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London fashion week
Reporting from Fashion’s
front line
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Issue N o 3, london fashion week autumn/ winter 2010
tuesday 23 february 2010
the Fashion Moment Embroidered wild flowers were a revelation on leather at yesterday’s Christopher Kane show. Photography by Anna Bauer
Dirty pretty things:
a trend is born
Report by David Hayes
Feeling your way through the tangle
of emerging trends at the shows is a
constant process of re-evaluation.
But sometimes there is one of those
“light-bulb” moments that point you
back to all the signposts you missed
earlier, something that makes sense
of the germs of ideas you didn’t quite
know where to place. Meadham
Kirchhoff’s joyously eclectic show
on Sunday was one such moment.
After what had seemed like an
endless parade of the dark-hued,
The new adventures
of Erdem
hard-edged and, at times, downright
downbeat, it’s funny how something
as silly as the flutter of a neon-pink
chiffon veil and the sparkle of a
dressing-up-box tiara can suddenly
change the collective mood. At last,
here was something pretty. Pretty in
a dirty, scuffed-up kind of way.
In all its sugary, frothy excess,
“pretty” is a big trend for this summer;
it only seemed reasonable that it
should stick around for longer than
a single season. It popped up at the
New York shows, but at first seemed
sadly missing from London. Looking
back – after that wake-up call from
Meadham Kirchhoff – there it was:
in the delicate lace dresses at Julien
Macdonald, the rococo ruffles at
Mary Katrantzou, the patchwork
dresses at Michael van der Ham,
as the floral embroideries scattered
across a slash-sleeve navy sweater
at Christopher Kane, and as sludgy
olive-green lace frills at Erdem.
Let’s call it “dirty pretty”. It may
not sound like much, but, hey, it’s
already starting to look like a trend.
Next, across town to Mulberry,
in Kensington, for three presentations
in four hours, for which he’s creating
oversized bouffants. His team of
25 is already there, attaching hair
extensions and busy backcombing.
Post-Mulberry, it’s over to Uma
Thurman’s London home to cut a
bob for Sunday’s Baftas. The minute
he’s finished, he dashes across town
to get to Twenty8Twelve. With
lunchtime long gone, dinner is a
snatched sandwich en route (“ham
on white bread, which I never eat,
but it’s completely delicious”). Then
it’s straight into hair preparation for
the show. Come 9pm, after three
hours in front of the cameras, film
crews and beauty journalists, he
heads home to watch EastEnders.
With a not-so-secret sideline in
cake-making (Sam’s “This is Not a
Victoria Sponge” has been featured
in Vogue and on SHOWstudio.com),
he winds down by doing some baking.
Then it’s straight to bed with a good
book: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.
“I love my own bed,” he says. “That’s
why the London shows are so great.”
A day in the life of Sam McKnight
Report by Anna-marie Solowij
5am, Sunday, and Sam McKnight is
at home in west London practising
his yoga stretches. The 30-minute
routine, followed by porridge, stewed
rhubarb and ginger, sets him up for a
day of back-to-back shows, interviews
and filming, not to mention a
celebrity hair request. Wearing his
signature uniform of Adidas trainers,
1955 Levi’s 501s, Fred Perry polo
shirt and Lanvin v-neck, and with a
6am call-time for Clements Ribeiro,
Sam drives himself to Somerset
House: “I like to have the escape
method and route planned!” he says.
For the full story, turn to The
LFW Daily blog at lfwdaily.com
Report by Julia Robson
Erdem’s show (below) at Senate
House yesterday allowed him to
shed his rising-star status and join
the ranks of fashion’s superstars.
Globalistas openly wept at the
finale, when models in fluttering
ankle-length gowns swept past each
other, holding up trailing skirts on a
sweeping marble staircase; surely
a fashion moment up there with
Galliano’s “Peking Opera” haute
couture show in 2003? “I cried,”
admitted boutique owner Brix
Smith-Start. “Every piece was of a
level of elegance that is so rare.”
“The collection had a lot to do
with the great north,” said Erdem
Moralioglu, who hails from Montreal.
“The misty colours were inspired by
the weird architectural skylines you
find in the Arctic. My sister works
for a natural history programme and
keeps sending me wild images.
“It’s also about adolescents
bracing the elements. That was
where hiking boots came in,”
explained Erdem, of Nicholas
Kirkwood’s high-heeled accessories.
Outerwear – such as the cape that
opened the show – and knitwear
were added to the mix, but it was the
abstracted-foliage dresses that truly
stood out. “Erdem wanted to be more
than just about ‘the beautiful dress’
this season,” said the show’s stylist,
Samantha Willoughby. “He wanted
more flesh on show, to go sexier.”
