You can always trust Indian designer Manish Arora to stick to his guns and not fall victim to following the crowd. Though his latest collection was full of eccentric prints and the bright colour palette that has quickly become the designer's signature - particularly on dresses and jackets that came in structured and cocoon styles - it was a lot more accessible and wearable than what we've seen from him in the past.
Dresses either came with cut-outs in black and blue or came in peplum-like styles, which were circular and voluminous starting from the waist. This season's cocoon shape appeared on interesting jackets in pink, blue and orange print. Structured shoulders appeared on jackets but thankfully moved away from the overdone '80s versions that we've been subjected to for the past couple of seasons.
Osman Yousefzada's collection was a clear example of how designers have moved away from typically autumnal colour palettes this season in favour for bright block colours. "We all need a bit of colour in our lives at the moment," he said backstage. A pink cropped top was styled with a black and purple checked knee-length skirt and grey over-the knee boots; clutches were pink, too, and came oversized; and a bright pink dress came wired along the hemline.
This season the designer was inspired by powerful female figures like Peggy Guggenheim "who have grown into their wrinkles," he said after the show. "There's definitely a beauty in that."
Osman was a lot more experimental than last season. For fall we saw him playing with textures from suede on boots, mohair on skirts, leather on dresses in grey, which gradually became longer at the back, and most notably on a fox-fur swing jacket with a huge collar and cropped sleeves.
The pieces that stood out were the pieces from his new jersey collection, which consisted of four beautifully draped floor-length dresses.
When you attend a Pam Hogg show, you know that it's going to be full of energy and will draw the London 'It' scene. Case in point: Siouxsie Sioux opened the show with a dramatic round tulle headpiece and short black lace bodysuit to a huge round of applause - Jamie Winestone, Jefferson Hack, Peaches Geldof and PPQ's Amy Molyneaux and Percy Parker all sat front-row.
The collection was full of all of the pieces you would expect from Hogg. Bod-con bodysuits mainly came in shorter styles in black lace and were often styled with a long train that sat on the shoulders on leather panels. Where the styles were full length, they came completely sheer with only gold panels on the breasts and between the legs to preserve the models' modesty.
Tapping into this season's micro trend, we saw a lot of leather arms on dresses, particularly on bod-con styles in red and blue with leather detail also appearing across the shoulders.
Although the collection is not for everyone, Hogg added a lot of creativity to the London Fashion Week schedule, in a season when most designers have opted to play it safe.
Topshop Unique chose to go camping this season, with boy scout inspired jackets and shorts, woolly socks and a large helping of fake fur. The collection had us all drooling over slouchy oversized knits, floor length dresses plus plenty of amazing outer-wear. Huge furry mittens, and animal headpieces were added to the mix along with bushy eyebrows, the models appearing like cave women. Colours were earthy with browns, beige and forest green emphasizing texture and pattern along with skinny belts pulling in baggy coats at the waist. Uniform blue was also present amongst the collection, a fresh alternative to the usual blacks and greys of winter.
Need some unique footwear, anyone? Check out Tory Burch's Spring '10 collection. The designer hosted a tune-blasting party (aka her fashion-week presentation) this morning, which even had Anna Wintour out looking her most fashionable early today.
Burch introduced a highly wearable collection of preppy-tribal wear, from impeccably cut spring coats to a gingham pantsuit, to a floral jumpsuit with the most look-at-me of strappy sandals. We can't speak for Anna W, but we'd be pretty happy to see most of this line first thing in the morning.
As revealed by Gawker, a nightlife review written by a 17-year-old Anna Wintour back in 1966 has been brought to light. Thanks to a tipster, whose mother went to school with Wintour, Gawker were able to get their hands on some scans of the ‘66 North London Collegiate School Magazine featuring one of the American Vogue Editor-in-Chief’s early reviews. Check out the first two words, ironic don’t you think?
“In vogue at the moment are the Garrison, the Scotch of St. James and Dolly's. The Garrison, run by smooth, dinner-jacketed waiters is ostensibly where the upper crust of London's rich young jet set while away time between flights...The Scotch of St James (actually it's in Mason's Yard) is small and crowded to near suffocation point...The pessimistic are already gloomily predicting that the Scotch will soon be passee but its popularity among the uninitiate is still high.”
Rising design star Erdem Moralioglu has achieved plenty with his work - like making wild prints that have impressed Kiera Knightley and Chloe Sevigny, staging a show that Vogue called "spellbinding" and earning the nickname "the Christian Lacroix of London". None of this would lead you to believe he'd make haphazard designs, which is what he claims to have done for Resort 2010.
