Details above from Christopher Kane, Erdem, JW Anderson, Mulberry and Topshop Unique
London Fashion Week differs from New York Fashion Week in that like a true testament to British culture, the events, parties (far and few but still profoundly enjoyable, see: that time I saw Harry Styles) and shows of the week (which is actually closer to half a week, four days, two of which–Sunday and Monday, where the meat of the shows preview), the chaos is elegantly and rather deeply organized. In New York, we’re headless chicken trying to conceal the absence of mind by way of beguiling headgear. Every show venue in London considers the nutritional (and, I don’t know, otherwise too) benefits of generously offering an array of food and beverage before shows begin and from what I have gathered, Somerset House is phenomenally more graceful than a certain Lincoln Center.
New York Fashion Week differs from London Fashion Week in that the energy of New York is inimitable, irreplaceable and indigenous only to a city where the fashion week orchestraters can schedule upward of three shows per hour, every hour, and not even so much as flinch at the thought that perhaps it’s somewhat staggering. You’re a rare breed, New York. But enough about that, let’s talk shows. I’m not quite sure if New York Fashion Week has become more interesting or if in London the saleability factor is becoming more prominent.
Show: Mulberry
Vibe: Per usual, little girl grows up, earns intellect, maintains the spirit of her youth but butterflies into a phenomenal lady.
Important notes: once is interesting, twice is coincidental and three’s a trend: skirts over pants will usurp their own throne once again and we will obey the commands. Also, a note about monochrome, which is seemingly happening in several different hues of a similar variety–is it rejection toward representation? (See: Yves Klein).
Show: Peter Pilotto
Vibe: Peter Pilotto. In more fall appropriate dark tones on an array of puffer cropped coats, longer ones and featuring sporadic white fur accents, it’s a genuine wonder that the design duo behind can successfully exhaust the same strain of print season after season without its losing even an inkling of luster.
Important notes: the long, over-sized coat–phenomenal in a silk houndstooth blend but most conspicuous in the departure-from-comfort-zone by way of bright red sequence, swaying ever so slightly toward oriental inspiration at beginning of show.
Show: JW Anderson
Vibe: Unassuming editor at Fashion Week–and why? Because these are the clothes you wear because you want to wear them, not because you want to get photographed in them. It may happen incidentally, but your intentions are rather lucid.
Important notes: I know that sounds strange considering the attention to architectural construction but if this show could have been summed up in a three-noun review, it would be precision, consistency, attention-to-subtle-detail. (The dashes make the final word one).
Show: Erdem
Vibe: First Lady with a closet full of skeletons. Why? Because this woman is decidedly elegant and strategic about her silhouette choices–the pencil skirts, the jackets, the regal, large collars, but her details suggest a previous life. The sunglasses, sheer overlays, and bounce in-step unobtrusively indicate an indispensable, dormant appreciation for Patti Smith.
Important notes: Mary Jane, pointed toe flats. This is at least the third instance (though reflectively andas of right now, only Tabitha Simmons can come to mind in subscription to this reissue) I’ve seen of the flat pointed toe making it’s come back outside of boot formation.
Show: Christopher Kane
Vibe: Stop making my damn heart beat so fast. That thing happened with this collection–when I connect with something so viscerally and am not sure why I can’t put it in words though in my head it makes such clear, cerebral sense.
Important notes: Boat necks (one in fur, no less), a very unique nod to 90s, and various shades of fatigue (camo-print), all of which maintain the Kaneian design style.
Show: Topshop Unique
Vibe: High street fashion grows up, offers a little something for everyone while maintaining true rocker edge and inciting another really great Cara Delevingne gawking moment. Man, I love her.
Important notes: I am particularly keen on the Topshop collection because in a sea of price-upon-requests, a selection of clothes that pique my interest with the same intensity as the former and yet offer the attainability factor without compromising runway allure is wildly refreshing. Cropped patent leathers pants and skirts? An enormous navy silk jumpsuit and matching jacket? I know it’s not good because I like it but man, oh man, do I.
And finally, all hail Tom Ford. I have found it increasingly difficult to comment on a show I didn’t attend (the way in which the fabric moves down a runway and the attitude that a model offers to the look are moments that photographs–which are effectively only refreshers–can’t really catch) but when I caught glimpse of the Tom Ford show via Vogue.com, I said, “holy moly.” No, really, I did.
Maybe because it wasn’t what I expected but then again, I didn’t know what to expect. The colors, the brief and slight nods to Ford’s work at Gucci, the combinations of print and texture and unconventional pairing are what I have always imagined London Fashion Week to be about. That is, an unapologetic, “Don’t like it? Don’t care. You’ll see.”
We will.
