My favourite looks from LFW

Choosing your favourite looks from such an amazing variety of collections is possibly one of the hardest things a person with an extreme love of fashion and design can do. I have done just that, meticulously skimming through each of the best, most exciting and personally most successful collections shown at London Fashion Week this season, to create a list of my favourite looks.

Some collections were simply let down on accessories- fur hats wouldn't be first on my list to be teamed with a gorgeous fitted dress a la Temperley and the clumpiness of the mustard boots at Matthew Williamson, you couldn't help but feel were letting down the overall finish of most looks. They are however, not omitted- they were nonetheless, fantastic collections. 

I continually love Erdem and Jonathan Saunders. It's the mixture of colours, design technique/concept and overall femininity that I adore from both designers. 

It was unbearable to pick just one look from Marios Schwab- his collection this season has been hyped and excessively adored; it was absolutely breathtaking, completely beautiful and oozed feminine, glamorous sexiness. Yes, all of those things.

Paul Smith shone once again with the most wonderful tailored jackets, gorgeous staples and workwear I would covet for a lifetime. 

Burberry literally gave me goosebumps. I loved the cute animal jumpers and the rain drenched finale. Who says umbrellas indoors is bad luck?

And Topshop Unique, which I liked for the first time this season, surprised me with embellished mini dresses, platform stiletto ankle boots and the most gorgeous selection of outerwear. 

That said, I love each and every one of these looks, resonating once again, that London really is the creative hub for fashion with the freshest ideas and which is why it is so  profusely celebrated twice a year. 

So there you go, here's my mini round up of London. I will be continue to post my picks from all fashion weeks, Chanel for example, which I am tremendously excited about. 

You never can tell what's next for Karl.

Until then, I would love to hear your thoughts on London Fashion Week. Did it exceed your expectations? In a good or bad way? Do you agree with my choices?

Fire away.

Look 3

 Richard Nicoll
 

Look 10

Erdem

Look 10

Osman

Look 20

Matthew Williamson

Look 20

Roksanda Ilincic

Look 4

Temperley London

Look 4

Michael van der Ham 

Look 7

Peter Pilotto

Look 10

Marios Schwab

Look 15

Jonathan Saunders

Look 15

Giles

Look 15

Holly Fulton

Look 16

Paul Smith

 Look 16
Burberry Prorsum

Look 17

Christopher Kane

Look 18

Nicole Farhi

Look 20

David Koma

Look 21

Moschino Cheap & Chic

Look 26

Topshop Unique

Look 28

House of Holland

Look 29

Antonio Beradi

Look 29

McQ

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She knows what women want

I can honestly say I have never taken an overt interest in the DKNY collections, although the memorable campaigns are always flawless, interesting and beautiful, like this one, for Resort 2010. And the same goes even for New York Fashion Week for that matter. I have always felt an attachment to London, being British, and the emerging and refreshing talents of those showing there, which is exactly what London is known for. But this year in particular I've been immersed by all of this season's fashion weeks and have really got stuck in, having been working on the fashion/editorial desk of social, shopping and fashion site Motilo. I attended the Maria Grachvogel A/W '12 show held at the Lancaster ballroom of the Savoy Hotel and I adore the crazy, exciting, stressful atmosphere pumping through the entire Capital when the catwalk shows, streetsyle photographers etc. etc. are in abundance. It literally takes over for 5 whole days.

Having been checking the LFW schedule constantly and admiring the collections on STYLE at every chance I get, I have been jotting down a mental list of my favourite collections and specific looks. My favourite are there- Erdem, Jonathan Saunders, Victoria Beckham, but it can be that a new entry will make it into that list and there were three designers, including DKNY that for me, really shone, after spotting certain looks from the stylist's top 10 picks from NYFW on Motilo, of which you can view here.

As for the collection, it focused very much on the wardrobe of the working woman, which is a component Donna Karan adapts so well to a sleek, sophisticated and always uber fashionable look. It was black. It was simple. It was classic with a touch of elegance and fun with sheer panels on billowing, yet soft loose fitting wide leg trousers, impeccably tailored fitted leather jackets and structured outerwear. Then pops of vibrant colours- rich burgundy in the form of an incredible fur and python coat, soft fuchsia pink flare hemmed and cobalt blue maxi dresses. As well as a pretty head-to-toe floral printed trouser suit and the most beautiful coat with fur collar. Then colour popped back several looks later in the form of patent leather 2 tone platform ankle strapped shoes teamed with a variety of the most elegant ruffle dresses: one skimming the shoulders, one bandeau, the other roll neck.

