“The garments are made by the village women in India and we want to promote women empowerment.”
82 designers, 58 catwalk shows, more than 5000 visitors and an industry worth £26 billion. London Fashion Week is a big deal.
For Spring/Summer 2015 (SS15), it witnessed a dazzling array of various designers and was filled with freshness, innovation and creativity.
The London fashion scene is experiencing a plethora of young designers that are changing the face of fashion by introducing novel concepts and stories of their own that they want to tell through various garments.
DESIblitz has all the highlights from the five days here:-
Day 1: Key trends of the season were introduced from day 1. Cat eye eyeliner flicks, simple hairstyles, collars and elegantly feminine floral looks are just some of the trends for SS15.
Day 2: The Hunter original catwalk had a visually powerful LED screen depicting submarines, sharks and goldfish. The show attracted an array of celebrity guests from Paul McCartney and his daughter Stella, to singer Rita Ora. Debenhams favourite, House of Holland had a collection consisting of ‘hippy fresh’ 1970 floral designs.
Day 3: Nicole Scherzinger and Cat Deeley were among those that attended the Matthew Williamson show. Williamson’s collection contained lovely floral prints and were 70s inspired.
Ellie Goulding and Laura Carmichael from Downton Abbey were some of the few that watched Cara Delevingne, the supermodel of the moment, strut the runway for the Topshop Unique fashion show. The retail giant’s collection consisted of many different trends, but dresses featured heavily and there was a sporty chic vibe.
The Temperley fashion show had lace-up canvas sneakers featured with every three-piece suit suggesting a more youthful and relaxed look.
Vivienne Westwood did not shy away from making a political statement through her runway show; expressing her views on Scotland breaking away from the UK in the Referendum on 18th September, 2014. Her models wore ‘yes’ badges down the LFW runway.
Julien Macdonald unveiled a diamond embroidered wedding dress, which costs over £4 million at the Royal Opera House.
Day 4: The Burberry Prorsum show had many A listers, such as Kate Moss, Paloma Faith, Dakota Johnson and even Bollywood actress, Anushka Sharma, attending.
Bollywood is no stranger to attending Burberry’s shows as last season it was Kangana Ranaut who attended. Suki Waterhouse opened and closed the much awaited show.
Bright rainbow colours, pastels, cropped and long jackets and cheerful prints featured down the runway. There were even vibrant variations of the classic Burberry trenchcoat.
Tom Ford truly brought sexy back as his collection was chic black burlesque like sexiness. Flared trousers also featured in the show, which is flattering for most figures.
Day 5: The final day saw a variety of cute pastel versus British grunge looks. White denim and coloured leather jackets was a big hit with Marques Almeida, while Helen Lawrence of Fashion East played with Spring hues of army green and pastel pinks.
For years LFW has seen outrageous looks walking down the runway but for this season, comfort and subtly were chosen over loud looks. Yes, we actually did see trainers worn by the models and even celebrities attending the show.
Designer Showrooms
The atmosphere within the Designer Showrooms of Somerset House buzzed with excitement along with the various other venues that played host to the LFW, such as the Topshop show space and the Royal Opera House.
Estethica was a key player in the Designer Showrooms with their low waste motto and use of designer surplus. EMG initiative, which collaborated with high street giant Monsoon, was part of Estethica, and had a positive message behind their garments:
“The garments are made by the village women in India and we want to promote women empowerment,” said Emma Allen of EMG.
It’s not just the blending of different materials, colours and textures. In the SS15 collection, one experiences the blending of different things with fashion. Even science, which is what fashion brand, ‘The Unseen’, has achieved:
Jess, of ‘The Unseen’, told us: “Our collection is based on air, where the colour of the garments fluctuates with the presence of light, pressure and moisture.
“It reacts with the energy produced in the room due to the chemical compound within the garment. LFW has given a platform for innovation. We have integrated technology with fashion and hope that more designers will be inspired to do the same!”
‘Only Child’ designer, Kelly Jackson, revealed her new SS15 collection was, later telling us: “It was like a fantasy. Multicoloured, light reflecting elements and of course, handmade in East London.
“I think that LFW is all about building your brand awareness and garnered interest from buyers locally and internationally.”
Whilst Kelly is taking London abroad, Ayah Tabari, the designer of All Things Mochi, is bringing abroad to London. She told us: “My collection is inspired by different countries and given a modern twist to their traditional embroidery. Designers today aren’t afraid to branch out outside their comfort zone and go to different cultures.”
Designer Claire Barrow adds: “LFW definitely increases exposure and motivates you to go ahead to different cities and promote your brand everywhere. London Fashion Week is a truly global experience.”
All in all, London Fashion Week, displayed what can only be described as fashion for the world. Taking inspiration from different cultures, continents and communities, Spring/Summer 2015 promises to be an explosion of vibrant colour!
