Day 4 at London Fashion Week

 

John Rocha 

John Rocha produced another sound spring/summer collection that was highly creative yet extremely wearable.  The style was Victoriana meets nature, with his signature style of hand knitted, embellished and embroidered pieces, evident in this collection.  Garments displayed montages of frayed silk, ribbon, lace, chiffon and crochet that resembled the ruffled feathers of a bird.  These intricate pieces were complemented with more sleek lines of sheer chiffon.

 

Black, white and cream were the dominant colours but were contrasted against more vivid colours.  Hot pink, primrose and purple were introduced on crochet skirts and layered chiffon dresses, and resembled the delicious colours of candyfloss.  There was also a striking contrast between slim lines of pencil skirts and tight crop trousers, with voluminous tops, featuring puffball sleeves and large ridged bows tied around the neck.

 

 

 

Robert Cary-Williams 

I had anticipated this would be an interesting show when I first set eyes on some of the more confidently dressed members of the audience, who were showing their support for PVC and fetish clothing.

 

My concern continued to grow inside, observing the catwalk covered with wooden doors and a shrill audio of drilling and hammering raging through the room.  Not being a fan of horror movies, the Rocky Horror gang sitting to my right combined with the chainsaw noises, had me a little on edge.  In truth, I was absolutely petrified.

 

I, like much of the audience, left the show as confused and speechless as I had been when I first sat down.  I still honestly do not know what to make of it.  It was simply odd.

 

 

His collection had a raw/urban feel, what I would describe as homeless chic (although chic might be a little complementary).  Garments were distressed and deconstructed and the fabric had a bleached/tie dye look.  His colour palette was natural and subdued greys and blacks, although there was some experimentation with sequins.  There were no definite lines or silhouettes that emerged from the collection, fabric appeared just loosely draped around the body and had a largely unfinished appearance.

 

The centrepiece of the collection was a large wire bird cage structured dress (with stuffed birds entwined inside it) and was based on the structure of a crinoline.  Cary-Williams’ focus appears to lie in pushing boundaries and experimenting with textiles, employing techniques to create innovative and distinctive fabrics.  He achieves this successfully but I would argue that the garments he constructs with these fabrics do not have a place within mainstream fashion, and are not wearable.  However, should bird cages come into fashion next spring/summer then I will be first to apologise.

 

 

 

 

Fashion Fringe

Fashion Fringe was established in 2004 by Colin McDowell, with an aim to reinvigorate the British fashion industry, nurturing cutting edge, iconoclastic talent in design and creativity.  Fashion Fringe was a nine month project, with four finalists chosen to create collections to show at LFW.  They were provided with the funds, studio space and technical assistance to create their collections.

 

This year, saw the collections of Modernist, JoJo & Malou, Mary Donoghue and Erdem Moralioglu.

 

Modernist

Elegantly draped navy blue chiffon dresses created simple yet sleek silhouettes.  A key feature of the garments was large pockets, which created a contemporary edge to a very feminine collection.

 

 

JoJo & Malou

A fantastically innovative and quirky collection inspired by the fantasies of Alice in Wonderland.  Candy stripe, clouds and red spotted cottons, were constructed into shorts and apron style dresses and featured plenty of ruffles.  This was a very wearable collection that showed that fashion can be fun

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Mary Donoghue

An ultra feminine and chic collection, with beautifully constructed evening dresses and use of lace layered over silk, creating an elegant and sexy look to the collection.

 

Erdern Moralioglu 

Beautifully pleated and delicately draped white silk dresses, featuring pop art inspired print.  This truly original and innovative collection made Erdern Moralioglu the winner of Fashion Fringe 2005.

 

 

 

Vikky Hassett