Neptune

The Neptune collection of sweaters, cardigans and vests, hand framed in the world’s finest cashmere, marked 25 years for Sphere One, founded by designer Lucy Downes in 1999.

A woman walks on the sand, away from chalky cliffs in the background, her head down and short brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze, she is wearing a black round neck cashmere sweater with transparent black chiffon detail on the shoulders and sleeves which are pushed up on her arms, and she gently handles her black silk skirt between her fingers.

A visit to the Marina Abramoviç show at the RA London and a viewing of her collaborative film The Lovers was the starting point of the collection. The brilliant blue colours worn by Ulay burst off the screen against the neutral vistas of the rocky landscape of Western China and the Great Wall. Sphere One travelled over to England's chalky cliffs and shoreline to shoot the collection, with the hopes of capturing something of Ulay’s journey as he perform-walked his way through this otherworldly desert landscape towards his lover.

A model wearing a navy bonnet is walking along the beach in profile shot, in front of greyish sea and cloudy sky. She is looking down and wearing a bright blue round neck sweater. and white skirt, with knee high riding boots.

Vibrant blues and earthy pinks along with black, navy and subtle, dusty neutrals are realised in the best pure Scottish and Italian cashmere, along with recycled Italian eco-cashmere, with many of the colours bespoke blended or lab dipped and dyed for Sphere One.

Model stands on cliff in front of sea and cloudy sky in high grasses. She is backwards away from the camera out to sea. She has short brown hair and is wearing a grey brown oversized high neck sweater with her arms at her sides and it is billowing behind her in the wind. Her legs are bare and she is wearing knee high boots that are barely in shot.

Shifting with the times and developing new design elements every season over the last 25 years, AW24 saw Lucy go back to the knitting machine, testing and pushing the boundaries of what is possible with cashmere, to create new, original knit textures. A striking pyramid shape emerged, to become the spikes of key new style, Rockstar. The knitted spikes on the outside of the sleeves are delightfully soft and springy. From the side they disappear entirely but from the front and back they make a stunning and dramatic jagged outline, belying their cuddly feel.

A woman with short brown hair tosses her hair with one hand against a background of sand and grey sea and sky. She is looking to the camera and wearing a black cashmere round neck sweater with knitted spikes along the outside of the arms and up the shoulders.

Kicking off the collection with Rockstar, more new styles took on the names of some of Lucy’s favourite musicians, forming a kind of playlist to the collection. The Aldous (Harding), Gillian (Welch), and Hendrix (Jimi) hit the stage, with support from new bonnet like accessory Bonnie (Prince Billy AKA Will Oldham). The Aldous and the Gillian, both cropped and chunky, focused on texture and detail, in particular the wide shoulder ribbing set neatly into the set in sleeves, framing the shoulders and shining a spotlight on the raglan sleeve shape.

Model with short dark brown hair leans against white wall, her arms by her side. She is looking to the camera. She is wearing a pale grey v neck cashmere cardigan with pockets and three buttons, a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

Over the past few seasons, Sphere One has been exploring 'Black Tie' styles, combining comfort and elegance with some drama, fluidity and textural interest. Grosgrain ribbon is a particular favourite for its textural tonal interest, elevating and enhancing the colour of the cashmere, while loose ribbons can lend a little movement and magic. For formal decoration on clothing, antique military jackets are a constant source of inspiration, with really intricate ribbon braiding and embroidery. New style Hendrix, was inspired by the Royal Hussar military jacket worn by Jimi Hendrix. By looping and interlacing skinny grosgrain Lucy was able to develop a new shoulder detail with a loose ribbon tail on either side just long enough to catch the wind, but short enough to sit under a jacket or coat. An otherwise easy round neck sweater, with a rockstar edge, the Hendrix joins Sphere One’s Capillary and Rufflecuff sweaters, back for AW24, which feature grosgrain and/or chiffon for elegant, refined and infinitely comfortable dress up occasions.

A woman crosses her hands loosely above her head in front of a white background. She has brown hair and is wearing a navy cashmere sweater with navy chiffon cuffs.

Elsewhere in the collection, luxe velvet on bestselling styles Episode and Box Set sweaters elevate the everyday, with clever detailing that epitomises the thoughtful design ethos of Sphere One. The classic Skellig sweater also returns in luxe 5 ply Scottish cashmere, each a bespoke blend of three hues, like tweed, totally unique and full of depth of colour.

Portrait lookbook shot of model standing beside a window in a room with white walls, a white curtain and wooden floors. She is looking down and has her hands up to her short brown hair. She is wearing a grey Sphere One cashmere sweater with a yellow shirt and grey trousers.

For accessories the exquisite cashmere silk Bouclé yarn from Cariaggi, is joined this season by sister yarn Megeve, of the same natural composition of 80% cashmere/20% silk, but with a brushed look and feel. It features on new style Bonnie, bonnet style headwear with a blunt edge like a sharp Vidal Sassoon bobbed hairdo and a long, ribbed scarf to front which can be tied in a bow, or wrapped to the back. This new yarn also appears on accessories such as the Coiffure Hat and Xylem Snood which return for the Neptune Rising AW24 collection.

Close up image of model with dark brown floppy fringe hair, her eyes downcast wearing a pink woollen cashmere bonnet snood and a pink high rib neck cashmere sweater

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Neptune