Indeed, Romola Garai, who sat
front row, had worn a strapless Erdem
to the Baftas. And come Oscar night,
will migrating-swallow prints be
gracing Keira and Thandie? Will his
dresses be the battle uniform for the
wives in the general election? We’ll
just have to wait and see…
Photography by catwalking.com
Thoughtful
shopper
noted by Linda Grant
There are times when a writer has to
admit defeat and concede that there
is no language. Waiting outside in a
bitterly cold, wet and damp queue
for Roksanda Ilincic’s show, the
world seemed to consist of several
shades of dismal grey. Inside, we
saw colours that exist on some
metaphysical plane of reality. Is it
pink, is it apricot, is there even a
word in the dictionary for it? Ilincicembellished evening dresses floated
along the catwalk; long, lean
silhouettes in Thirties draping;
fluid, shimmering, pared-down luxe
embellished with jewels.
When so many shows have been
monochrome, sometimes interrupted
by bubblegum pink or acid green,
Ilincic demonstrated what can be
done when a designer takes colour
to another level. On the high street,
cheap dyes are the give-away about
cheap clothes. Ilincic appears to be
searching for colours that don’t yet
exist, except in her imagination.
Dyed into sheer silks, they assumed
a semi-transparency, an otherworldly beauty, which you assume
will be transferred to the wearer.
The Thoughtful Dresser by Linda
Grant (Virago, £11.99) is out now
catwalk highlights
www.lfwdaily.com
3
Catwalk highlights
Report by clare coulson, Fashion Features Director, Harper’s Bazaar
Photography by catwalking.com
christopher kane
marios schwab
roksanda ilincic
jaeger london
Christopher Kane has become masterful at delivering a
clear, concise message, season in, season out. This time
around, it was all about tailoring. In wool, or black matte
or patent leather – much of it decorated with vibrant
embroidery – it was contrasted with lace blouses or lace
panels that were spliced across skirts and dresses. There
was a folkloric feel to the colourfully embroidered
pansies and wild flowers that started out gently running
up the sleeve of a chiffon blouse or a black cashmere
cardigan with artfully slashed sleeves, or across the
hemline of a skirt, and ended up dancing all over short
leather dresses. Later in the show, Kane traded the
flowers for crystals with glittering starbursts appearing
on matte leather mini-dresses or shell tops, or circling
a deep black patent cummerbund that cinched a black
wool jacket with crisp patent collar. There was a nod
to his homeland in the neat (and super-short) black
wool kilts and a gorgeous black patent biker jacket
with lambskin collar that was embroidered with a
cluster of Scottish thistles.
If his first season at Halston was a distraction for Marios
Schwab, he definitely didn’t show it in the strong,
polished collection he sent out yesterday. He kicked
off with a flesh-toned dress that was cut away at the
bodice and edged with a waffly trimming. A series of
pinafore dresses followed, all of which had a strict
schoolgirl feeling (a nod, Schwab said, to being “the only
boy at fashion school”), but were cut with curvilinear
collars that dipped away to reveal crisp white shirting.
Other jersey dresses were topped with beautifully cut,
sculptural little jackets or pulled in at the waist
with decorative corsetry. Schwab reinterpreted the
dirndl, but there was nothing school-marmish about
his full, short skirts and dresses that came out in
loden wool, duchesse satin or richly coloured brocades.
Later, he continued with the week’s yearning for
embellishment, as crystals outlined the bodices of
dresses, while textural coats in smoke grey or forest
green, neatly belted at the waist, added to the plush,
tactile feeling of this collection.
From the voluminous crimped hair and glossy Seventies
make up to the upbeat disco tunes, Roksanda Ilincic
was in a New York state of mind for autumn, giving us a
super-polished collection that was, she said, “all about
the beauty of winter fabrics, their textures and the way
they can be sculpted around the body.” There was plenty
of Ilincic’s signature cocktailwear, including a parade of
killer charmeuse dresses in deep olive green, raspberry
and smoke blue. A highlight was a pale pink charmeuse
tunic that fanned into an air-filled cape at the back to a
stunning strapless oyster silk column with a sculptural
asymmetric peplum. But she developed her day wear,
too, showing a beautiful charcoal jersey dress draped
elegantly across the body, and a series of clean-cut shift
dresses in black bouclé and charcoal wool. Some
tailoring came heavily embellished with crystals and
beading. On a lighter note were the sheer flesh-toned
voile blouses and fluid pants, all of which were topped
off with sumptuous fur stoles and gilets – perfect for a
well-heeled New York city girl.
Jaeger’s reinvention continues apace under Design
Director Stuart Stockdale. For A/W 10, he focussed on
traditional fabrics, from camel hair – which the brand
was using more than a century ago – to sheepskin,
leather, cashmere and wool mohair. Outerwear
dominated this show: think oversized shawl-collared
coats and jackets (which, when paired with black
leggings and riding hats, took on a Mod feel), to singlebreasted mohair overcoats. Some were deconstructed
with cut-outs at the back – not too practical for an icy
British winter. More appealing were the oversized
zip-front cardigan-coats. There was masculine tailoring,
too: a camel trouser suit with leather lapels and boyishcut trousers; almost bohemian black velvet pants –
which had all the ease of a pair of well-worn sweatpants
– with pleats around the hips and a turned-down
waistband. There were plenty of pieces here for the
Jaeger woman also. The easy, ribbed sweater dresses,
shaggy gilets and abstract appliquéd silk dresses were
a collection highlight.
bespoke feature
H&M
EDITOR’S CHOICE
simon chilvers
Assistant Fashion editor, The Guardian
I’ve chosen a slouchy, mooching-around outfit ideal for
day. It’s all quite tonal and simple. Blue and white
stripes go with anything, so this is the perfect t-shirt.
