Sophie Lau – My First Collection

My collection includes an eclectic mix of different trends from Spring 2012 and Spring 2011. I’ve chosen to do a collection which includes soft pastels and bright block colours as well as an exposed midriff; slightly 1920’s influenced skirt and dress, structured quasi-sports jackets and a pair of high-waisted loose fitting trousers! Throughout Spring/Summer 2011 and Spring/Summer 2012 these trends have been growing in popularity.

Pastels have been used by Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, Valentino, Tommy Hilfiger and Vera Wang in their collections and designers such as Phillip Lim, Giambattista Valli, Carolina Herrera, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs decided to colour-block their pastels for a fresh take on these colours.

Bright Block colours have been used by designers such as Fendi, Lanvin and Versace. We saw bright pinks, electric blues and even neon oranges! Whereas in previous seasons, bright colours were used as accents, now whole outfits can be completely comprised of them.

Midriffs are also being bared with designers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, Miu Miu, Nina Ricci, Prada, Proenza Schouler and Roberto Cavalli exposing midriffs in their collections. The trick to making it tasteful is to keep the navel hidden but to expose a sliver of skin from the middle of your abdomen.

The 1920’s have been revived with designers such as Gucci going the Art Deco glitz route and designers such as Christian Dior, Ralph Lauren and Zac Posen creating long glamorous flapper inspired cocktail dresses.

Sport couture has also been quickly developing with designers like Alexander Wang and Stella McCartney succumbing to it creating mesh bomber jackets, chic hoodies and even sleek tracksuit trousers.

Seventies trousers have also been reinvented with collections from Derek Lam, Hermés and Michael Kors incorporating trousers with high waists and relaxed legs.

I would say that my collection is mainly designed for people in their twenties as some of the pieces are sophisticated and classy; a few are girly and whimsical and some are structured and edgier. I would say that this collection has pieces for almost every occasion that a woman in her twenties would attend whether it is shopping with her friends, going to work or a formal party. Although they are mainly separates, they are all cohesive and you would be able to swap and change the majority of the pieces together to create different outfits. I think this collection would also work on celebrities such as Natalie Portman or Jessica Biel as the more glamorous pieces would work well for film premieres and the rest would fit in to their wardrobes seamlessly as they often wear girly dresses and edgy jackets.