Tactile Texture and Bold Tones – LFW AW18 Day 3

12-10-2024

Designers seem to be going for bold this season with strong tones of vibrant red, china blue, deep magenta and metallic gold spotted at various AW18 collections, additionally decorative embroidery, tactile knits and feminine ruffles add further surface interest…

The APU JAN AW18 collection was, as to be expected, a glorious display of texture and fabric. Rich, seasonal hues of maroon and purple were combined with brighter, cooler blue tones, and monochromatic greys, blacks, and creams appeared throughout to tie the collection together. Clothing was a mixture of heavy and light, with layered ruffles and soft knitwear showcased alongside flowing organza and sporty silhouettes. As per the brand’s established mission statement, we once again found traditional Eastern influences with a modern twist, shown through an offering of glamorous gowns and a selection of more casual pieces.

This season, APU JAN’s runway was enhanced by live music, which was provided by DJ QuestionMark. A talented music producer and flautist in his own right, he was also accompanied by a pianist, a guitarist, and a double bass player, all of whom helped transform the fashion show into a mesmerising performance piece. – Sophie Lau

APU JAN images by Magda Magdalena Jakubik

Estonian knitwear designer Kristel Kuslapuu presented her AW18 collection as one of the winners of ‘Ones To Watch’. Inspired by darker themes than most, this season was all about secrets, phobias, social anxieties, and traumas explored in an ironically cheerful way. The designs were bold and colourful, with sculptural forms and interesting patterns having been crafted out of soft and fuzzy alpaca, camel, goat, and sheep yarn. Most of the pieces have also been hand knit as a strong protest against the ever-growing beast of fast fashion. With a mix of male and female models, it’s evident that Kristel Kuslapuu’s clothing transcends traditional gender boundaries; she’s perhaps suggesting that these difficult stressors exist within us all. In terms of set, the presentation space was decorated with foliage and flowers, giving us the idea of connectivity with Mother Earth, a theme in line with the beautifully organic nature of this collection. – Sophie Lau

Kristen Kuslapu images by Nicholas Kristiansen

Edeline Lee’s offering was set against a stunning Tim Burton-esque landscape of an expansive blue sky with sculpted trees peppered across the leaf-coloured ‘catwalk’. Self-described as for ‘the archetypal Eve’ this collection centred around an almost monastic silhouette, with rich colours of purple, red, navy, amber, green and black. An opulently textured three-dimensional floral jacquard was cut into tailored shapes and fanciful distorted ruffles, adding a lighter element to the otherwise somewhat dark collection. Garments were draped into lush folds and flounces, weighed down by hand-rolled and wrapped tassels, and Lee’s trademark textures of Virgin Wool Boucle and Flou Bubble jacquard were prominent. – India Hunnikin

Images courtesy of Edeline Lee, look book images by Benjamin Tietge

Mark Fast did not fail to disappoint with his show at LFW, providing his audience once again with a collection abundant with intricate knitted dresses made to party and be seen in. Fast was inspired by the vortex of mythology for this season, describing the backstory to his collection as ‘The Sirens were the beautiful guardians of Persephone daughter of the goddess Demeter, the latter had given them wings in order to protect her daughter’. His trademark knitted dresses were adorned with marabou, beading and sequined yarns, with bejewelled metallic knits intertwined with banded lycra. The collection palette of feather white, blush lilac, peacock green and raven black (my personal favourite) elevated the collection further. – India Hunnikin

Mark Fast

This season Rocky Star showcased a collection inherently rooted in Indian influences, with a cacophony of rich colours of russet orange, deep pink, rich browns and taupes draped around the goddess-esque models. Hair was styled into twisted buns and adorned with specially designed gold cages, and the clothes too were covered in dense embellishments of gold. Interwoven gold brocade was juxtaposed against wide leather belts and knee length skirts, ensuring a level of wearability. It comes as no surprise that Star, in recent years, has dressed the who’s who of Bollywood and Hollywood and styled and designed for over 300 films. Mixing elegance and theatricality, the were statuesquely feminine featuring figure hugging cut-out gowns, ethereal buta printed skirts, and structured silk trousers in iridescent blues and pinks. – India Hunnikin