It’s really soft and the scoop neck is so comfy. Chuck it
on and tart it up with a suit jacket in the evening.
I’m a total “cardiac”, or should I say cardigan geek.
Until recently I thought you shouldn’t mess with cardis,
but after watching Nowhere Boy, in which sleeveless cardis
featured, I decided maybe I would give this look a go.
When you wear jeans all the time, you know what
goes with them and sling things on accordingly. You
have to think a bit more when you wear slacks and I like
that discipline. To keep the look a bit less formal, I’ve
teamed them with my favourite pair of sneakers.
Unless you’ve been living under a pebble, you’ll
know that the man bag is over. The whole theorising/
discussion/concept of a man bag is so last decade. It’s all
about using something that works, and it’s a notion that
the likes of H&M, Lanvin and a handful of savvy labels
have cottoned on to. There’s a reason why the rucksack
is so user friendly. It’s more comfortable!
I love this rucksack as it is neat, compact and it
doesn’t look posey. It’s almost like a denim jacket,
a punctuation to your outfit.
Overall, this look is “modern grandpa” with a French
twist. My 90-year-old grandfather is one of my style
icons. A retired postman, he wears a good slack. Even
when he’s just popping round for tea he’ll sport a tie and
it looks so dapper. Me and my dad’s clothes are really
different, whereas you could swap a few of mine with
granddad’s and be none the wiser. I have yet to master
the art of a tie, though, as that feels way too formal.
All clothing available from H&M
Stockists 020 7323 2211
Photography by Chris Brooks
Wears cardigan £24.99, t-shirt £9.99,
trousers £24.99, rucksack £9.99
4
news
From catwalk
to red carpet
Report by emma sibbles
Harper’s Bazaar Editor Lucy
Yeomans is a woman on a mission.
Her goal? To raise the profile of
emerging designers and marry
British fashion and film under
the auspices of the BFC/Harper’s
Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation.
Launched this week, the idea
behind this brand-new initiative
is to encourage hot young actors
to wear British labels on the red
carpet. “That [kind of endorsement]
can be as important as the catwalk
london fashion week the daily Tuesday 23 February 2010
The return of the
perfect hourglass
in terms of exposure,” she says. But
unfortunately, this pairing of talent
doesn’t always materialise.
Take girl-of-the-moment Carey
Mulligan, who wore French label
Vionnet to collect her Best Actress
Bafta on Sunday night. “We [the
fashion industry] all know who
Christopher Kane and Roksanda
Ilincic are, but these actresses
don’t,” says Yeomans. “We have to
shout from the rooftops about our
great young fashion talent. I hope
she wears British next time.”
Report by julia robson
It has not escaped our notice since
Friday that designers have been
slipping sinuous dresses, skirts that
fit like a second skin and the skinniest
treggings with neat, fitted peplum
jackets into collections. Sporadically,
but not enough for us to haul out the
‘b’ (bodycon) word again.
Then out of the blue yesterday
morning, Antonio Berardi offered
up the best case for a return to a
uniform bodycon silhouette. He did
this so convincingly, using exquisitely
cut grey flannel, sheer panels,
and black and crimson velvet (with
ultra-sheer stockings, Louboutin
spindle heels and M.A.C’s black
lipstick), that he has effectively
thrown a spanner in the fashion
works in terms of next season’s
looks (floaty chiffon layers,
voluminous knits and stiff, feltedwool outerwear).
Berardi’s bias-cut, to-the-floor
evening wear and razor-sharp
cutting on form-fitting panelled
dresses was timeless, polished, tight
berardi was
timeless,
polished, tight
and convincing
FLOWER-POWER LEATHER
So tough, so pretty at
Christopher Kane
HEART-SHAPED CHOCCIES
AT ERDEM
At last, a giant chocolate bar
for the starving front row
and convincing. Of course, all this
is a Berardi signature, but the
collection served as a reminder
that the best bodycon is not about
cling, it is about tailoring.
HEY MR DJ
Disco-tastic tunes at
Roksanda. Yippee!
For Berardi images, see The
LFW Daily blog at lfwdaily.com
And now, what the buyers will buy
Report By Alison Bishop
The international buyers are back in
town. The retailers who splash the
cash reveal to The LFW Daily their
A/W 10 highlights.
