London fashion week spring/summer 2012 report: Rediscovering a bold lightness
LONDON — The British Fashion Council (BFC) has been in existence for about 27 years, and has always encouraged younger designers to grow their businesses. The support given to these fashion designers extends beyond the creative process into the encouragement and support of entrepreneurial skills in order to achieve a lasting brand and sustain talent. Many of London’s fashion schools, such as Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion, churn out designers who later become big names or creative directors of esteemed fashion brands.
Gemma Ebellis, PR manager of the BFC, says starting one’s own label in London is appealing to younger designers due to all of these factors. The BFC chose some of these graduates — a few years out of school and already running a small label — and showcased their talent during London Fashion Week.
During the week, both established designers and newer ones are given equal footing in showing their collections. So you’ll see Matthew Williamson, Pringle of Scotland, Christopher Kane, and John Rocha, who make up the Fashion Forward category, then the Topshop-sponsored NewGen designers category such as Holly Fulton, Palmer//Harding, Craig Lawrence, and J.JS Lee.
London Fashion Week took place mainly in cultural center Somerset House. A large tent erected by the entrance housed the British Fashion Council VIP Room, the cinema space to showcase designers’ films as well the shows going on in the rooms nearby. There were numerous onlookers and passersby in the runway shows, proving that London is indeed a city for street style.
At the Jasper Conran show, the light, airy feel of floor-grazing chiffon dresses with slits up to there, like a beach cover-up, gave way to heavier backless shantung dresses that were structured and hard-looking. These silk shantungs in A-line skirts had cutouts in the chest area that were a sharp contrast to the otherwise airy dresses. A fuchsia colorblock dress stood out — naturally — in an otherwise black and white and occasionally orange show.
Craig Lawrence, one of the NewGen designers, showed gold-colored layered knits and knots. The designer uses a yarn called Kyototex; this season included Swarovski crystals woven in. A gold dress paired with tight, slashed leather pants was a standout — not just because it was not knitted like all the rest but because the texture, like fishscales, looked contemporary.
During my walk around the showrooms, designer Di Gilpin’s knits caught my eye. Part of a group called Collective Scotland, Gilpin mentioned that the yarn is from a small Scottish town; she has been knitting and designing them for almost two decades. There was a very elegant feel and old-fashioned appeal to the clothes, even as some of the designs had threads hanging from them for a more modern approach.
The use of raffia is nothing new, but coming from a background such as ours, this brings about a bit of excitement. A dress at the John Rocha show caught my attention: it was black, a bit heavy, and romantic. From afar, they looked like black rose petals scrunched up into short cocktail dresses. Unable to distinguish at first what this fabric was, one could only guess and then, up close, realize that it was raffia. The rest of the show, all black and white, included chiffon with skirts. It was described by some as a bit heavy for spring/summer, but to me these were lasting beautiful pieces.
Acne showed infinitely wearable and easy pieces: serious no-brainers for the consumer. A very precise collection, there was a freshness like a light breeze in the wonderful colors and very cozy cuts, perfect for the spring and summer weather.
Fashion Fringe is an organization that selects and awards young British talent. It showed a few finalists’ pieces on the catwalk. There was Fyodor Golan, a duo who showed laser-cut bird shapes in leather, and after the show won the competition; and Heidi Lung, who created a visual effect by combining color (yellow) with various other fabrics, like a wearable collage.
Globe Trotters
YStyle jets to the Fashion Centers of Europe, cataloguing the latest trends and the must-dos and must-wear. Take a tour of London’s celeb-friendly hotspots, Paris’ designer-laden vintage flea market and Milan’s go-to places for fashion folks in the know.
