Although I was only able to attend the shows over the weekend of this September’s London Fashion Week it felt to me as though London had stepped up a gear – creative, technically experimental, with an eye on how digital media can be exploited and the High Street influenced.
John Rocha SS13
From the dramatic Westwood show with its 50s inspired clothes and Warhol influenced make-up, John Rocha’s stunning dresses that exploited knit to dramatic effect, to the cooler palette of Howell, Farhi and Daks where shades of white, apricot and grey were used to reference the heritage of these brands. Here, attention to detail, layering of fabrics, sheer, leather, knit and soft tailoring was a clear theme. Whistles showed their new collection for the first time at the Savoy – a few yards from Somerset House – and the sporty influenced, sharp silhouetted pieces were sharp strong and bold – the fabric selection was stunning as were the bags. This revealed just how strong their sense of direction is and also how London is unique at demonstrating how the High Street influences up as well as designers’ collections influencing down.
Somerset House as the main venue for London Fashion Week continues to stretch its influence – the Rock Vault with its showcase of the latest thinking in jewellery, to Esthetica’s exhibition of new approaches to sustainable fashion emphasised clothes that are beyond seasonal shifts and easily available online.
London itself was visible with many shows taking place in some of our most magnificent buildings – for example, Westwood in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or PPQ at Goldsmiths Hall it felt this time round that London was fully embracing the ideas creativity and glamour that fashion brings. However it was SHOWstudio’s innovation of panel discussions that commentated on the live-streamed latest collections that stand out in my mind from this London Fashion Week. Having taken part in two such panels I know that this is an innovation that brings a range of commentators as well as the collections directly to everyone- people talk about the democratisation of fashion for me it is this initiative that truly makes this happen.
See the SHOWstudio panel discussions.
Visit SHOWStudio here.
