London Fashion Week - Spring/Summer 2017 (Carlin Creative Trend Bureau)

The key points to keep in mind of this oh-so -British week…

Mary Katranzou  - Photo Alessandro Garofalo Vogue Runway

The London shows always offer a breath of creativity and a certain dose of humor, highly appreciated in these times of trouble. The London scene’s vitality is undeniable and proposes a twitching mix of tradition, counterculture and avant-gardism, a welcomed cocktail before starting the Milano catwalks.
Ready?

Gingham Connection

The French call it « vichy », the British call it « gingham » and it’s one of the key patterns of the London catwalks: the small checks on white backgrounds play the fahionista game, associating freshness and design:

House Of Holland  - Photo Luca Tombolini Vogue Runway

Peter Piloto  - Photo Yannis Vlamas Vogue Runway

Toga  - Photo Alessandro Garofalo Vogue Runway

House of Holland plays on clashes of colors and proportions by associating mini-maxi, while the exciting Toga label  proposes a very contemporary version of the gingham by transposing it on gleaming fabrics and innovating cuts. Peter Piloto goes for a more lifestyle and casual option, with embroideries and twisted, superimposed prints for an easy going and summery wear.
 
Strange Romance

London wouldn’t be London without the floral prints but one can observe a real evolution in the color treatment this season. After several seasons of highly contrasted and hyper-visual florals, the palette becomes softer for SS 17, although without any mushiness. Because these florals gain interest by being done in asymmetrical cuts, for a more committed and unexpected new kind of romanticism:

Simone Rocha  - Photo Unmberto Fratini Vogue Runway

Erdem  - Photo Umberto Fratini Vogue Runway

Preen  - Photo Yannis Vlamos Vogue Runway

Simone Rocha feels totally at home here, both poetic and design, with this season several captivating silhouettes which totally jostle the notion of floral romanticism. Also Erdem is for 100% on its legitimate territory, while Preen surprises by showing a highly subversive and off-the-wall vision of romanticism.

Urban Goddess

The silhouette is tall, fluid and moving, yet we are far from the obvious reference to the Antique or Greco-Roman esthetics. One evokes a clearly urban and contemporary goddess here, much into design but also color:

Temperley London  - Photo Marcus Tondo Vogue Runway

J.W.Anderson Photo Alessandro Garofalo Vogue Runway

Roksanda  - Photo Luca Tombolini Vogue Runway

We can see at  Temperley London and J.W Anderson a shading color treatment associated with white, but the talented Scottish designer associates this color palette with a remarkable work of cuts: biased or « coiled », his silhouettes are both timeless and hyper-modern. Roksanda continues to gain in suppleness and subtlety, since the brand took its distances from radical colorblocking of its beginnings.
 
Pop- History

The historical references, girdles, ruffs, « Tudor » sleeves, frills… okay, but with a certain doses of humour and real design work!  Graphical touches, acid color touches and reworked proportions are on the menu:

Molly Goddard  - Photo Marcus Tondo Vogue Runway

J.W.Anderson  - Photo Alessandro Garofalo Vogue Runway

Marques' Almeida  - Photo Marcus Tondo Vogue Runway

Molly Goddard, the rising star-designer in London, plays with historical codes in a twisted and sparkling collection. There again, J.W Anderson excels, with a singular re-reading of the Tudor period. The duo Marque’s Almeida signs a more accessible collection than the previous ones, for a look gaining in coolness and highly Instagram-friendly.
Historical references also inspired Christopher Bailey in charge at Burberry but in a more expected and commercial treatment, for a « show now, buy-know » collection, for shopping from this autumn on.

British Britishness…!

And finally a wink to brands that over-do the references with traditional British allure codes, in between humor and reinterpretation, like Mulberry and above all Christopher Kane who showed at the Tate Gallery, center of British history.
 

Mulberry  - Photo Kim Weston Arnold Vogue Runway

Christopher Kane  - Photo Umberto Fratini Vogue Runway

 « Rule, Britannia ! »

By Thomas Zylberman for Carlin Creative Trend Bureau.
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