Designer Bora Aksu kicked off London Fashion Week with a loud, perfect bang, in my opinion. I absolutely adored his play with heavier fabrics, and airy gossamer, which exactly reflected his inspiration of “a fresh summer’s morning; clear blue sky, whispering clouds, clear still waters and refreshing scents.” I also love that the woman he designs for “is the one who grew up as a tomboy. As they grow up, they experiment with their style, and enjoy dressing up, but that tomboy will always be inside them (londonfashionweek.co.uk).” Which is totally meeee! This particular collection also seems to have a strong, seaside-ish, Victorian influence, which I find intriguing because it’s also definitely fused with a tomboy edge. I felt like I was watching a modern-day Edna Pontellier, from Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, stroll down the runway…. Loved. It.
In addition to the lovely whites, pale blues (and some bright yellows, too), Aksu also introduced a saturated palette of navy + cobalt (OBSESSED with that large-scaled, bold, layered necklace, below!!), and bold fuchsia. The caplet fuchsia top…. Swoon.
Now, we move on to designer Holly Fulton. For this collection, I have slightly mixed feelings. I’m in love with most of her designs, and loooove that she plays with a lot of fun prints, colors, and textures, but I just felt that her styling was way off. In short, love the designs, hate the styling (shoes, accessories, hair, and makeup were awwwful). Styling aside, we see the continuing pajama trend, breezy, flirty dresses, and bold evening looks in bright cheerful hues and prints – perfect for spring.
Fulton also shows an expert hand in juxtaposing hard and soft materials, but not in the expected leather-and-silk way that’s been done, and done, and done. She uses something like raffia, paired with airy cutouts that have a bit of sparkle here and there. The movement of the first dress was unexpectedly slinky, and fluid-looking. The textured, gold metallic coat is so fun and glam, in a Carrie-Bradshaw kind of way – yurm. And there is something about that stiff, strapless, A-line silhouette that makes me want to yank it off the model, and have it ready to go someplace tropical with me.
A couple of honorable mentions to both Christopher Raeburn and Zoe Jordan. I liked the military, parachute-inspired collection that Raeburn designed. There is an ease to his designs that are clean, a bit masculine and sporty, but very sophisticated and wearable.
Jordan’s collection was very playful, and I really loved the bold, graphic prints she used, and paired with unexpected fabrics, like tweed. Easy, looser-fitting, leather silhouettes paraded down a lot of spring runways, and Jordan’s hi-lo leather top, below, was no exception (I neeeeeed that top!!).
Next up, is the high-energy, colorful, and ever-playful Sister and Sibling. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen runway models smile, but it was sooo refreshing to see them do so in this show! I mean, the clothes are so super fun, how could they not?? The tiny polka dot chambray…. utterly adorable.
I’d say London is off to a fab start, and I’m excited to see the rest! I’ve already been at work putting together my faves from yesterday’s shows…. Let me just say, Sunday was a day of brilliance on London runways – cannot even wait to share those goodies with you!
-Carrie J