London brings us yet another trend watch item, laser-cut leather. Pieces on runways from Whistles to Threeasfour made an appearance in intricate, precise designs.
Whistles
Whistles introduced a wardrobe for the stylish woman on the go. Both progressive and restrained in the colors department, the collection speaks with its details. Statement outerwear features laser-cut leather while trendy jumpsuits were dressed up with gentle trims and the faintest of palm prints.
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi
The inspirational message backstage at Preen read, “You are a hot rocking crew of hip hopping tribal gals.” It makes sense given the message that the line-up includes punchy colors and prints accentuated by athletic elements such as stripe trims. Gentle draping and wrap concepts dominated the silhouettes, which were cool and languid. Traditional Kenyan beading amped up the detailing throughout the collection.
Lulu Liu
Enlarged furbelow details adorned sheath dresses and skirts at Liu’s show. Pieces looked as if they went through the shredder, forming thick fringe. Tight pleating was the third element explored in the designs.
Dora Abodi
A 1920’s Metropolis vibe with elements of gothic inspiration made a strong impression at Abodi’s show. Complex geometric prints hark back to art nouveau while maintaining futuristic integrity with modern silhouettes and deep contrast against the darker hued backgrounds. Strong elements of craftsmanship appeared in her cut-out leather pieces.
Ccuoco
A risque, dominatrix inspired lineup in leathers and metallic hues.
Mulberry
An English garden bloomed at the Mulberry presentation, which was rich in hues with the flower delphinium at the helm of inspiration. The collection focused on providing a myriad of looks to the stylish time-strapped consumer. Parkas paired with dainty dresses and separates provided unbound utility. The magic ‘Delphie’ bag stole the spotlight with its ability to transform into six different looks.
Margaret Howell
Tomboys, rejoice! Howell delivered a myriad of laid back looks centered on menswear-inspired separated in gray, black, and blue tones. Loose, high waist pants paired with bra tops, and boxy shorts speckled the collection alongside breezy jackets. It can’t get any more relaxed than this.
Sophia Webster
Sophia Webster wanted to be fierce this season, and she delivered on the idea by setting up a jungle rave scene complete with Glamazon models. The girls, scantily clad, twirled around bright orange poles, inspiring a raunchier image than sheer fierceness. The stars were the display of shoes, all imaginative and whimsical.
Richard Nicoll
Nicoll wanted to embrace “calm, travel, fitness and work-life balance in the modern world” with the Spring 2015 collection. He channeled the fusion of these elements by introducing languid dresses, pretty draping, and plenty of pale hues and relaxed evening-wear. Iridescent fabrics, shimmery panels, and pretty pastels all lent gentle femininity to the collection.
Marios Schwab
Schwab introduced an overwhelming amount of details in his show. Structured tops accompanied gentle flowing dresses, varying hemlines shapes, plenty of slashing and slits, wispy evening-wear and transparent fabrics sparkled with embellishments. The narration went from day to night in a relatively straightforward fashion, starting with lighter hues and ending in a darker palette with higher contrast.
Palmer//Harding
A gentle palette of peachy hues, whites, and pale pastels introduced the inspiration of change and growth in the collection. Chiffon gently flowed and transformed into still billowy, but more tailored pieces. The split sleeves met again at the cuff on blouses, providing an ethereal and calm experience.
Matthew Williamson
Marie Helvin served as a muse for this ‘70s reference collection. Plenty of hot pinks, neon shades and floral prints embellished the maxi dresses and pencil skirts. Jackets bore embroidery very indicative of the era.
Temperley London
Temperley decided to hone in on the youthful approach by incorporating plenty of “versatile separates” and “core pieces.” The color and print inspiration was by way of “very naughty” Japanese paintings, woodblock prints, mixing of layers and kimonos. Boxy tailoring was accented with lace, giving the pieces a “sexy attitude.” Overall, a beautiful and very wearable collection that appeals for varying degrees of the day.
Topshop Unique
A supremely youthful assembly focused on bold, bright hues and an athletic spirit. Plenty of tennis-outfit short silhouettes strutted down the runway accompanied by thin stripes and color blocked pieces. Closing the collection was a number of translucent dresses adorned by delicate Swarovski crystals.
Ashley Williams
The ‘60s era revolutionary spirit and the fusion between East and West served as an influence for Ashley Williams’ debut London Fashion Week line. Comic inspiration made its way into her line in the form of prints for a Pop-Art vibe, while the silhouettes evoked the Asian aspects with their resemblance to cheongsams.
Paul Smith
Paul Smith gave us a collection that we could freely utilize on an everyday basis. Entirely lacking anything gimmicky or trendy, the models strutted down casually in sandy toned loose, tailored silhouettes. Breezy drop-waist dresses and simple pleats provided all the pizzazz the clothes needed.
Mary Katrantzou
Smooth, jigsaw-like pieces fused together with lightweight mesh to evoke the tectonic shifts of our planet. Mary Katrantzou presented the story of continent’s creation and the beginning of time by moving from the shifting plates to deeper seas with a cooler palette and reef-like prints. Gentle baby-doll dresses accented the collection in between these shifts.
Jonathan Saunders
A ‘70s color palette played with billowy volume at Jonathan Saunders’ collection. Cinched in waists and accentuated hips provided a very girly shape for the pieces.
Vivienne Westwood Red Label
Loose, menswear-inspired tailoring with a 1940s vibe introduced Westwood’s Red Label show. Gentle draping on body-skimming silhouettes inspired silver-siren femininity, before moving on to a more modern woman’s silhouette with just a hint of Victorian flair. Westwood kept it playful and light, focusing on providing clothes with imagination rather than on setting a consistent trend.
Toga
Glistening organza-like layers billowed while gently hugging curves and spicing up tamer pieces in the collection. A seemingly calm sweater exploded with the volume of transparent layers while the bottom skirt maintained its sleekness with tight pleats surging from the high slit. Overall, this was a well-executed effort at striking balance between refinement and an edge of madness.
David Koma
Equally calculated color blocking aided geometric mesh cutouts and somewhat consistent body-skimming silhouettes. Pale lemon hue accented the collection throughout, which felt youthful despite its sex-appeal.
Peter Jensen
Peter Jensen honed a fun and young wardrobe which primarily focused on bright colors and prints. He looked at the cartoon “Peanuts” to provide the motif, with the girl gang (Marcie, Sally Brown, Lucy & peppermint Patty) serving as inspiration. Despite the cartoonish inspiration, the collection had a sexy vibe with its cutouts and more grown-up takes on the familiar faces.
Belstaff
Leather and suede ‘60s silhouettes were accentuated by fringe, diagonal zippers, and soft detail trims. A tame, graphite based color palette shared space with burnt sienna and mustard for just a hint of color.
E. Tauz
Patrick Grant drew inspiration from ‘50s naval uniforms when constructing his high waist, wide leg deep navy and white frocks this season. Oversized silhouettes and down to earth tailoring infused the line with mass tomboy appeal. With the exception of one dress, the line focused entirely on separates, specifically pants.
Threeasfour
Beloved avant-garde designers Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil focused on providing conceptual, but wearable pieces that appeal to the mass market this season. They perused their old collections for their best-sellers and updated the pieces for a fresh feel while maintaining their signature curved designs.
Pringle of Scotland
A play on light rippling in water engulfed the serene collection. Delicate knits and reflective square embellishments mimicked a pool scene, with light reflecting gently to suggest the sun’s rays. Fittingly, the color palette was restrained to pool blues, light silvers and stark whites.
