CATWALK REPORTS FROM THE LFW DAILY
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Monday 22nd February
Christopher Kane
Christopher Kane has become masterful at delivering a clear, concise message, season in, season out. This time around, it was all about tailoring. In wool, or black matte or patent leather – much of it decorated with vibrant embroidery – it was contrasted with lace blouses or lace panels that were spliced across skirts and dresses. There was a folkloric feel to the colourfully embroidered pansies and wild flowers that started out gently running up the sleeve of a chiffon blouse or a black cashmere cardigan with artfully slashed sleeves, or across the hemline of a skirt, and ended up dancing all over short leather dresses. Later in the show, Kane traded the flowers for crystals with glittering starbursts appearing on matte leather mini-dresses or shell tops, or circling a deep black patent cummerbund that cinched a black wool jacket with crisp patent collar. There was a nod to his homeland in the neat (and super-short) black wool kilts and a gorgeous black patent biker jacket with lambskin collar that was embroidered with a cluster of Scottish thistles.
Report by Clare Coulson
Roksanda Ilincic
From the voluminous crimped hair and glossy Seventies make up to the upbeat disco tunes, Roksanda Ilincic was in a New York state of mind for autumn, giving us a super-polished collection that was, she said, “all about the beauty of winter fabrics, their textures and the way they can be sculpted around the body.” There was plenty of Ilincic’s signature cocktailwear, including a parade of killer charmeuse dresses in deep olive green, raspberry and smoke blue. A highlight was a pale pink charmeuse tunic that fanned into an air-filled cape at the back to a stunning strapless oyster silk column with a sculptural asymmetric peplum. But she developed her day wear, too, showing a beautiful charcoal jersey dress draped elegantly across the body, and a series of clean-cut shift dresses in black bouclé and charcoal wool. Some tailoring came heavily embellished with crystals and beading. On a lighter note were the sheer flesh-toned voile blouses and fluid pants, all of which were topped off with sumptuous fur stoles and gilets – perfect for a well-heeled New York city girl.
Report by Clare Coulson
Erdem
Erdem’s show at Senate House yesterday allowed him to shed his rising-star status and join the ranks of fashion’s superstars. Globalistas openly wept at the finale, when models in fluttering ankle-length gowns swept past each other, holding up trailing skirts on a sweeping marble staircase; surely a fashion moment up there with Galliano’s “Peking Opera” haute couture show in 2003? “I cried,” admitted boutique owner Brix Smith-Start. “Every piece was of a level of elegance that is so rare.”
“The collection had a lot to do with the great north,” said Erdem Moralioglu, who hails from Montreal. “The misty colours were inspired by the weird architectural skylines you find in the Arctic. My sister works for a natural history programme and keeps sending me wild images.
“It’s also about adolescents bracing the elements. That was where hiking boots came in,” explained Erdem, of Nicholas Kirkwood’s high-heeled accessories. Outerwear – such as the cape that opened the show – and knitwear were added to the mix, but it was the abstracted-foliage dresses that truly stood out. “Erdem wanted to be more than just about ‘the beautiful dress’ this season,” said the show’s stylist, Samantha Willoughby. “He wanted more flesh on show, to go sexier.”
Indeed, Romola Garai, who sat front row, had worn a strapless Erdem to the Baftas. And come Oscar night, will Migrating-swallow prints be gracing Keira and Thandie? Will his dresses be the battle uniform for the wives in the general election? We’ll just have to wait and see…
Report by Julia Robson
Jaeger London
Jaeger’s reinvention continues apace under Design Director Stuart Stockdale. For A/W 10, he focussed on traditional fabrics, from camel hair – which the brand was using more than a century ago – to sheepskin, leather, cashmere and wool mohair. Outerwear dominated this show: think oversized shawl-collared coats and jackets (which, when paired with black leggings and riding hats, took on a Mod feel), to single- breasted mohair overcoats. Some were deconstructed with cut-outs at the back – not too practical for an icy British winter. More appealing were the oversized zip-front cardigan-coats. There was masculine tailoring, too: a camel trouser suit with leather lapels and boyish- cut trousers; almost bohemian black velvet pants – which had all the ease of a pair of well-worn sweatpants – with pleats around the hips and a turned-down waistband. There were plenty of pieces here for the Jaeger woman also. The easy, ribbed sweater dresses, shaggy gilets and abstract appliquéd silk dresses were a collection highlight.
Report by Clare Coulson
Marios Schwab
If his first season at Halston was a distraction for Marios Schwab, he definitely didn’t show it in the strong, polished collection he sent out yesterday. He kicked off with a flesh-toned dress that was cut away at the bodice and edged with a waffly trimming. A series of pinafore dresses followed, all of which had a strict schoolgirl feeling (a nod, Schwab said, to being “the only boy at fashion school”), but were cut with curvilinear collars that dipped away to reveal crisp white shirting. Other jersey dresses were topped with beautifully cut, sculptural little jackets or pulled in at the waist with decorative corsetry. Schwab reinterpreted the dirndl, but there was nothing school-marmish about his full, short skirts and dresses that came out in loden wool, duchesse satin or richly coloured brocades. Later, he continued with the week’s yearning for embellishment, as crystals outlined the bodices of dresses, while textural coats in smoke grey or forest green, neatly belted at the waist, added to the plush, tactile feeling of this collection.
Report by Clare Coulson
Markus Lupfer (Presentation)
The secret to happiness? Ask Markus Lupfer. “No more dramas!” said the German-born designer, before his presentation in the Portico Rooms at Somerset House yesterday. “At the end of 2003, it was all getting too much, so I thought, “What do I really want to do?” Now it’s all about the shops, not the shows, and we have built up a really nice business.”
Markus’s mainly monochrome collection – apart from his signature bright-red lip motif, picked out in sequins on both the clothes and a huge showroom set piece – included lots of those cute sequin sweaters (“just like updated sweatshirts”), ankle-length marl skirts, fine plaid jackets and luxe cape-style coats. “Ninety per cent of what we do is stretch,” said Lupfer. “I love the idea of lounge wear you can feel comfy in at home, then put with a pair of killer heels and go out looking hot!”
Report by David Hayes
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