Sunday 16 September 2012

#LFW - Day Two


Day 2 at London Fashion Week and the madness is only beginning. Here are a few highlights from the mania of Saturday:

Daks
The packed Daks show which started the day seemed to be put together in two distinct parts: silky whites and tough blacks, only separated by a few dashes of mustard and touches of the Daks signature check here and there. It seems that with Spring/Summer 13 we may have a season unfortunately void of colour as monochrome emerges as a key trend, and although this might sound depressing, it rather serves to give power to the importance of shape and cut. Daks SS13 collection oozed fluidity and sophisticated minimalism, beginning with a selection of beautiful white dresses which use layering techniques to marry silky fabrics with more crisp ones. Many of the pieces also featured cross-hatching surface techniques which were apparently inspired by abstract expressionist art. One of my highlights of the show was definitely the orange-brown shorts/shirt combo, which added to the 70’s feel of the collection. This same separates look was replicated in the black second half of the show which also featured lots of billowing oversized bottoms on trousers and jumpsuits. It was interesting to see the AW12 key trend of leather carried into the realms of Spring/Summer, as the show closed with black and brown sleeveless tops and pencil skirts. The star of the show, however, was without a doubt the cape coat in their trademark check – uh-may-zing! (see below).


House of Holland
For a much more upbeat, youthful and vibrant show, turn your attention to the magnificent House of Holland. Ever since Henry Holland emerged as thedesigner  best friend of super-cool supermodel Agyness Deyn, House of Holland has been the hipster go-to brand for every young London fashionista out there. So it wasn’t a surprise to see Alexa Chung, Pixie Geldof, Nicola Roberts and Kelly Osbourne in the front row for yesterday’s show. With metallics, crazy tie-dyes, dip-dyes, checkerboard prints and florals, what more could you possibly want from a show? The collection began in a more subtle palette of autumnal maroons and greens and somehow quite smoothly moved into a set of very in-your-face  hippy tie-dyes of blues and pinks on a bright yellow base in which you can definitely see the 90’s inspiration. In terms of shapes, Henry seems to have covered it all as well, with maxi dresses, midi dresses, two-piece suits, crop tops, mini-skirts and stick-to-the-skin tight trousers. My favourite piece has to be the tie-dye printed shirt, but then again I am always a sucker for the shirts!


Issa London
In the evening with Issa London it was all about maximum lengths, in an amazing collection of maxi-dresses, jumpsuits and kimono shaped two-pieces. This was a show that, like Daks, can be split into two main distinct categories, although they weren’t presented chronologically so this time: tropical prints vs. block colours. The prints are to-die-for, with some interesting toucan/rainforest designs which remind me of the illustrations in some of my old children’s books, moving into to leaf prints in a range of pink hues and an absolutely gorgeous deep green one, and then some very busy oriental –looking floral designs. The block colour dresses are all brilliantly bright coloured jersey maxi dresses, most of which featuring knot-detail halter-necks for a beachy vibe, whilst some of the others instead display a revealing plunge-neck shape. The emerging monochrome trend makes a slight appearance mid-way through the show with a few more maxi-dresses and a quite stunning all-white jumpsuit – but for me this show was all about the prints.  


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