Vivid and strong colors at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011

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After the great success of New York Fashion Week, it’s now time for a European capital to host what has always been considered the most youthful and sparkling of all the fashion events: it’s time, dear readers, for London Fashion Week.

In fact, from September 17^th to 22^nd, London Fashion Week, organized by the British Fashion Council, was housed under one roof in the neo-classical setting of Somerset House, the former public records office, specifically chosen to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the event.

Living up to the high expectations, London confirmed its important position in the world of fashion, with a great impact on the national and international press and buyers, attracting great numbers to the event in the anticipation of a superb performance. Showing iconic brands and proposing interesting initiatives, year after year, London Fashion Week confirms itself as the most creative and dynamic event, raising the British capital to the level of well-known fashion cities such as New York, Paris and Milan, and also having a positive effect on the financial and economic arenas.

The list of much-appreciated designers who participated in this year’s London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 is long indeed, starting with the muse of punk, Vivienne Westwood,  through the iconic names of British style – Burberry Prorsum and Paul Smith – but also Stella McCartney, Matthew Williamson and Christopher Kane, without forgetting the younger generation such as Erdem, Mary Katrantzou and Roksanda Illincic, for whom the London Fashion Week has been the launch pad into the world of fashion.

However, it’s not only about fashion!! And to make the London Fashion Week even more spectacular there were not only the big names presenting their collections on the catwalks, but also many British Fashion Council’s initiatives that involved the city. Full of off-program events, London Fashion Week opened with a spectacular show in which models, wrapped in ropes, came down from the buildings around Oxford Circus.

Among the numerous initiatives to promote emerging British design talent to a global audience, is Fashion Forward, supported by the London Development Agency, which has become a key British Fashion Council initiative to underline the talent of young designers: year after year, the award provides the winner with a cash prize to showcase his collection and access to knowledge to develop his business. Another important initiative is the NEWGEN, sponsored by TopShop, through which designers receive access to sales and marketing support, together with business advice. This year, emphasis has been placed on eco-friendly issues, with the “Estethica” program, which showcased the growing movement  of cutting edge designers committed to working sustainably. In fact, all Estethica designers adhere to the Estethica principles of fair trade and ethical practices, organic and recycled materials, aiming to improve the lives of impoverished communities.

And, those who particularly love shopping were able to enjoy the “London Fashion Weekend” immediately after the closing of London Fashion Week, which gave the public the chance to purchase in advance some of the coming arrivals for the Autumn/Winter season 2010.

But now, let’s look in more detail at what has been created for us by the most renowned designers showing at this year’s London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011.

Androgynous, but not overly so, and closer to the sophisticated and glamorous ideal of the typical British dandy, is the feminine image conceived by Paul Smith, who decided to return to his original masculine-feminine womenswear sensibility for this year’s London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011. So the catwalks were taken over by jackets, ties and trousers in a masculine cut, but matched with typically feminine prints, fabrics and colors. “It looks like you borrowed your boyfriend’s jacket or shirt”, Smith said backstage. Mini jump-suits made of fine satin are worn under men’s jackets, while long and floating dresses, in floral prints, are teamed with classic men’s lace-up shoes. The look is finished with teddy-boy hairdos and cat-eye sunglasses, which originally appealed to women with their feminine allure. Among the wide range of jeweled iridescent suits and tailored blazers with wide contrasting hems in floral or polka dots, what really stood out was  Smith’s particular signature: the royal purple shade that it seems to have become the iconic brand’s nuance. While there were plenty of masculine accessories, especially ties and silk scarves, a leather portfolio was also essential, to carry in the hand or on the shoulder, like the typical City of London businessmen.

The British designer with Italian origins, Antonio Berardi, confessed he wanted to return to romanticism, and that’s what he did with his collection for next Spring/Summer season 2011. Taking inspiration from the Fifties, Antonio Berardi presented a wide range of skirts and dresses made of triple-layer organza and washed satin, leaving the hems raw to cut the sweetness. Berardi’s girl is neither prissy nor showy, so he limited the embellishment to little fabric bells – not a sequin or bead in sight. Preferring a white and black palette, he alternated it with a cream tuxedo or frosted silver jacket over romantic nude chiffon.

Since her debut in the world of fashion, Mary Katrantzou has surprised the public with her creativity and her extravagant ideas, but this time, at her first solo catwalk, she literally left the crowd speechless! A room with a view over Palm Beach through Romanesque arches, living rooms, bedrooms and random chairs were not just the perfect location for a fashion shoot, but the real stars of this young designer’s collection, which for the occasion, has encapsulated apartments from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies printed onto her carefully structured outfits, so that rooms of different eras became part of each garment. And the effect is amazing, so that everyone is wondering why no one else had attempted it before. It’s not just the prints which make Mary Katrantzou’s collection unique, but the way in which she symmetrically combined the whole, giving mini-dresses, shirts and mini-skirts a three-dimensional allure through plausible plays of perspective. Was she a little bit excessive? Nobody minded that, but everyone was enthusiastic after this extraordinary wave of bright colors.

Princess Margaret of England was the muse for the collection of the Scottish designer, Christopher Kane, who opened with a series of laser-cut skirts and argyle-knit tanks or cardigans in the fluoro colors of highlighter pens: vivid yellow, green and tangerine. Neat tweed skirt suits and boxy jackets in acid organza, while the sexy sheerness of soft lace is underlined by plaid patterns.

Original and very creative are the designs proposed by Jonathan Saunders for this year’s London Fashion Week, who took a masterly inspiration from the ‘40s and ‘50s, maintaining his reputation as master of colors and engineer of prints. The models, in precise ponytails and bright red lips, wear flared skirts of various lengths, cocktail dresses, chiffon dresses and high-necked shirts, with wide belts that highlight the waist, in a mix of horizontal stripes and floral prints. He manages to create an extraordinary chromatic harmony, even while using vivid colors such as orange, green, sky-blue, beige and yellow, beyond the classic white and black.

London Fashion Week wouldn’t be complete without the proposals of Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum, the signature collection of the entire fashion event. For the occasion, the designer picked up from the past the Heritage Biker look – as the collection has been called – which guaranteed success and prestige to the label in the past, reinterpreting the iconic pieces of the past and transforming them into cult pieces for the present. Let’s start with the famous trench: it is now made in soft leather, either knee-length or really short to emphasize the waist, and it has motocross sleeves and the classic belt in vivid and strong tonalities. When this biker-girl wants to show her femininity, she exchanges the moto pants for elegant flounced satin dresses or tunics made in chiffon and animal prints.

Very nice shoulder bags made of shiny leather in very strong tonalities such as acid green, yellow, wine red, brown or water-green accompany the woman proposed by Burberry Prorsum, contrasting with the wearing colors and not necessarily realized in the same shade as the belts underlining the woman waist line. For next Spring/Summer 2011 Burberry Prorsum proposed a wide range of flat envelope clutch or small dimension shoulder bags, but, if you adopt the Burberry Prorsum style, don’t forget to clasp your bag in hand, even when it is provided with comfortable straps.

Are you satisfied with the new proposals presented during this year’s London Fashion Week for next Spring/Summer 2011?  However, if you are still not sure how to update your wardrobe for next season, don’t despair, you have another chance to clarify your ideas following our next article, specifically focused on Milan Fashion Week!!