reflective surface of the catwalk tent, whereas on the inside, the white walls provided a perfect clean background for exhibiting clothes, jewllwey, shoes and bags.

CONCLUSION

One may wonder why there is so much hustle for high-end brands that already have a well-established clientele? Well, the point of the Fashion Weekend and its catwalks is the spectacle that it delivers to the public. 

Light is a powerful tool in the visual perception of this spectacle and "involves an active process of information selection, filtering, interpretation, and storage in which context, prior experience and expectations are combined with incoming sensory data to create meaningful perceptions."

The monumental presence of Somerset, the aura of exclusivity engraved in the creative world: if not more than that, these parades sell perfume to those who still want to be associated with this lavish lifestyle and cannot afford the clothes, while allowing them to dream on.

Somerset House has done an amazing job in hosting a temporary event within its pre-existing spatial requirements. Light plays a crucial role in exhibiting the items and guiding its visitors' journey. The adaptations that William Chambers' building had to undertake were placing additional artificial sources of lights and finding their right intensity and color to then direct someone's attention through the space.

What I came to realise at the end of my journey is that light is actually one of the most material ingredients within the composition of architecture. It is immaterial in the way that one cannot grab it or grasp it, but it is constantly shaping all of us. The intake of natural light is also crucially important as it is many times associated to circulation and different temporary moments within a building. 

I believe that Somerset Houses' contribution to London Fashion Weekend was highly successful as everything I saw and experienced was very natural. It had kept my awareness on the fashion artworks and pursued me to discover what lies with the next room each time, even if I only ended my weekend with the same thought that I had begun it: wishing I would one day wear Couture.