150 Designer presentations... 83 Catwalk shows... 5 Days... and Theresa May herself opening up the ceremony! This is the combination that went into creating the most recent London fashion week (LFW) that truly placed London at the forefront of fashion progression.
With this Summer's Brexit still looming over us, the eyes were on the designers to see how they planned to pull this off, and pull it off is exactly what they did. An upbeat and "spirited" aura permeated the five days was the report by Harvey Nichols' womenswear buyer, Rebecca Tinker. But what was it that enabled such a forward statement such as "London at the forefront of fashion progression"?
To answer that question, we have to look at what Burberry have done. Burberry's 'see now, buy now' collection has really changed the rules of the game, but alongside Burberry, we have Topshop, Ralph Lauren and others pioneering a 'Runway to Retail' initiative. This enables catwalk viewers to acquire their favourites from the runway straight away, something that has never been done before. We live in a time where people like to get what they want and they want it fast, it seems as if the fashion world is rolling with the times and this has started with LFW.
Aside from breaking the rules and changing the game in terms of pioneering the fashion industry, the designers also done so with their collections. Below is one of my favourite trends from LFW, and three others that I believe are worth a mention. .
- Gingham
Gone are the days where Gingham was only acceptable on the school uniform of a primary school female. It has been elevated to cult style status for SS17. In fact, it has become so popular recently that it can just about be seen as a trend. Nonetheless, the LFW designers, in particular the House of Holland ran with it and truly made it their own.
- Statement sleeves
- Uneven hemlines
- Pink Leather Jacket