The Thrills & Frills of London Fashion Week A/W 13/14

Another inspirational season of catwalk shows has come to a close, and what a dazzling showcase of British design talent it has been!

With 56 runway shows squeezed into just 5 days, fashion royalty Tom Ford showing for the first time in London, Julien Macdonald making a return to LFW and the London debut of L’Wren Scott (complete with dinner at the Café Royale co-hosted by her boyfriend, Mick Jagger) it certainly didn’t disappoint the eager global fashion crowd with a whirlwind of excitement, celebrity and creativity.

Unable to go this year I had to make do with drooling over the weird and wonderful creations from the confines of my desk. No way near as exhilarating but certainly a lot warmer!

Of course the usual suspects were there in the prestigious front row, strategically placed to gain maximum exposure for themselves and the fashion brand on show!

Michelle Dockery, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Freida Pinto, Rita Ora and Kate Beckinsale at Burberry
Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe and Sarah Ann Macklin at J. W. Anderson.
Olivia Palermo at Antonio Berardi
Juno Temple, Lana Del Rey and Alexa Chung at Mulberry
Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake at Tom Ford
Kate Bosworth at Topshop Unique

The emergence of young British ‘Model of the year’, Cara Delevingne, as “the next Kate Moss”  has created quite a buzz, consequently she could be seen on all the major runways….

Cara Delevingne backstage

But the celebrity limelight it seems was stolen by none other than Rihanna as the pop singer unveiled her first collection for British retailer River Island. The British press has reported she is being paid around $1.2 million to front the collection, not bad considering she probably didn’t design a single piece of it!!

Rihanna for River Island

But that’s enough about the glory hunting celebrities, it’s London’s designers that are the real stars of the show!

So what were the emerging trends for this winter? Monochrome had a huge presence at numerous shows, black & white was everywhere. But as an antidote to the black & white theme, colour makes an unexpected appearance with bold and bright yellow, pink, green, orange and blue popping up all over the place. Yep, no more dull winters in grey and somber shades, winter 2013 is set to be a surprisingly rainbow bright affair! But if neon winters are not your thing, never fear, a deep palette of burgundy, wine, navy and bottle green was also very popular. Other key trends include metallics, colour blocking, animal print (leopard and zebra in particular), polished tailoring, boxy jackets, cut-out detailing, shiny PVC, tribal patterns, florals and stripes.

Here are some favourite outfits from my pick of the most beautiful, creative and contemporary collections on show this year.

David Koma

Like works of sculpted art, David Koma’s stunningly constructed collection was inspired by sound, rhythm and movement.

Ashish

Fun-loving chic with a touch of humour, Ashish’s collection is a visually ironic take on urban/rural work wear.

Burberry Prorsum

An absolutely gorgeous collection by Christopher Bailey at Burberry. Cute sweet-heart prints, stylish leopard print and trench coats with metallic silver, bronze and gold panelling detail, this collection is among the most wearable, chic, feminine and flirty. Love it!

Matthew Williamson

As always, a beautiful collection from Matthew Williamson, full of vibrant colour and glamour.

Sass & Bide

Stunning, elegant and contemporary, Sass & Bide worked the monochrome, metallic and cut-out trends with a vibrant splash of bright yellow throughout. Born out of an exploration into internal structures and mechanics, the collection references industrial frameworks and mechanical notions which are sensualised by contrasting elements of nature.

Mary Katrantzou

Beautiful bold graphics and creative pattern cutting, the collection focuses on architectural structure of both nature and man, mapped around the female form.

KTZ

More monochrome at KTZ with some acid brights and a nod to the occult.

House of Holland

Prints don’t come more retro than these! HOH must have looked to 70s style lounge walls for these bad boy graphics!

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

All time favourite Vivienne Westwood never disappoints, cleverly constructed, edgy glamour is what she does best.

PPQ

Acid brights and sharp, feminine tailoring add a new aura to powerful dressing at PPQ.

Julien Macdonald

You can always rely on Julien Macdonald for unashamed sparkle and glamour. This collection sees the use of metallics in a big way creating sexy, high octane clothes for powerful, liberated women.

Moschino Cheap and Chic

A fun and sassy collection from Moschino with monochrome, bold animal prints and bright girly pink.

And of course it just wouldn’t be fashion week without some outlandishly conceptual creations. Here’s a look at one of the more eccentric British designers, Pam Hogg, and her take on fashion for winter 2013. Clearly warmth and practicality are not high on her list of priorities! I don’t think I’ll be adding any of her range to my winter wardrobe in a hurry!

Pam Hogg

And so, 1000 air kisses and a tonne of hairspray later, life gets back to normal as the fashion pack jet off to Milan for the next round of catwalk creations and autumnal trends, Italian style.

London Fashion Week S/S11 – The bold and the beautiful ……Sep 2011

Another glorious week of London fashion has come to an end and it’s time to reflect on some of the hottest looks and labels for Spring 2011.

Unable to attend LFW in person this time, instead, I found myself glued to the laptop watching the live stream from the comfort of my front room, wearing  slippers and armed with a cup of tea, I was the true antithesis of glamour!

Although considerably less atmospheric and somewhat lacking in the excitement of seeing it live, it did not disappoint. Once again London’s creative hot bed of young, edgy designers along with the more staple, established designers delivered inspired and beautiful collections, ensuring that London is still worthy of it’s title as the capital of cool.

Jonathan Saunders

Jonathan Saunders, one of my favourite designers of the moment, proved he has not lost his touch with his latest collection.

Clean, elegant lines give a simple sophistication that is both grown-up and girly at the same time and his fresh approach to colour shows a unique understanding of contemporary design.

Simply gorgeous.

Jonathan Saunders
Jonathan Saunders
Jonathan Saunders

Trends.

The colour pallet for spring focuses on nudes, grey and pastels juxtaposed with hot salmon, bold blue and acidic hues of orange and yellow.  Hemlines were generally lower with the new length already abbreviated to ‘BTK’ (below the knee) and silhouettes were soft and fluid with feminine, goddess style draping as a key look for S/S. Geometric shapes and panelling had a strong presence, whilst bold digital prints were still very prevalent, moving more towards a nature theme.

Here is a round up of some of my favourite looks from the catwalk this season……..

Amanda Wakeley
Holly Fulton
Felder Felder
Antonio Beradi
Holly Fulton
Matthew Williamson
Unique
Julien Macdonald
Jean-Pierre Braganza