Mary Katrantzou, London Fashion Week A/W 11

As you may have already guessed,
I am a big Mary Katrantzou fan!
It has been my favourite show at both London Fashion Week S/S 11 and A/W 11, where both collections were heavily influenced by household interiors.
Last year's show Katrantzou labelled 'the room on the women',
whereas this year was entitled 'the women in the room'.

The prints in Katrantzou's recent show were just beautiful from the floral patterns on the knitwear and trousers, to the
ming vase-inspired panels on the waist
of the long, flowing, luxurious skirts.
I just can't wait to see what she has in store
for us next season!

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!

Chau Har Lee Shoes

Cordwainers graduate Chau Har Lee is one

of the most exciting names

to look out for in footwear.

Her most celebrated looks are the steel heels

and the flat pack shoes.

She has recently been listed to receive the

BFC NEWGEN sponsorship for 2011 along with other such

bright, young things as Mary Katrantzou, Louise Gray,

David Koma, Holly Fulton

and Dominic Jones.

Chau Har Lee describes

the women she designs for as:

“A professional and independent woman

with discerning taste,

a sense of fun and an awareness of

fashion trends,

yet she is not a fashion victim.”

The ultimate fashionista!

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 One

Peter Pilotto, LFW S/S 11
David Koma, LFW S/S 11
Holly Fulton, LFW S/S 11
Mary Katrantzou, LFW S/S 11.
Dominic Jones, LFW

After the months of preparation for London Fashion Week, it finally arrived in Somerset House this September and it certainly didn’t disappoint!

Here is a round-up of London Fashion Week, apologies that it has taken so long to get this posted; it was delayed by a week’s holiday after LFW for muchos relaxation and recuperation.

So, I spent the morning of day one at Somerset House checking out the NEWGEN exhibition which was full to the brim with exciting young designers. The highlights for me were Peter Pilotto, David Koma, Holly Fulton, Mary Katrantzou and Dominic Jones.

Estethica was then next on my exhibition list, and there were such a great eclectic mix of designers. My favourites were Angel Jackson and Goodone.Click on links to read my previous posts.