London Fashion Week Spring 2013 – Collections & Designers (part I)

It went by just like that… London Fashion Week and I feel a bit numb to all the catwalk designer fuss and craze right now. To be honest with you first days were a bit chaotic- they always are at London Fashion Week, and I think it’s because being the 2nd FW you don’t know what to expect. Your vision had just got accustomed to NY’s designers & collections and one expects too much on the very 1st day of the next fashion capital. So until my sight and mind adjusted I had a hard time digesting through the 1st day. And now… at the end… I am in love. London will do that to you: ignore you, take you through its ugliness and filth, only to seduce you later. And Fashion Week in this city stays so true to London itself. It was a week to be remembered with huge fashion steps & influences that might make a 2013 Spring to remember: cellophane, plastic & leather; neon colors, digital prints, Indian, Byzantine, 1960s, 1970s influences. FashionTag will present some of our favorite designers & mainly focus this year on the big names at LFW.

Burberry Prorsum accomplished the 3 in1 task of putting on a classic catwalk show, live streaming & techno/digital approach. As Christian Bailey put it: ”People are stopping work to watch. (…) You’ve got to give them a good reason.” And who could blame the Brits for wanting to peek into what one of their biggest labels has in store for them for 2013 Spring? It all evolved around ‘‘Corsets & capes”. And of course the trench. Reinvented, redesigned, nipped & tucked & so casually thrown over sexy knickers or bathing suits in textures that reminded us of disco balls and 70s queens. Neon shades, delicious pinks all ruched in satin textures, leathers, lace, feathers, plastic – constructed the new ‘British Glamour‘. An exquisite collection inspired by the 1940s shorts, peplums, pencil skirts & wedges. It’s worth applauding and saluting this neon discotheque, kitsch meets art revolution in intense colors, electric pinks & marine shades. Who ever said tradition was boring clearly never met Christian Bailey.

Mulberry‘s soft creamy white, leather & packed with bags collection had Alexa Chung look a likes written all over it. Few prints in delicate mint embroidery, feminine feeling of large  uber fatal leather trousers, jacquard, motorcycle jackets, slouchy tops, bishop sleeves, double breasted coats – lest us all in aw and sugar high after the very feminine, sweet & simply beautiful collection.

Roksanda Ilincic show was a Northern Soul heyday with a catwalk invaded by lady like yet relaxed women, in loose flowy dresses, oversized clothes, bishop sleeves, long hems, fluid lines, high waists. Her woman has just had it with body hugging cuts & can’t be bothered to dress like a high-class lady. So instead, we discover and relish on this woman in loose clothes that leave enough room for her free spirit and let her take us back to the 70s divas & queens who didn’t give a damn about looking hot, but succeeded nonetheless  After all it is a proven fact that showing less will get you more, right?

Simone Rocha‘s inspiration has been (for a while now) the school-girl. And if last year she portrayed in her show the slouchy punk school rebel, this year her girl is a bit more polished, grown up, even a bit of a woman or at least trying to be and act as one by stealing items from her closet. So her lady like female meets the vulgar gorgeous persona and shows up in plastic, leather, lace , pierced textures of neon shades, crochet & cotton embroidery. Exquisite & intriguing.

Richard Nicoll confesses: ‘‘no tricks, down-to-earth, athletic, urban, timeless” – his 2013 Spring collection. And indeed much like his earlier men’s collection it holds the same simplicity. Basic colors, his famous blue reigning amongst (yes we all know by now you were raised in Sydney), shirts, bermudas, sheer insertions in skirts just a bit above the knee rather loose yet so sexy... Oh and the creamy simple beautiful shades were so well complimented by sporty textures and cuts from leather, pique, jersey, parkas, zippers all clashing into a sublime sporty glamour. 

Christopher Kane used ‘colors that you feel a little bit sick’ and on ‘Put a spell on you‘ song took us right to the core of horror & darkness yet kept it classy, elegant and quite feminine all throughout the journey. It was fabulous, exquisite and so very daring. With intricate materials and cuts that folded onto dresses and skirts as towels used in cheap horror scenes, with exaggerate use of plastic, lace, crystals, rubber he delivered one innovative original yet very rooted in the past collection. Taking the best form his inspiration he showcased it all having fun, being precise & relaxed while reinventing his own ideas.

Topshop Unique stirred our interest for asymmetry & diagonal zippers, while keeping the same tone as ever: chic, less funky, sophisticated, urban, real. With a collection packed with black & white, sheer insertions, fluid & light layering one can hope to attract even more fans. Prints anyone? Well… only in black & white florals with pajama feel. All in all it was a good collection that followed the same un-bothered, urban keep-it-real vibe mixed with the clashing of items from different styles. Topshop knows it. Why fix it, if it ain’t broken?

catwalk photos from style.com

go here for Part II of London Fashion Week. xx