Erin Mullaney, buying
director, Browns:
“The Meadham Kirchhoff collection
was shocking and unexpected. They
always have a directional collection
and that attitude is expected from
London designers now. Designers
here need to evolve and the boys do
that every season with their take on
deconstructed elegance. Erdem and
Christopher Kane are my other two
key shows. I love how Christopher
takes a new theme and really runs
with it – he always comes up with
something new but with his
undeniable signature. That’s why
his waiting lists are so long.”
Sarah Rutson, buying
director, Lane Crawford:
“Christopher Kane is why we come
from Hong Kong. It’s one of the
most important collections in
London. I loved his use of leather,
lace and embroidery. I could sell
every piece. Burberry Prorsum is
another show I’m here for – it’s the
quintessential London style.”
Averyl Oates, buying
director, Harvey Nichols:
“We loved Christopher Kane. It was
a mature, sophisticated, very rich
collection. I also liked Mark Fast –
the beautiful crochet-knit dresses
with thoughtful chiffon layers will
work well for retailers.”
Katsuhiro and Tomoko, London Fashion Week a/w 10
Photography by marcus dawes , The LFW Daily staff snapper
“Leather will outlive us all,” says
Natalie Massenet of net-a-porter.
com. “It doesn’t wear out quickly, it
gets better with age and it makes for
a great investment.”
These may well be the reasons
we’re seeing so much of it on the
catwalks this week. Or perhaps it’s
because designers are hoping the
reluctant shopper will dole out just
a little bit more for that perfect
piece they can cherish forever?
Either way, designers like Nicole
Farhi (right), Christopher Kane,
Osman and a raft of other London
Powered by
Bridget Cosgrave, fashion
director, Matches:
“We loved the military jackets and
coats at Kinder Aggugini – it was
one of my favourite collections. And
where did Hakaan come from? For a
first show, his was an accomplished
collection full of great pieces.”
Hell-bent for leather
Report by heath brown
trend watch
names included leather as part
of their key looks this season. “I
just had an instinct that now was
the right time for it,” said Kane
backstage. His entire show featured
treated leather pieces embroidered
with naive, chintz-like flowers.
“In the realms of high fashion,”
adds Massenet, “people are looking
for special fabrications and that
‘something special’ in leather.”
Lucky for her – and net-a-porter.
com devotees – that she came to
London Fashion Week, then.
POSING TO BE PAPPED
Only to realise they just
want your shoes
HEADTURNING TRAUMA
Models coming from
all directions at Erdem.
Where to look?
THOSE DEATHLY DEADLINES
They come, they don’t go
– it’s stressy, you know
Photography by catwalking.com
bespoke feature
Embroiderers work from the
initial embellishment designs,
which are first sketched on paper
and glued with beads and sequins
The S/S 10 campaign image
Each embellishment is hand-stitched,
taking up to 11 hours to sew
The finished product
It’s the high street’s top secret and Karen Millen’s stealth
weapon. The LFW Daily visits the brand’s design atelier to
witness the birth of Karen Millen’s stellar S/S 10 collection
For those who thought that only luxury labels conjure up clothes in ateliers, think
again. Karen Millen’s design team has been doing just that from its design atelier since
1981. “I think there is an extra layer of creativity in such an environment,” says Gemma
Metheringham, Karen Millen’s MD and Creative Director. She believes it is this set-up
that has enabled the brand to up the ante with an offering of intelligently designed pieces.
Cue the delicately embellished champagne shift from the S/S 10 collection (pictured).
It features 3800 bugle and circular beads, lozenge crystals, sequins, metal-ball beads,
chains, teardrop crystals and studs that were sewn on by hand and took 11 hours to
embroider onto every dress.
“It was about wanting to do something incredibly beautiful but vintage, too. It was
a modern take on party wear. The silhouette is modern but the embellishment harks
back to another era. It’s almost art deco,” says Metheringham, who enlisted three separate
factories to realise the embellishment and, together with her design team, spent weeks
tracking down the precise hue of crystal and patina of sequin to realise their vision.
“We didn’t want the beads or sequins to feel too tinny or too bright. We worked really
hard to create a vintage feel.”
Vintage bling
“Statement pieces shouldn’t feel try-hard. There’s something incredibly effortless about the silhouette
of this shift; the dress is really all you need. Add a great pair of heels and a clutch and you’re good to go.”
Gemma Metheringham, MD and Creative Director, Karen Millen
Dress £250. See the entire Karen Millen collection at www.karenmillen.com
More than 1500 beads, sequins
and metal baubles make up
this shoulder detail
News
www.lfwdaily.com
Back-to-basics beauty
Report by Jessica Hogan
Who says that you have to invest in
expensive make-up and grooming
tools to achieve the new season’s
hot looks? Follow the lead of the
professionals backstage at LFW
and grab some lo-fi implements to
get the desired effect. At Daks,
M.A.C. make-up artist Val Garland
went for “really real skin”. So real, in
fact, that all that was used on the
face were cotton pads dipped in iced
water to bring about a flush to the
cheek. Garland continued with the
barely there theme at Louise Goldin,
where lips were polished with a child’s
The Beauty Spot
Grunge, but not
as we know it
Report by ANNA-Marie Solowij
It’s 20 years since grunge sulked its
way onto the fashion scene with
Marc Jacobs’ show for Perry Ellis
– the show got Jacobs the sack, but
launched a decade-long obsession
with “no make-up” make-up, unkempt
hair and drab nail varnish.
