[First published in Cliché Magazine on 6.25.2011]

If you ever wondered what it would be like to experience the cross-section of Wonderland and Sweeney Todd’s barber shop sans mind-altering substances, Walter Van Beirendonck has your answer. His show was a plucky explosion of brightly colored mismatched patterns, and, shall we say, garden-inspired pieces. That’s the Alice-side of things. Then you’ve got the shredded tops, ghastly face paint, and bouffants accessorized with combs to complete the imagery. Bizarre though it was, his show played out like the fashion version of a half-hour comedy, milking laughter – or something like it – with the absurdities of his designs.