LFW S/S 11 Highlight: Mary Katrantzou's Lampshade Skirts

With London Fashion Week A/W 11 almost upon us and therefore in the forefront on our minds (of course, like, when isn’t it!?), I have been thinking about my highlight from S/S 11. After thinking long and hard about this, there were several contenders to the London Fashion Week Swarowski jewelled crown.

The shortlist included Julien Macdonald’s sexy, sheer collection , the pure shock and hilarity of Janice Dickenson flashing at the LOVE Magazine party, Erdem’s picturesque open air theatre setting and his beautiful floral collection, the 70s revival at Giles and the Mary Katrantzou lampshade skirts.

The winner is...Mary Katrantzou’s lampshade skirts. Who would have thought that our favourite everyday household appliance could be transformed into this? Katrantzou mused: "With this collection, I wanted to put the room on the woman, rather than the woman in the room." Mary, we salute you!

London Fashion Week S/S 11, Day Six

London Fashion Week S/S 11 ended on menswear showcasing the best in emerging British design and I went to see E.Tautz, MAN and James Long.

E.Tautz presentation:

I started the day with the E.Tautz presentation who is such a great talent – as well as being exceedingly handsome. The label produces such beautiful classic tailoring which really highlights what London is renowned for. We have some really exciting British tailors coming through at the moment what with A.Sauvage, Rake and E.Tautz.

A.Sauvage designs:

It is really noticeable that the attendance of shows was far smaller on menswear day than throughout the womenswear days, which is such a shame. What LFW menswear day needs is a big name to come back to London, make a stand and encourage others to do the same so that it begins to become a day that everyone wants to attend.

London Fashion Week S/S 11, Day Three

On day three at London Fashion Week S/S 11 I saw the Mary Katrantzou, Julien Macdonald, Antonio Berardi and Richard Nicoll shows which were all stunning.

Mary Katrantzou kicked off the day at the old Eurostar terminal in Waterloo station, the most incredible venue with an arched glass exterior and high ceilings. The acoustics were great for the upbeat catwalk tunes.

Backstage at Mary Katrantzou:

Mary was inspired by interiors for this collection and designed the infamous lampshade skirt which I loved! For those fond of Katrantzou’s prints they were not let down, the show was full of her signature bright graphic prints.

Next, was Julien Macdonald which I almost missed completely, so I snuck in the back and watched the models snake round the rows of fashionistas. It was quite possibly my favourite show from the week – super sexy! Take a look at the video for it in action.

Antonio Berardi gave us an elegant and romantic collection. My favourite moment was when the opening bars of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory song ‘Pure Imagination’ were played just before the models walked – pure nostalgia!

Finally, the day finished with fashion favourite Richard Nicoll. I spied Hannah Marshall sneaking in late to gain a front row view. Nicholl was inspired by ‘minimal glamour’ and boldly stated after the show: ‘What we sell is dresses’. Keep them coming!

London Fashion Week S/S 11, Day Two

Charles Anastase S/S 11, LFW










Day two saw me attending the Emilio de la Morena, Osman and Charles Anatase catwalk shows.

Emilio de la Morena was full of eye-catching brights, punched leather and cropped jackets. See some of the backstage photos at Emilio de la Morena in a previous post.

Osman was a mix of easy-to-wear, sporty pieces which weren’t my cup of tea – perhaps that’s because I had to make him so bloody many on an internship after graduating from university...

I loved the Charles Anatase show; it took place in an old post office sorting warehouse which was an amazing atmospheric space. The clothes included ethereal dresses and skyscraper wedges – which prompted a Naomi Campbell fall by one of the models – which were a definite crowd pleaser. Interviewing Charles after the show he said that he was inspired by long summer evenings sat in his friend’s garden in Kentish Town.

Backstage at Charles Anastase S/S 11 , LFW