London is notorious for being a creative hub welcoming creativity and quirkiness and 10/02- 15/02/08 London Fashion Week certainly lived up to its reputation. However, this year seemed even more special due to the return of some of our long missed British designers to the LFW catwalks. Most notably the return after ten years of the Queen of British fashion, Dame Vivienne Westwood. Her more affordable diffusion Red Label collection hit the runway on Thursday with sexy but off-kilter tailoring, rich reds and purples and, of course, a generous helping of tartan.
Vivienne Westwood Red Label
The Big Trends
Sequins: yes they’ve been done before but Christopher Kane super-sized them and layered them under chiffon for a classy twist:
Christopher Kane
Ruffles: don’t worry, Im not just talking girly and flouncy, rather feminine but dramatic. Luella and Roksanda Ilinic did it best.
Luella
Colour: bold colour blocks, interesting combinations. Lots of old rules were broken. Amanda Wakeley kept it elegant with flowing columns of colour.
Amanda Wakeley
Layers and shapes: High-waisted trousers and skirts were seen on the catwalk and the front row. Bubble silhouettes are still around and these interesting shapes were accented by contrasting textures and colours.
Asprey
Being London there was a high dose of quirkiness; Gareth Pugh’s models had blue lips, Luella had a Halloween themed show and Henry Holland even made his best-friend and model, Agyness Deyn, a tartan eye-patch as she had conjunctivitis, how nice! It may not have the haute couture or displays from all the big fashion houses of the fashion weeks in Milan, NY or Paris but London is definitely the most innovative, eccentric and fun. We wouldn’t expect anything less.
Angharad Edwards
