Start homing in on the designers’ themes for next spring. Lisa Haynes rounds up London Fashion Week.
The Beckhams partied together in matching black tuxes, Cate Blanchett provided the Hollywood glamour and One Direction’s Harry Styles proved himself to be a front row regular.
London Fashion Week has well and truly found its (designer-clad) feet on the global style map. As well as being a celebrity stomping ground, the five-day event is a stylish peek ahead into the emerging trends for next year’s spring and summer season.
With designers showcasing similar concepts, it’s highly likely these catwalk looks will be making their way onto a high street near you next spring.
THINK PINK
If you thought blush pink was a flash-in-the-pan trend for autumn, think again. Once again, pink proved to be a catwalk show-stopper shade, adding a feminine touch to countless runways.
To reiterate the point, designers often styled their pink hues top-to-toe with matching shoes. Takes on the look varied from stark and structured at J. JS Lee, who accessorised models with eye-popping pink pouts, through to elegant and ladylike at Temperley, who paraded jacquard long dresses with rose florals against blush backdrops.
Other catwalk hits included Burberry’s peony pink lace, Whistles’ powder pink separates and Richard Nicoll’s bubblegum pink layers.
PETAL POWER
A spring season isn’t complete without perennial florals but for spring ‘14 designers have cultivated a crafty look with 3D buds.
Lifelike blooms were achieved with tactile handcrafted petals for a super-natural twist on traditional prints.
John Rocha created a dreamy look, with red blossoms appliqued onto white sheer georgette fabric, topped off with a matching hat for a top-to-toe floral fandango.
Matthew Williamson adopted a fresher approach, with lemon yellow daisy blooms used as statement panels on separates, including a jacket and skirt where the blooms became gradually more pronounced towards the hemline.
LACE LADIES
Say hello to the fabric of spring ‘14, lace. Move on from gothic autumnal blacks with fresh whites, pastels and even teal.
Every season there’s a twist on the traditional Burberry trench, and this season it was lace, with the theme continuing with separates in mouth-watering powdery pale lavenders and mint greens.
Erdem’s ethereal designs came in just two colours – black or white – and combined the most delicate lace with floaty chiffon trains for a ghostly feel. House of Holland’s use of lace was less traditional, appearing as teal trims on silk slips and teamed with denim to create contrast sleeves and hems.
OFFBEAT PRINTS
Prints have moved on from magic eye-esque graphics to downright quirky, with designs that that require a second look.
On first glance, Holly Fulton’s pieces looked like pretty florals, but up close they were bold fish prints – some pieces in goldfish tangerine and others in stark monochrome.
House of Holland toughened up beautiful pastel florals with tattoo prints, inspired by the tattoo parlours of LA’s Venice Beach. Other designers, such as Preen and Markus Lupfer, stitched together multiple prints for a contemporary patchwork effect. Markus Lupfer pieced together floral prints, while Preen mixed blooms with angular shapes of block colour. ‘The’ perfect print for the indecisive.
SHEER CHIC
Play peekaboo with spring ‘14’s sheer fabrics, which designers used to create exaggerated hemlines and transparent panels.
Sheer mesh and tulle inserts instantly modernise a silhouette, breaking up the proportions. Richard Nicoll experimented with ‘summer layering’, using transparent fabrics both over and under minimalist pieces to give outfits a sci-fi, contemporary look. Peter Pilotto used the same concept but with full skirts, using sheer fabrics that prevented them from looking bulky. Jasper Conran’s elegant white separates were punctuated with bold mesh panels that looked like modern-day stripes.
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