London is a city full of color and spirit, but no color made as much of an impact as purple, especially when it came in the form of midi-length dresses coming just above or below the knee. (It sounds a lot like a spring look, actually.) The trend came in opposing looks, from the more Read more →
Our favorite collections of Fall 2011, arranged in alphabetical order. Did your pick make the cut?
There are a lot of over-the-top head pieces in this world, most of them living on the head of Anna Dello Russo, but hats that looks like cats are certainly a new breed of toppers. Would you rather sport Anna Sui’s realistic looking cat hat or PPQ’s stylized version?
Beauty looks at Fashion Week should complement a designer’s vision and help cement an image and theme in your mind when you view a collection. We saw some spectacular looks in New York, and the next two cities didn’t disappoint either.
While New York Fashion Week feels like a marathon, London and Milan are more like whirlwind sprints. In case it went by too quickly for you, stop here and breathe for a second, before we head to Paris.
Click through for the best and most interesting beauty looks from London and Milan.
We had a great time in London, thanks to the parties, the food, and of course the clothes. Here are our picks for the top 10 collections, in no particular order. (PS, check out Fashionista’s London Fashion Week page to access our extensive coverage.)
Model Jade Parfitt looked cool and ladylike in Christopher Kane. Alexa Chung went casual for the Burberry show, making her Burberry Brights bag the star. Lou Doillon mixed Club Monaco and vintage effortlessly. Our new best friend Samantha Cameron pulled off Christopher Kane with aplomb. And Clemence Poesy made us all want to wear Mulberry forever. London’s street style is tops! xo, Fashionista
LONDON–Jonathan Anderson‘s men’s collection left off where his women’s ended on Saturday. Several of the looks were mirrors of each other, several obviously were not. (Even if Anderson is happy to put a guy in a kilt, a fitted mohair dress might be a little extreme.)
What’s interesting about Anderson’s menswear is that it is feminine, yet I can see more than just dandies wearing it. Maybe it has to do with his square silhouettes. Even a liberty print can work on a “dude” if its worn under a biker jacket.
LONDON–Knitwear is a natural fit for fall collections, and Pringle parlayed its heritage into a show full of pieces you’ll yearn to cuddle up in come the cold snaps of ’11-12.
Skirts resembling blankets draped around the hips, and a leather dress laser-cut with a fine Fair Isle pattern, stayed with us through the day. Also smart was a petrol blue silk blouse with cape-like panelling that fluttered around the arms.
Later, at the Savoy ballroom for Paul Smith‘s show, it was all about menswear for the girls. Cropped suit trousers, laceless brogues, prefect ties, fashion glasses and mannish blazers were sensual with sheer silk blouses. Wearers will cherish the quiet, special detailing, like the contrasting felt-backed collars and purple satin piping on a pair of gray trouser’s pockets.
LONDON–Michael van der Ham started his show by spilling a Skittles bag of candy-colored crushed velvet dresses onto his A/W ’11 catwalk. All were asymmetric, with one dolman or bell-shaped arm and the other sleeveless or short. Flirty with opaque black tights and heels, they easily could have gone home on the backs of any number of editors in the front rows.
From these confections, Van Der Ham transitioned to velvet tops and wide silk trousers in the same hue. All featured velvet panels or baby frills on the waistbands (texture blocking alert!).
LONDON–How would Mark Fast follow up his fringe spectacular from last season? With the introduction of new materials and volume, it seems. The young Canadian designer kicked things off with a cloudy-day-gray coat with massive, football pad-like shoulders, showcasing his new use of Merino wool alongside all the elastane.
He tried leather for the first time too, in mac-style dresses with hoods, drawstring waists, back-cutouts and extra-long straitjacket sleeves. More S&M than sensual, they did little to accentuate his models’ curves in the mode of his signature spiderweb knit dresses.
LONDON–In a fury of skirts and schoolyard angst, the show was over.
Meadham Kirchhoff sent 24 looks flying down the catwalk en masse in a sharply choreographed show with real intensity.
The corps of models amassed in the venue’s backlit arches before powering down the runway. On reaching the end, individuals peeled off and stepped in a crisp-cornered formation around the sets.
The result was a visual feast that felt more akin to performance art or a major Broadway production than a typical fashion show. But the convention-breaking format did make it difficult to really take anything in.
LONDON–Ashish Gupta’s dripping-in-sequins show always serves up a rollicking close to London Fashion Week. With MIA on the front row and blasting through the speakers, this season more than lived up to the last. Instead of Americana, though, for A/W the Indian designer took a budget cuts-era look at Camden punk.
Spiderwebs on kneecaps were the first things we noticed, followed by holey knitwear, sequined tartan basketball shorts and a union jack vest. The clash of the tartans carried on across cocktail dresses, sweatpants, skirts, etc., all made for the cover of Nylon.