For A/W 10, grunge is back. It
was referenced by hair and make-up
artists in New York, at shows including
Rag & Bone, Peter Som, Alexander
Wang and Proenza Schouler, and
in London at Louise Goldin, Jaeger
London and Twenty8Twelve.
For Louise Goldin, Tigi hair
stylist Paul Hanlon’s muse was
Courtney Love. To achieve the
separation that’s key to the look, he
twisted hair up into knots, blowdried it and then unwound the
knots, working the hair through with
his fingers to create texture.
But how do you give grunge a
2010 edge? “It’s all about mixing it
up,” says Sam McKnight for Pantene
Pro-V. “It’s grunge plus, rather than
grunge minus, so it’s about adding a
hair accessory, or glitter, or another
element.” As a result, the perfectly
blow-dried hair for Twenty8Twelve
was overlaid with whisper-fine
tangles. Make-up artist Pat McGrath
for Max Factor also riffed the earlyNineties theme, describing the look
for the show as “very street, almost a
return to grunge”. Drawing a smudgy
black eye line, pulled out to extend
the eye shape, and keeping the rest
of the make up barely there (FYI,
she was road-testing a clever new
Max Factor foundation formula
called Weightless Xperience… can’t
wait to get hold of it), the effect
combined the modern expectations
of cosmetic perfection with the pareddown aesthetic of grunge.
What’s most unexpected about
grunge is just where the references
have cropped up. At Jaeger London
(above), surely one of the most
grown-up shows of the week, grunge
was on the beauty agenda. “It’s grunge,
but groomed,” explains McKnight
of the blow-dried but mussed-up
hairstyles he created. “It’s just not
feasible to go back to that whole
dirty-hair thing, not with the levels
of grooming that women have
become used to.”
Photography by Anna Bauer
The art of Pringle
Report by Heath Brown
Fashion can so easily isolate itself in
a bubble of trends, but when it
reaches out beyond its boundaries
into another world, such as music or
art, the results are often inspiring.
One such example is the current
collaboration between the Serpentine
Gallery and Pringle of Scotland.
To celebrate the label’s 195th
birthday and to coincide with the
gallery’s 40th, a group of artists has
been invited to create fresh pieces
using the twinset and argyle pattern,
both recognised as being typically
Pringle. Each new work, developed
alongside Pringle Creative Director
Clare Waight Keller, will be limited to
195 editions: investment buys, surely.
The chosen artists, who all have
links with Scotland, include two
Turner Prize winners, an Oscar
recipient and the band Franz
Ferdinand. Performance artist and
Academy Award-winner Tilda
Swinton (right, with Ryan McGinley)
has called her work “The Twinset of
My Dreams”. “Although this began as
a diary project, it evolved into a dowry
project,” she explained, referring to
a horde of old Pringle sweaters she
inherited from her grandmother.
“They are the things I value most.”
To recreate her treasures, Swinton
destroyed the garments, then
re-darned the damage, just like her
granny had. “To me it is properly
couture,” she added. Jewellery
designer Waris Ahluwalia worked with
Swinton on the buttons and a brooch.
Douglas Gordon, the 1997 Turner
Prize winner, believes he is the
perfect person to design for Pringle.
“Well, I play golf and watch a bit of
football,” joked the burly Scotsman.
“And I’d often dress in my mum’s
twinset at home when she was out.”
His reworking shows knitted tattoo
motifs “like a Glaswegian plumber’s”.
Photographer Ryan McGinley
based his work on the Seventies cult
novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
“I love seagulls,” he told us, referring
to his take on the Pringle sweater,
which features a bird in silhouette.
Other artists included the 2009
Turner Prize winner Richard Wright;
Daniel Shrigley, whose “Annoying”
sweater had a label intentionally
hanging out of the back in order
“to annoy those sat behind on the
bus”; Stephen Sutcliffe; Luke Fowler
and Alasdair Gray. Julien David of
Colette in Paris and Carla Sozzani
of 10 Corso Como in Milan also
contributed their own versions.
Photography by Shaniqwa Jarvis
It’s been a long time coming
Report by David Hayes
“I don’t normally do long, but this
season it just felt right,” said Antonio
Berardi in the backstage scrum after
his oh-so-refined show. And when a
designer who has “ultra short”
sequenced into his DNA starts
dropping hemlines – even the
shorter skirt lengths on offer edged
over the knee – you know something
of a seismic shift is taking place.
