Spring 2014 Review: LFW: Hits & Misses

London has always been the fashion capital where everything new and hip and out-of-the-box comes out. London-based designers despite the dullness of the weather always dream in color. They come up with new quirky styles, fun prints, crazy shapes. It's true that English people are weird - but in a good way. And this good weirdness comes off on the runway as innovative and fresh.

No one can deny though the other side that exists in England: the appropriate, pulled-together, let's-have-tea-and-crumpets, conservative side. This one translates as well.

The mixture of both, well, that's the big bang. And what makes London Fashion Week so appealing in the first place.

Let's start this recap then:

THE GOOD:

Burberry Prorsum

There you have it. The double identity within every woman. The elegance and the appropriateness of a real lady and the sexiness of a vamp (almost). Burberry was subtle but sexy at the same time. Christopher Bailey never fails me. His clothes always make me feel like I wanna wear them, like I wanna be that woman. It validates my beliefs that a woman doesn't have to dress masculine in order to feel powerful, but she can use her femininity and the weapons that nature has given her to be a poised, motivated, strong individual.





Christopher Kane



Christopher Kane is one of these designers that wow the younger audiences because they're hip and very fashion-forward. This collection was exactly it. New materials & new prints to work with. The look I chose as my personal favorite features neither. I love contradictions. Even in the same outfit, yes. I love a sporty sweatshirt with embellishments and a midi silk skirt because it's just unpredictable. It's not an outfit that anyone can pull off but it's cool.

Marios Schwab



Again, Marios Schwab never fails to impress you. There's always a fresh idea in his collection, something that no one has thought of before and it makes you wonder why. I love a designer that can play with shape and sculpt the body and I love him even more if he can do it in a subtle, wearable way. Schwab is that designer.

Peter Pilotto



If you asked me to pick a winning LFW collection, this is it. Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos worked wonders with this one. All these beautiful prints, shapes, colors everywhere really make you think that you're marveling at works of art, not just clothes. That's the magic of fashion, isn't it? Making clothes look like they're more than just what you cover your body with. They are your cherished everyday pieces of art.

THE BAD:

Erdem



It makes me sad that I have to feature Erdem under this category. Because I usually love Erdem. Love his prints and his sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice appeal (I'm a girly girl- what can I say?). But this collection wasn't sweet at all. This is not what bothered me - for I have a high appreciation for a lot of non-sugary designers. But this collection was oozing sadness. It's a spring collection for chrissake! Enough with the black and white! There's something that really bothers me when I see black in SS collections. I guess that comes from living in a really hot country where summer is too sizzling to bear wearing anything black (remember that dark-colored fibers draw and absorb the hot sun rays whereas white fabrics work as mirrors and keep the heat away) That was not the major problem though. Moralioglu described his pieces as clothes that both a bride and a widow could wear. There is something eerie about this that intrigues me (and also remember my love for contradictions) but I wonder if there's any realistic value to it. Fashion is art, but accessible art. Is there a chance in the world that a widow and a bride would choose the same item to wear? Hardly. I know he was speaking metaphorically but still; too many metaphors do not translate as good when it comes to ready-to-wear clothing.

THE TRENDS:

The Big Picture


(Jonathan Saunders, Peter Pilotto, Moschino Cheap and Chic, Mary Katrantzou)

Opulence


(Julien McDonald, Simone Rocha, Mary Katrantzou, Tom Ford)

Pretty, pale and girly


(Julien McDonald, Antonio Berardi, Burberry Prorsum, Markus Lupfer, Peter Pilotto)

Cover up


(Top row: Antonio Berardi, Jonathan Saunders, Burberry Prorsum / Bottom row: Tom Ford, Thomas Tait, Peter Pilotto)

Accessories:


(Top row: Burberry Prorsum, Topshop Unique, Christopher Kane / Bottom row: Erdem, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou)

BEAUTY:

(Top row: Burberry Prorsum, Topshop Unique, Giles / Bottom row: Erdem, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou)

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