Day 2 at London Fashion Week and the madness is only beginning. Here are a few highlights from the mania of Saturday:
Daks
The packed Daks show which started the day seemed to be put together in two
distinct parts: silky whites and tough blacks, only separated by a few dashes
of mustard and touches of the Daks signature check here and there. It seems
that with Spring/Summer 13 we may have a season unfortunately void of colour as
monochrome emerges as a key trend, and although this might sound depressing, it
rather serves to give power to the importance of shape and cut. Daks SS13 collection
oozed fluidity and sophisticated minimalism, beginning with a selection of
beautiful white dresses which use layering techniques to marry silky fabrics
with more crisp ones. Many of the pieces also featured cross-hatching surface
techniques which were apparently inspired by abstract expressionist art. One of
my highlights of the show was definitely the orange-brown shorts/shirt combo,
which added to the 70’s feel of the collection. This same separates look was
replicated in the black second half of the show which also featured lots of
billowing oversized bottoms on trousers and jumpsuits. It was interesting to
see the AW12 key trend of leather carried into the realms of Spring/Summer, as
the show closed with black and brown sleeveless tops and pencil skirts. The
star of the show, however, was without a doubt the cape coat in their trademark
check – uh-may-zing! (see below).
House of Holland
For a much more upbeat, youthful and vibrant show, turn your
attention to the magnificent House of Holland. Ever since Henry Holland emerged
as thedesigner best friend of super-cool
supermodel Agyness Deyn, House of Holland has been the hipster go-to brand for
every young London fashionista out there. So it wasn’t a surprise to see Alexa
Chung, Pixie Geldof, Nicola Roberts and Kelly Osbourne in the front row for
yesterday’s show. With metallics, crazy tie-dyes, dip-dyes, checkerboard prints
and florals, what more could you possibly want from a show? The collection
began in a more subtle palette of autumnal maroons and greens and somehow quite
smoothly moved into a set of very in-your-face hippy tie-dyes of blues and pinks on a bright
yellow base in which you can definitely see the 90’s inspiration. In terms of
shapes, Henry seems to have covered it all as well, with maxi dresses, midi
dresses, two-piece suits, crop tops, mini-skirts and stick-to-the-skin tight trousers.
My favourite piece has to be the tie-dye printed shirt, but then again I am
always a sucker for the shirts!
Issa London
In the evening with Issa London it was all about maximum
lengths, in an amazing collection of maxi-dresses, jumpsuits and kimono shaped
two-pieces. This was a show that, like Daks, can be split into two main
distinct categories, although they weren’t presented chronologically so this
time: tropical prints vs. block colours. The prints are to-die-for, with some
interesting toucan/rainforest designs which remind me of the illustrations in some
of my old children’s books, moving into to leaf prints in a range of pink hues
and an absolutely gorgeous deep green one, and then some very busy oriental –looking
floral designs. The block colour dresses are all brilliantly bright coloured
jersey maxi dresses, most of which featuring knot-detail halter-necks for a
beachy vibe, whilst some of the others instead display a revealing plunge-neck
shape. The emerging monochrome trend makes a slight appearance mid-way through
the show with a few more maxi-dresses and a quite stunning all-white jumpsuit –
but for me this show was all about the prints.
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