It’s not just about adding a few
extra inches of fabric, either; the new
elongated proportion throws a curve
ball at everything. “It’s no longer
about walking on big platforms,”
added Berardi. “It’s about being
elegant on more classic heels.”
Berardi’s collection proved the
tipping point for a trend that has
been gaining momentum all week.
At Aquascutum, designer Michael
Herz sent out dangerously floorskimming lengths on all but a
handful of his 32 looks. And at both
Osman and Twenty8Twelve it was
floor-skimming jersey dresses that
proved to be the standout pieces.
“Erdem always does a signature
long floaty dress, but this season
we decided to make it more of a
statement in the show,” said stylist
Samantha Willoughby after Erdem’s
beautiful finale of bias-cut or flared
panelled silk dresses swept the
marble floor of Bloomsbury’s Senate
House. The effect was effortlessly
elegant – yes, that word again – even
if some of the models tripped their
way back up the venue’s steps.
If further proof were needed, I’ll
leave the last word to Carine Roitfeld,
caught straight after the Erdem
outing: “I love the long. It’s the new
season, non?”
See more low hemlines on The LFW
Daily blog at lfwdaily.com
toothbrush to bring colour rushing to
the surface. At Twenty8Twelve, Sam
McKnight, for Pantene, fanned hair
with a sheet of cardboard to encourage
wisps to escape. For Kinder (below),
Malcolm Edwards raided his DIY box
and placed a length of string in the
parting to protect it from the black
spray-paint he used to colour the hair.
He then set it all by wrapping cling
film around his top knots. The beauty
of this trend, which seems to be
mirroring the actual looks themselves,
is that it’s simple, but ever so effective.
Photography by Anna Bauer
5
Fashion is pure poetry
Report by Emma Sibbles
Buyer Brix Smith-Start might not
look any different to the rest of the
front row, lit up in the glow of her
iPhone as she frantically tweets
from each show. But, in fact, she’s
doing something very different.
“I’m tweeting poems,” says the
co-founder and co-owner of Start
London, the eponymous chain of
boutiques that she runs with Philip
Start, her husband. “They’re like
post-modern haiku [a Japanese
style of poem]. Everyone’s writing
the same thing, so I thought I’d do
something different.” Written in a
stream-of-consciousness style, her
140-character-or-less missives are
inspired by how a show moves her;
whether it’s music, lighting or the
clothes themselves.
But she has a word of caution
about twitter-quette: “You have to
time it right, because I wouldn’t be
doing my job if I wasn’t watching the
clothes. It’s bad manners to tweet
during the show.” Instead she types
a word in-between each model’s exit
or simply waits until after the show.
Read Brix’s tweeted haiku on The
LFW Daily blog at lfwdaily.com
6
News
london fashion week the daily Tuesday 23 February 2010
The LFW Daily Credits
live catwalk illustration At antonio berardi
Drawn by Zoë Taylor / zoetaylor.co.uk
Created and Edited by
Jenny Dyson & Cat Callender
Managing Editor
Jane Money
Art Director & Designer
Bianca Wendt
Deputy Editor & Chief Sub Editor
Marion Jones
Deputy Chief Sub Editor
Fiona Russell
Sub Editors
Michelle Margherita, Vicky Willan
Designers
Lucy Newell, Carl Wellman
Reporters
David Hayes, Julia Robson,
Heath Brown, Emma Sibbles,
Molly Gunn, Katie Greengrass
Beauty Correspondents
Anna-Marie Solowij, Jess Hogan
Guest Writers
Linda Grant, Sarah Harris,
Melanie Rickey, Clare Coulson
Staff Photographers
Anna Bauer, Marcus Dawes,
Shaniqwa Jarvis
Advertising Manager
George Ryan
Distribution Manager
Fran Weber-Newth
Production Manager
Carolyn Mott
Editorial Assistants
Fiona Campbell, Ruth Clifford
Runners
Amy Maloney, Celia-Jane Ukwenya
Blog Designer
Wolfram Wiedner
Blog Fire Marshal
Blue Bushell
BFC Marketing Manager
Clara Mercer
Printed by
The Guardian Print Centre
Published by
Jenny & The Cat Ltd
Founder Publisher
Rubbish Ink Ltd
Thanks to
1.
2.
3.
4.
The BFC Team and
Somerset House
Mercedes -Benz for providing
us with wheels
M&S Food for fuelling
The Daily team
The Golden Square for keeping
the roof over our heads
For all advertising enquiries, please
email [email protected]
5.
bespoke feature
The new (un)Dress
No, it’s not inside out, silly. Hadn’t you heard?
