Why hide your light under a bushel? Why hide it anywhere at all? Yet that’s just what Thomas Tait did during his show, staged amid the shadows of an industrial-style space near Baker Street. The venue was dark, and models walked on rectangles of light placed at perpendicular angles, their clothes barely visible — even from the front row. Tait said he hit the dimmer switch in order to “fragment and break up the show, to slow things down. It allows you to pay more attention.”
Never mind that some guests needed night-vision goggles to see what, exactly, was unfolding, it was still a terrific, thought-provoking outing. Tait described it as “sci-fi spaghetti western, bionic and supernatural,” and his silhouettes ranged from loose and languid to stiff and sculpted. A sheer white nightgown dress with fluttery, elbow-length sleeves was romantic and slightly haunting, while wide mustard trousers and a matching top were just what Mrs. Spock might have worn to a dinner party on the Starship Enterprise. The collection moved into more constructed — and beautifully tailored — territory with neat A-line leather coats featuring ring-pull zips and shiny panels.