For me, London Fashion Week seems to go by in a blur. Beginning the day after New York Fashion Week ends, the two practically blend together and have me wandering the office asking which continent I’m supposed to be paying attention to. Showing 58 collections in just five days… it’s no wonder I can barely keep my wits together.
1. Sass & Bide origami
Crisp white dresses and shirts were given the napkin treatment and folded into sharp edges that made for incredibly inventive neck and hemlines. With white and black being the main shades in this collection, it could have turned out very boring. Instead clothes were kept whimsical and light, and the folded garments kept me interested for the long haul.
Photo Credit: New York Magazine
2. Moschino Cheap & Chic Collection psychedelic pineapples
Don’t ask why but the designers behind Moschino picked a pineapple as their mascot this season. Backed onto vibrant colours and vivid prints, the fruits seemed to be hanging in the air of a mushroom trip. Add in seriously crimped hair and crazy sunglasses and you’ve got onlookers wondering just what was in that mid-day champagne flute.
3. Louise Gray cartoon chic
Over drawn eyebrows with no filler. Rings that cover the entire hand. Cutouts of hats perched on heads. Sunglasses coloured in with white and black squiggles. And these are just the accessories for a collection that had my eyes jerking from side-to-side to take it all in. Jagged edges, scribble prints, textured fabrics, and silk-screened garments were letting loose on the runway.
4. Temperley London lace
This feature wasn’t all throughout the collection, but when it appeared, it made an impact. Showing up oh-so-delicately on the sleeves, bust, and hemlines of the garments, it seemed to be the icing on the cake. A particularly frosty ice blue laced dress caught my eye because, not only does it have the lace top, but the skirt seems to have incricate lace patterns embedded into the fabric.
5. Vivienne Westwood retro shaded faces
While her runway showcased Red Label ladylike seperates, audience members couldn’t take their eyes off the powdered wigs and vibrant painted faces the models displayed. Westwood made sure that the old lady connotations were left on the floor by keeping wigs bright and faces even brighter. Not your grandmother’s makeup palatte, is it?
6. Mary Katrantzou prints
As if Katrantzou’s prints would ever NOT stand out during fashion week. The designer’s signature digital prints were meant to celebrate the beauty of things onlookers seldom notice anymore, specifically stamps and currency. The loosely-draped dresses (and a couple pantsuits) are bright, fun and spectacularly Katrantzou.
7. Philip Treacy…hats?
When Lady Gaga opened the Michael Jackson-themed runway show, onlookers knew they were in for a serious treat. Sometimes looking like a satelite dish, a leaf pile, Christmas bows gone wild, or just an all-out gorilla head, the hats win top prize for WTF-ness. Clad in military jackets and skinny pants, models walked the runway as best they could with their sight obscured and bodies weighted down.
8. Erdem snakeskin
Who would have ever thought to pair grayscale snake skin with yellow fabrics and soft blue lace? Only the Canadian-born, Kate Middleton favourite. In addition to dresses that were covered by the animal print, skirts had the design sneakily hidden within large pleats. Just in case it was too much for a certain royal?
9. Burberry Porsum capes
Long or short, thick or see-through, Burberry churned out incredible capes that had every style covered. Layered on top of the label’s ubiquitous trenchcoat or over top a skimpy bathing suit, apparently capes work best in any season and with any outfit. Favourites included deeply hued ones as well as capes with a leather neck strap.
10. John Rocha hats
Whereas Treacy perched items you can find in your garage atop the heads of his models, John Rocha’s hats seemed to be lighter than air. A mass of fabric all gathered together, and covering the majority of a model’s head, the hats looked downright comfortable…to sleep on. Not to actually wear.
11. Issa embraces Mrs. Roper
Nothing hurts more than a Mrs. Roper joke that slowly soars over the heads of people you direct it towards. If you don’t know her or her iconic Three’s Company style, Google it. And then let you mom know that brightly-coloured caftans are finally back in. I, for one, am excited.
12. Giles cutouts
Laser cutouts are amazing. Leather laser cutouts are freaking insanely amazing. Enter a white dress by Giles that has more cutouts than it has fabrics and you have one fabulous dress. Oh, and Gold. Sneaker. Shoes.
13. Antonio Berardi blue matrix
Mirroring the crystal blue shades of the water on your tropical get away, the chest armour of Berardi is positively stunning. So stunning that I hadn’t even noticed how much time I was spending trying to decide if it looked more like a waterfall or a bright blue matrix. Adorning the shoulders, sleeves, and upper bodies of the models, the bejewelment portion of this show was undoubtedly eye catching.
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Bianca Teixeira writes about style for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @BeeLauraTee.
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