Lingerie detailing is the new statement daywear, brought to
you by MY M&S, not yours. Oh, all right then, it’s yours, too
Dress £49.50, in store from May
marksandspencer.com
Master
blasters
Storm in a
C cup
Report by vogue’s Jessica Hogan
Report by Anna-Marie Solowij
When not styling, Paul Hanlon and
Luke Hersheson are the DJs building
a party atmosphere backstage. We
nabbed them at Christopher Kane
and Osman Yousefzada, respectively,
to crib their iPod playlists:
Paul Hanlon:
Early nineties House
1. Alison Limerick Where Love Lives
2. Inner City Good Life
3. Degrees of Motion Do you Want
it Right Now
4. Shannon Let the Music Play
5. Sterling Void It’s Alright
6. Candi Staton You Got the Love
7. DSK What Would we Do?
8. Sandy Vee Bleep
9. Danny Tenaglia Dibiza Remixes
10. Shed/Tobias Berghain 02 album Luke Hersheson:
A bit of old, a bit of new
1. Cheryl Cole Fight for this Love
2. Nick Kamen Tell Me
3. My Mine Hypnotic Tango
4. Pet Shop Boys Domino Dancing
5. Empire of the Sun We are the People
6. MGMT Kids
7. Prince Little Red Corvette
8. Baywatch theme tune
9 The Cure Boys Don’t Cry
10. Ready for the World Oh Sheila!
Going global
Report by Katie Greengrass
Set up to profile NEWGEN, Fashion
Forward and Fashion East designers,
London Show Rooms is a studio
space for young British design talent
to show their work to international
buyers. “Our London Show Rooms
in Paris has been running for three
seasons, and next season we’ll also
be in New York, partnering with the
Centre for Fashion Enterprise,’ said
the BFC’s co-CEO, Caroline Rush.
London Show Rooms, 5-12 March,
JTM Gallery, 40 rue de Richelieu,
Paris, britishfashioncouncil.com
Is it just me, or is anyone else obsessed
with Lara Stone’s breasts? The sight
of those perfectly rounded, selfsuspending orbs, visible through a
form-fitting black-net top backstage
at Hakaan, had everyone – gay and
straight, male and female – staring
in wonder at their beauty.
As with pregnant women, the
minute you start looking, breasts
are everywhere, including on two
LFW show invitations. For Esprit
de Corps by Horace, by designers
Adam Entwisle and Emma Hales,
an etching of a cross-sectioned
breast exposed the structure of the
mammary glands. Meanwhile,
Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label
invitation featured the image from
her iconic “Tits” t-shirt, to highlight
the plight of the 240,000 pregnant
women and mothers of newborns in
Haiti. The designer’s charitable
initiative uses the t-shirt that
featured in the show to generate
funds for the White Ribbon
Alliance, to benefit the health needs
of women, especially in Haiti.
Seguing from breasts as a Helmut
Newton-esque fashion statement to
their actual functional purpose, in
one paragraph, is testament to the
complicated relationship we have
with mammaries. The relief is that
fitting breasts into fashion, without
either excessively exposing or
consciously concealing them, has
been deftly manipulated by certain
designers this season. Julien
Macdonald mastered the art of
“reveal and conceal” with delicate
black lace bras that supported
chiffon cocktail dresses, while
Antonio Berardi accentuated the
breasts with slashed chiffon panels
across the bust. At Felder Felder,
cropped leather bodices were
scalloped to mirror the breast’s
under-curves, and at Richard Nicoll
half a suit jacket was cut away to
show a corseted bodice. Staying
abreast of the times was never so easy.
shopping column
Compiled by Victoria Bain
Junior Style Editor, Telegraph Magazine
1. bustier, £40
Richard Nicoll for Topshop
(0845 121 4519)
2. nail lacquer in “Over
the taupe”, £9.95
O.P.I at Liberty (020 7734 1234)
3. Trench coat, £140
Per Una at M&S (0845 609 0200)
4. rope necklace, £55
Gabriel & Schwan (notjustalabel.com)
5. slip in super high clogs, £129
Swedish Hasbeens
(swedishhasbeens.com)
Loopy for
Lupfer
Report by David Hayes
The secret to happiness? Ask Markus
Lupfer. “No more dramas!” said the
German-born designer, before his
presentation in the Portico Rooms
at Somerset House yesterday. “At
the end of 2003, it was all getting
too much, so I thought, “What do I
put lounge wear
with heels and go
out looking hot!
really want to do?” Now it’s all about
the shops, not the shows, and we
have built up a really nice business.”
Markus’s mainly monochrome
collection – apart from his signature
bright-red lip motif, picked out in
sequins on both the clothes and a
huge showroom set piece – included
lots of those cute sequin sweaters
(“just like updated sweatshirts”),
ankle-length marl skirts, fine plaid
jackets and luxe cape-style coats.
“Ninety per cent of what we do is
stretch,” said Lupfer. “I love the idea
of lounge wear you can feel comfy in
at home, then put with a pair of
killer heels and go out looking hot!”
