Jonathan Saunders at New York Fashion Week

Jonathan Saunders left college with a BA in Printed textiles and then went on to graduate from Central Saint Martin’s in 2002 with an MA distinction in Printed Textiles, subsequently winning him the Lancome Colour Award 2002.

TopShop have sponsored Jonathan over the last four years and he has rapidly taken London Fashion Week by storm. Now he has now crossed the Atlantic to show New Yorkers exactly what we Brits can do!

Inspired by Le Corbusier and Brancusi the collection was an architectural masterpiece of intricate details and sharp tailoring. Saunders, known for his graphic minimalism and craftsmanship demonstrated a new artistic direction. Pieces were executed with incredible detail and extra layers and fishtail hems contrasted against the clean, architectural lines.

With a dramatic colour palette of olive, beige, gold, camel and black the overall effect was strong and bold but was not to everyone’s taste. Some of the elite fashion press called the palette "interesting" while others were more disparaging. The 30-piece strong collection was structured and tailoring based but also offered femininity and softness with crystal pleating on hips and centre-back seams that floated down the catwalk.

Craftsmanship was the name of the day – a return to the 50’s highly styled nipped-in waists, fitted pencil skirts and sculptured lines were prevalent but with a nouveau twist.

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Jenny commented: “To me I found the whole occasion a tremendous experience. I loved it and I am extremely grateful to Caren and the rest of the TopShop team who were amazing. I found the tailoring of Jonathan's range outstanding…yes there was the add-on such as the crystal pleating that may have looked in little incongruous but so what! It was fun and different and ranges don’t have to be purchased with all the embellishment added. Craftsmanship in tailoring is a dying art especially in London and to see these exquisite items fitting perfectly onto the models was a joy to behold."

I was sitting next to Hilary Alexander from The Telegraph and she was writing down notes and making quick sketches continuously, Hilary commented; "the new direction for the collection was strong on tailoring, particularly in straight-edge coats with oversized fox fur hoods. His marbleized print, on chiffon, was based on photographs of the inside of a crystal."

                             

To find out more about Jenny's first-hand experience at NYFW please see the full article on
www.fashion-enter.com

Jenny Holloway