Contrasting fabrics, silhouettes, and personalities define Naomi Hart’s AW25 collection, Unproductive Thinking, a montage of organic shapes and marbled leather. Like her graduate collection— influenced by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland— the designer takes us down a rabbit hole into a fanciful world of opposites and colour. Her lineup of flared and streamlined silhouettes draws from the youthquake spirit of 1960s counterculture.
The collection takes its name from Crazy Clown Time‘s album track, Strange and Unproductive Thinking (2011), famously composed by director David Lynch, known for surrealist cult classics like Twin Peaks. The spoken-word song explores themes of cosmic awareness and Transcendental Meditation. For the show, music artist Freya Everest has curated a mix of Lynch’s piece with Al Bowlly’s Midnight, the Stars and You (1934). The latter’s old-fashioned tone is offset by its reputation as the central tune in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film The Shining.
Stripes of whimsical pale canary yellow and cornsilk pigments taper off into dramatic flared trousers, while signature panels and florals capture a euphoric naïveté – girls on the cusp of womanhood. Naomi’s signature panels and leather are consistent throughout the collection, shapeshifting from sunlit creams to crimson, black, and burgundy – moving from youthful innocence to coquettish sensuality. This progression exposes the contrary nature of the human condition, fluctuating between polar states of mind and fluid emotions. As the carousel of optimistic yellows matures into darker pigments, heart-shaped necklines and quilted jackets emerge, alongside militant, utilitarian floor-length coats in electric lavender and carmine embellishments.
Futurism takes centre stage with tubed charcoal neoprene and linear striped ensembles, inspired by André Courrèges’ modernism and the era’s obsession with space-age themes. The collection’s black garments are playfully rounded off with an exaggerated flared dress, boldly colour-blocked with monochrome florals.
At the core of the collection are magnetic stripes and marbled fabrics, referencing the fluid lattice of a sliced geode. A geode conceals its resplendent mineral-rich interior while outwardly appearing like an ordinary stone. Naomi exposes the crystal’s stunning inner linings by stitching together panels of consecutive colours and veined merlot leather. These pieces reflect the brand’s core values: individuality, empowerment, and allowing the wearer’s attitude to be seen, felt, and celebrated. These traits are emblematic of the designer herself, weaving a tapestry of Naomi’s personality and childhood. The statement biker ensembles speak to her love for jetting around Derby’s countryside on a motorbike.
“The ‘Biker Girl’ aesthetic in my past collections represents power, confidence, and liberty,” she says. “I’ve never felt more alive than when I’m on a motorbike.”
The collection ends on a glamorous note with a sumptuously quilted scarlet taffeta coat gathered below the waist. Originally a toile (a test piece), the garment was deconstructed and refined for the runway—a notable decision reflecting Naomi’s sustainable practices and skilled craftsmanship. Like the artists she admires, the designer treats the human body as a three-dimensional canvas, contrasting structured tailoring and corsets with sculpted, flowing curves that accentuate the figure. Neoprene hip details and strong-shouldered jackets continue her exploration of Surrealism and the conscious vs. unconscious mind. Meanwhile, the hand-made nature of the pieces underscores the designer’s precision and individual expression.
“Every garment is tailored to a client’s specific preferences. Not one piece is the same or made by anyone else’s hands. This is the beauty of bespoke tailoring.” — Naomi Hart