The sun came out for an unseasonable warm autumn day as London Fashion Week heated up on Sunday with a busy line up of runway shows from Topshop and Vivienne Westwood, among others. Here are some of the highlights from Day 3:
PARTY LIKE THE ‘80s
Giant polka dots, leopard print, fur stoles: The ‘80s are back at Topshop Unique.
The label, which is the retail giant’s higher-end line, sent models down the catwalk with a youthful, cheery collection of summery floral print dresses with thigh-high splits, leopard blouses and fluffy fur jackets. Marabou fur kitten heels, fur grab bags and oversized jewel earrings complete the sassy ensembles.
A key look was long-line, boyish blazers — pinstriped or double-breasted — worn over a flimsy dress and cinched in with a colourful thin belt. The show was rounded up with a series of dainty lace dresses embroidered with pretty strawberry vines, which the brand says is inspired by prints on Wedgewood china.
“It’s very vintage, very throwback,” said US singer Ciara, who squeezed in the front row with Topshop boss Philip Green and US Vogue editor Anna Wintour. “Those leopard print moments were awesome, and the high splits. High splits always work.”
PLACARDS ON THE CATWALK
A Vivienne Westwood fashion show isn’t complete without some kind of political message. But this time the grand dame of British fashion has stepped things up a gear.
Westwood, who is known for her activism as much as for her designs, placed about two dozen placard-waving protesters in a gallery overlooking the runway at her Sunday show. As the lights came on, the focus was on signs like “Austerity is a crime” and “Climate revolution,” and only after a few moments did models wearing the new season’s designs begin to strut out.
Guests cheered as the 74-year-old designer, who looked feisty in a metallic brown outfit, closed the show by leading her models and protesters down the runway in a spirited march. She also led a brief demonstration on the streets outside the venue just before the show began.
“These people are model and activist friends of mine. They have asked me ‘what can we do?’ and I said to them ‘you’ve got to demonstrate! Let’s build demonstrations,’” she wrote in her show notes.
Westwood has embraced diverse causes in recent years, campaigning to raise awareness for climate change and the release of WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange. She made headlines last week when she drove a tank to Prime Minister David Cameron’s home to protest fracking, the controversial process of extracting oil and gas.
Westwood’s politics may have upstaged her fashion, but her designs are no less covetable to fans.
On Friday, she showcased a collection of floral print kimono dresses, monochrome leaf prints, cropped cigarette trousers and opulent draped lace evening gowns.
The unmistakable Westwood signatures, which fans know and love, were all present: Corsets, scooped necklines, tartan, and tiny waistlines created by artfully nipped-in jackets. Fetish-inspired accessories, like plastic chokers and crystal body harnesses, kept things interesting.
Boy George and Lily Allen were among the celebrities attending in the front row.
DAVID KOMA GETS SLEEK
Cocktail dresses tied with karate belts set the tone at London Fashion Week on Sunday as Georgian designer David Koma produced a sleek catwalk mashup of dance and martial arts.
Lively violin music set a light and playful tone as models began to file out in Koma’s spring-summer 2016 collection.
Dresses were short, pleated and flared, with round necklines in cool shades of mint-blue and pastels, with contrasting textures from leather to transparent tulle.
A glamorous martial feel was in evidence in chain mail sequinned mini dresses and skirts, in vulnerable nude and deep blue colours.
The reference to karate belts and tied kimonos was matched in the show’s footwear, with models strutting the catwalk in heels with straps that tied around their ankles.
“As always there is a power and strength, key to Koma’s world,” the brand puts it.
Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders also featured waist belts and kimono shapes in his bright and energetic collection.
Dominated by bold geometric stripes and patterns, Saunder’s collection debuted in a greenhouse lined with large mirrors that reflected the blue sky.
The long dresses with sweeping diagonal lines of colour riffed on 1970s themes, with beige, reds, coral and lemon colours layered with bright contrasting prints.
The shapes emphasised a long and flowing silhouette, with light, thin scarves knotted loosely around models’ necks fluttering as they walked.
PRETTY DRESSES AT MARY KATRANTZOU
It’s a rare show note that makes you reach for the dictionary, but at Mary Katrantzou I was quickly flummoxed: “godets of prints”, “matelasse” and “flammarion” engraving were all quoted as features of her stellar collection.
A godet, as it happens, is an insert of fabric used to add volume to a skirt, or in this case pretty folkloric dresses with a Mittel flavour that were woven together in a patchwork of patterns.
This show was about the dress: some trapezoid with heavy Spanish ruffles, some iridescent in matelesse, a quilt-stitch effect that sparkled in a rainbow of metallics in the light. Others were made in lace, which was woven as ribbons into wool or pinstripe, or embroidered with beadwork that seemed to breeze over scarf-draped tops. There were sequinned dresses, dresses with a rose motif, and dresses laced with mirrored panels.
Each were a wonder of technical skill, craftsmanship and dexterity. All were sublimely pretty. Many were very short. One can only imagine a slightly more demure length will follow in the commercial line — Katrantzou is an excellent merchandiser and saleswoman, she must know that the more modest sleeveless vest tunics, worn with pleat trousers, would be a sad compromise for fans of her multi-layered design.
This collection was visually thrilling. And, for all the verbosity of its description, quite simply very pretty.
