London Fashion Week (SS16)
Most people believe that fashion week is really all about the clothes. It really isn’t. And perhaps it never was. We live in a digital age where everything seems to be about being seen: for instance, “who’s at which show” (and they have Snapshot and Instagram to prove it), or “who gets photographed” (and gets to the street style page of fashion magazines), or “who goes backstage”, or “who is sitting on the front row” (or The Frow) of international designers like Anya Hindmarch, Christopher Bailey, Christopher Kane, Paul Smith and Viviene Westwood.
LFW Spring/Summer16 was, in my humble opinion, a season of light hearted fashion, fun and playful, and very girly with lots of ruffles, frills and flounces. The emerging designers as well as the old pros alike seem to have embraced a new mood of femininity. I’ve rounded up the looks of all the best collections that were presented in London, and for me, it’s the artistry of the clothes: how the designers played with colour, texture and materials that impressed me most.
One of my favourite shows was Temperley London. Alice Temperley, the founder, creative director and namesake of the brand creates very feminine, effortless and timeless collection. Temperley London offers a comprehensive range of daywear as well as cocktail and evening wear.
The heart of the SS16 collection is all about embellished sundress ensembles. The kind of dresses that make you want to go on a tropical vacation. The embroidery on the tulle-backed dresses is absolutely stunning.
These pieces came in variety of silhouettes and display of abstract embroidered patterns, in white and navy cotton.
The brand has devoted fans around the world and The Duchess of Cambridge is amongst many famous personalities who has been seen wearing some of Temperley’s creations.
We might see ‘The Duchess’ wearing one of these sundresses on her next holiday.
London based luxury label Mary Katrantzou was credited with pioneering the digital print revolution, and her prints somehow always seem to work no matter how crazy the colour combinations are. Her SS16 collection is definitely party clothes: full of sequins, metallic quilting, tiny floral prints and flirty minis mixed with more structured silhouettes in vibrant colors. All fun and fanciful. These are the kind of clothes that remind you of summer and make you smile and want to go out with your friends and be admired.
London based luxury accessories brand Anya Hindmarch is known for its creativity and craftsmanship. Anya’s LFW shows, a first for an accessories brand, is definitely quirky, colourful, funny and stylish.
Peter Pilotto, Issa, Erdem, Holly Fulton, JW Anderson and Burberry all showed a collection of mostly solids color, transparent fabrics, pleats and the ever present cropped wide leg trousers. Overall, while most of the collection of the old pros were received with mixed reviews, I for one, give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. I am a stickler for classic dressing and a never go with the new “IT” thing (seasonal items that everyone wears but doesn’t carry over to the next season). The following dresses are some of my favourites from the LFW Spring/Summer16.
In case you’re wondering, the hard to wear bell bottomed flares has been replaced by the shorter, more subtle and definitely better to wear kick flare. And we’ll expect to be seeing more of those kick flare next summer. Delicate lace dresses also continues to be big for Spring/Summer 2016. And If you’re looking for a new accessory to invest, it’s all about the scarf, either real or faux fur, stripy or skinny one. Another big catwalk trends for SS16 are the bomber jackets similar to Tom Cruise’s aviator jacket in the 1986 film Top Gun. Also, monogramming isn’t over yet. Christopher Bailey continues with personalised rucksacks (after the big success of his monogrammed blanket scarves last season). Top models like Kate Moss and some A-list celebs are expected to have one very soon. And of course, where the fashion pack leads, the high street will follow.