ShopDiary

Celia Birtwell for Express

Dress $128, Blouse $79.50. Photo via L.A. Times

Here’s a designer collaboration that has me excited: British textile designer Celia Birtwell will be doing four limited edition collections for Express. Birtwell’s distinctive prints for designer and late ex-husband Ossie Clark gained her international acclaim as a textile designer. The couple were the toast of the fashion industry in the mid-1960s though the early 1970s and dressed the rock and roll set as well as British aristocrats.

From Los Angeles Times:
The Celia Birtwell for Express collection is true to Clark’s style: fluid and sheer, with the flora and fauna that are Birtwell trademarks. A breezy red blouse is covered with Lily, one of her best-known prints. Floating Daisy, her famous psychedelic swirls, appears throughout the line. Clark often used patchwork, a tradition Birtwell continues. The bodice of one dress is splashed with bold flowers, and its billowy sleeves are scattered with delicate buds. A ’70s-style blouse mixes a lightly checked necktie with, yep, more flowers.

Celia Birtwell’s capsule collection for British chain Topshop immediately sold out when it was released in spring 2006. Being stateside, I missed the boat on that one. So I better make sure I won’t miss this one! The first Celia Birtwell for Express collection will be released on April 7 in select stores. In Southern California, that includes the Beverly Center, South Coast Plaza, Glendale Galleria, Brea Mall and Del Amo Fashion Center stores.