I personally love the oversized roll neck jumper, the addition of leather lapels, panelling (fur, leather, darkened tones) dark piping and the simple grey above-the-knee pencil skirt. I love the collection and it's overall shiny, polished finish and the combination of fun prints, overly womanly components and luxurious exterior. A really gorgeous, wearable presentation of clothing. 

What are your opinions of the collection? Do you have a favourite look? 

Which collections have you been coveting this season?  

All images from STYLE.com

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LFW: Day 5 Georgia Hardinge

It isn't often I say this but I would happily wear every piece from Hardinge's S/S '12 collection- it was beautiful, streamlined, structured and very elegant. My favourite piece was the excessively floating dress which sashayed across people's feet on the front row and blew about abundantly as the model floated down the catwalk. Absolutely perfect to wear on holiday with a pair of chunky platform wedged sandals, which I myself swear by every summer. Hardinge's choice of footwear- chunky laced Jeffrey Campbell boots which complemented the serene like quality to the overall collection. Titled 'Cubed' because of the cubism pattern applied to sheer fabric, I felt it was slightly safari-esque with the brown and grey colour palette applied to see-through shirts. Both were a stark contrast to the freshness and cleanness of the blocks of white in the form of a lampshade skirts, pale grey tones and vibrant blocks of bright orange. Boxy shapes, patterns that resembled sexy cut outs, high-wasted trousers and loose fitting garments were all interesting elements to such a great collection- certainly one of my favourites this season. I personally adored the all in 1 orange jumpsuit and the exposed collars make an otherwise mundane accompaniment to trousers, fun, creative and certainly showing the craftsmanship of a well travelled and hard working designer who is supported by the industry. She is definitely one to look out for seasons to come, whilst she is creating a successful label as an established creator of fashion. 

Thanks to working with the PR company who represents Hardinge, I had the opportunity to view the collection and the smiling faces of the friends and family (and The Clothes Show's Caryn Franklin who was talking on her mobile and scribbling away at her notebook) in attendance. Her nan was rather funny taking pictures of everything and everyone as the crowd of people were waiting for the show to commence. I only wish I had the means to buy a few pieces because my wardrobe is waiting for something as amazing as this.

What are your thoughts on the collection? Which designers have stood out for you this season? 

 

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LFW: Day 2

The second day of LFW began with a not so early start but meant a push and shove through Covent Garden on a busy Saturday night for another trip to The Freemasons Hall but this time to get things ready before The Swedish School of Textiles showed their graduate BA/MA collections. This consisted of putting together the goody bags and greeting/escorting people as they piled in to view the catwalk show. One I spotted and recognized immediately from a recent television series Dirty Sexy Things, the cocky Jay Camilleri. He rather amusingly said to one of my colleagues, "I am a really famous model so could get front row?!" Anyway, aside from the pointless sighting, the show was rather avant-garde and far out, which is usually expected but this was foam boxed dresses, tights worn over shoes, cellophane footwear and odd tubed eye wear, are all things not to everyone's tastes and which is fair enough. These designers had an idea in their heads which they wanted to create and make their own on a catwalk and which is what they did. I must say, I very much enjoyed the show- it gave me goosebumps when each and every one of the designers stomped out onto the catwalk to Pet Shop Boys' You Were Always On My Mind. There was a constant clicking from the photographer's bench, as the music pieces suitably accompanying each collection were played, which I thought were great. Music, for me, tends to adds another element to a collection and only emphasises a designer's vision even more. Overall, it was another fun few hours and a result that we could sit down and watch the entire show.

Have you been to LFW? Did you manage to blag your way into a show? What do you make of the collections?

Isabella Falkirk

Per Axen

Freja Sundberg

 

Stina Eklund

Maline Nordin 

Mari Miltvedt

Sofi Svensson

Linda Larsson

Maja Dixdotter

Teresa Jaksetic                                                                      Louise Akerlund

Linnea Woxinger Skold

Ida Klamborn

Anna Lidstrom

Laura Clausen

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