London Town: home to the fresh, the fun and the fearless. London Fashion Week‘s autumn/winter 2015 carousel brought a cluster of quirky catwalks (one was even a Travelator), some FROWs to beat and a memorial to one of the finest fashion leaders of all time. Here’s your cheat sheet; pay attention…
Battle of the FROWS. Topshop had Cara Delevingne, Kendall Jenner, Alexa Chung, Pixie Geldof, Paloma Faith, Jourdan Dunn and Ellie Goulding. Burberry (also) had Cara, Jourdan and Paloma but threw in Mario Testino, Lily Donaldson, Clemence Poesy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sam Smith, Kate Moss and a very late Naomi Campbell who waltzed in mid-show. Once a supermodel, always a supermodel.
Out of the woods. Carrots dangling from the ceiling at Markus Lupfer, bunnies stamped on fabrics at Topshop Unique and then (three’s a trend) making an appearance on Sir Paul Smith’s Instagram in the form of a good luck charm. A motif to watch, we reckon.
Cara took it easy. Noticeably absent from the catwalks this season is the statement strut of a certain Miss Delevingne. Not that it stopped her showing her face – appearing on the FROW everywhere, including at Topshop Unique where rumour had it that the show ran late because Phillip Green had sent his private jet to pick her up from a party in Tokyo. Naturally.
NK hearts RI. Two of our favourite London designers have got together to make beautiful babies – in this instance, Nicholas Kirkwood and Roksanda Ilincic’s patent and suede banana-heel loafers.
In memoriam. Everyone from Victoria Beckham to Kanye West paid their respects to Professor Louise Wilson at her memorial service at St Paul’s on Friday morning. The famous director of the MA at Central St Martins taught everyone from Christopher Kane to Alexander McQueen, leaving behind a legacy unlike any other.
Cosmic Girls A collaboration with Cherry Coke, a zany-as-ever outer space theme and a hashtag with the word freak in it (#FreakLikeMe if you’re interested), Sophia Webster’s presentation was out of this world. (Sorry).
J. Dubs’ New Wave. Woodstock vibes may well abound this summer (and continue into autumn/winter 2015 if Burberry has anything to do with it), but fash pack favourite J.W. Anderson threw a massive curveball with his unapologetically 1980s collection. The moral of the story? Never get comfortable.
There was a runway Redux. A plain old floor? Pff. That’s so last season, darling. The catwalks in London Town were made of geometric pink foam (Mary Katrantzou), travelators (House Of Holland), waterfalls (Hunter) and psychedelic swirls (Roksanda Ilincic – as made by awesome set designer Gary Card).
Bags of fun. Thanks to heritage brand Aspinal collaborating with cooler-than-cool label Etre Cécile. UK Elle accessories editor Donna Wallace wears it well.
Erdem told us to relax… sort of. He turned the Old Selfridges Hotel into a series of retro lounges. Stick the kettle on.
Everyone drank… charcoal. *raises eyebrow *
#Stylebopinsiders took over. Wonder women Yasmin Sewell, Caroline Issa, Susie Bubble, Roksanda Ilincic and Emilia Wickstead partnered with stylebop.com to give the world their expert insider knowledge on LFW via social media. Style AND substance. Like.
Images: Getty and Instagram
