Autumn/Winter 2010/11 Collections
London Fashion Week was extremely exciting and saw collections with colour palette’s ranging from the dark sophistication of black’s, grey’s and blue’s as with Jaeger, (which had only an occasional injection of Camel to break up the proceedings), and similarly with John Rocha’s collection entitled ‘a contradiction between the fragile and the strong’, which included smatterings of pinks and creams, amidst an all black collection, through to Amanda Wakeley’s almost entirely Oyster coloured collection of chic, well- tailored sophistication. It felt great to know that in Autumn/Winter 2010 dressing would feel easy to co-ordinate, but look fantastic.
Christopher Kane used the little black (leather) dress as the foundation to his collection, but cleverly applied lace and floral motifs to soften and brighten the look, and over at Antonio Berardi ‘the little black dress’ was again prominent, but this time fitting closely to the body, with an accentuated waist, and occasional sheer blouse or see-through bodice to create a sexy, feminine silhouette.
On the other end of the spectrum came the vivid pieces from the Jasper Conran collection of viridian green, geranium, pigment blue and vermillion, which was inspired by the sculptors Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson and Barbara Hepworth. Panel’s were cut with precision to reveal tiny amounts of flesh through sheer tulle, and beautiful brightly coloured gowns flowed fluidly down the catwalk, which quite literally, took one’s breath away. The week was considered to be a commercial success by many, with collections proving more wearable than before. However, a ‘luxurious’ element was prominent throughout the week, mainly in the form of the use of real fur, which had crept back into many collections.
Caroline Charles proved that it is still possible to feel luxurious (without a conscience) with her elegant, yet versatile collection of brown tweed jackets and shorts, teamed with thick opaques and long shiny boots. Jodhpur’s, fitted jackets and ‘biggles’ hats looked fabulous together. Faux fur of varying sorts was on offer from pretty ear-muffs, to ‘deer-stalker’ type hats in faux brown fox and leopard print styles, which looked just as good as the real thing. Her entire collection, (ranging from comfortable looking but chic daywear, to exquisitely cut and sometimes bejewelled evening wear) was utterly desirable and luxe.
Nicole Farhi’s collection featured much draping in silk chiffon materials, creating classical pieces which looked comfortable, and brought ‘Camel’ right up to date, teaming it with patent leathers, and elsewhere, with footless tights. The checked jacket and coat with woollen ‘treggings’ could take one perfectly from boardroom to dinner, in warmth, comfort and style.
Osman’s collection was classically chic, with checks in varying sizes on many garments, and his cutting was, as usual, razor sharp. Paul Costelloe’s collection which was inspired by ‘the Assassination of Jesse James’ was so glamorous and eye-catching that I wanted almost every piece.
But the big question once again has to revert back to the use of real fur in so many collections. The ‘buzz’ inside the BFC tent was that most retailers were quite literally dreading stocking it, and with so many wonderful alternatives now available for a fraction of the cost, perhaps it’s time for a rethink.
Written by Amanda Waters
Daks
Eun Jeong
Issa
Jasper Conran
John Rocha
Kinder Aggugini