See Markus Lupfer’s studio on The
LFW Daily blog at lfwdaily.com
rubbish
www.lfwdaily.com
fashion anagram
Polite Potter
fashionable fun
& games
brought to you
by pop-up publication
rubbish magazine
news flash:
REVERSY PERCY
LOVEs
PAOLO ROVERSI
For today’s answers go to
www.lfwdaily.com
Percy Pig, the fashion snack for
the fashion pack, has been spotted
on site at LFW with his new
squeeze, Reversy Percy. Not
launching until April, the rumour
is the latest addition to the M&S
food hall is a big fan of fashion
photographer Paolo Roversi’s
work. “I love his soft-focus
approach,” oinked the pint-sized
squeaker. “It’s so kind on the hips.
I’m hoping he’ll take my portrait
for the next sweet packet.”
Squeals of excitement all round…
fashionable crossword
compiled by George Ryan, in tribute to Pringle of scotland
which showed last night at 7.30pm
7
COMING SOON
Maison Martin
Margiela ‘20’
The Exhibition
At Somerset House
Save the date
3 June – 5 September 2010
somersethouse.org.uk
crossword clues
ACROSS
3—A fine, natural wool obtained
from goats
6—Original location of Pringle factory
in the Scottish borders
7—Keeps you warm
8—Sporty two-piece cardigan worn by
women in the thirties
9—Name of street where the Pringle
Store is found in SW1
10—A sweater with bounce
12—Family name of Hong Kong-based
owners of Pringle
13—Diagonal checkerboard arrangement
15—surname of the face of Pringle’s
s/s 10 advertising campaign
DOWN
guess the label
squiggle heads CREATED EXCLUSIVELY FOR RUBBISH
BY ANTHONY ZINONOS
Give us a clue? Popular with girl wizards
it’s a man’s world
By snapping up some of the hottest names in
British menswear, ASOS.com is revolutionising
the world of online men’s fashion
Of the 14 or so designers showing
tomorrow as part of menswear
day at London Fashion Week, Tim
Soar, Carolyn Massey, James Long
and b Store are considered to be
among some of the most exciting
labels currently rocking the world
of British menswear.
“These collections epitomise all
that is great about our homegrown
fashion designers,” says Adam
Jagger, ASOS.com’s Premium
Menswear Buyer, of the four names
whose S/S 10 collections will be
available at the e-retailer from
late February and early March.
“This is our way of promoting local
talent and living up to our promise
of offering customers the latest,
hottest fashion.”
Not satisfied with providing
a platform for mass and premium
brands (French Connection, Gap,
Acne and Wyred), an inspiring
edit of popular trends (Swedish
Tim Soar
Age: old enough to know better
S/S 10 inspiration: British
knitwear company Corgi and
modern sporty tailoring
Signature: sportswear-influenced
minimalism with an emphasis
on state-of-the-art and unusual
fabrications
Fashion motto: know your own style Available from late February
denim, polished grunge) and glut of
innovative design labels (Opening
Ceremony, Raf by Raf Simons,
Alexander McQueen), ASOS.com’s
continuing investment in the likes
of Soar, Massey, b Store and Long
represents the e-retailer shoring
up its commitment to showcasing
cutting-edge fashion talent, too.
What’s more, in backing such
diverse fashion talents, ASOS.com
is helping democratise fashion by
making these niche labels (normally
only available in a handful of hip
boutiques) available nationally
and internationally. “Where other
retailers shy away from new names
and faces, we believe in supporting
key talent,” Jagger says. “As such, we
want to introduce our customers
to the new and exciting collections
that are innovating the face of
British fashion.” Hear, hear!
Prices from £50 to £795.
Available from ASOS.com
Carolyn Massey
Age: 28
S/S 10 inspiration: the film The
Heroes of Telemark and a camping
trip to Dungeness
Signature: super-modern
reworking of military tailoring
and quintessentially British codes
of dressing
Fashion motto: mine’s a gin & tonic
Available from late February
1—surname of the Creative Director of
Pringle, commonly referred to as Clare
2—popular crisps
4—First name of the founder of Pringle
5—North of Hadrian’s Wall where you can
buy battered Mars Bars
6—Original garments created by Pringle
11—SURname of a top golfer sponsored
by Pringle in the eighties and nineties
14—surname of the face of Pringle’s
s/s 09 advertising campaign
Yum Yum
in my tum
*
The LFW Daily editors
would like to thank the
Silver Fox Stuart Rose and
his team at M&S for
making us packed lunch,
tea and supper for the
duration of LFW
bespoke feature
b Store: aka Matthew Murphy
and Kirk Beattie
Age: 71
S/S 10 inspiration: Benjamin Braddock,
Dustin Hoffman’s character in The
Graduate, and the even less salubrious
Blank Generation, as found in the novels
of Bret Easton Ellis
Signature: stylish, modern staples that
transcend fashion
Fashion motto: b Store to the core
Available from June
James Long
Age: 29
S/S 10 inspiration: a cosmic, grunge, punk
hippy, and Oxidation by Andy Warhol
Signature: statement knits
Fashion motto: stay inquisitive and take a
chance – it’s normally worth it
Available from June