I must say, it is rather shaming that it wasn't until I landed in Stockholm that the name Carin Wester was even known to me and I learnt a whole host of other labels too.  Lesson learnt.  The interweb isn't everything and I can't know about everything under the sun by sitting in my London hovel... let's just say a lot of travelling will be done over the year to further enhance my fashion sponging skills...

But back to Carin Wester, it took the lookbook for the SS08 'The Purple of Mogador' collection to really impel me to say that the collection is a beauty.  Mogador is both the Morrocan city and a reference to the black alchemist Amogador who set out to create the colour that is purple (goddamnit, why did I think it was just a simple case of red and blue mixed together...).  The city acts as a melting point for both North African and Western influences and very subtly (thankfully so), that same fusion is seen in Wester's collection.  Linens and silks that are essential in extreme heat are used in familiar cardigans and hoodies.  The loose fit is key and prints are used sparingly and effectively, especially in the case of the floral dress which has a beautiful (but grudgingly 'sexy') back. 

The menswear blurs a bit with the womenswear and the two mesh well together...