SS'12 (2) Fabulous London Fashion Week

I really am terribly behind with these posts, bear with me! Here are my choices from LFW - by choices I mean things that I would gladly wear from day to day, or bizarre outfits that somehow appeal to my inner madwoman (the one that would love to do her supermarket shop in a tartan three-piece suit)

Richard Nicoll; Burberry Prorsum

It seems block colours is still present on the catwalk, but the idea has shifted from solid colours on solid fabrics to easier-to-wear shades on chiffons and sheer materials. It's nice to see that pleat skirts made a reappearance at Burberry, while the Saturn-like rings at Richard Nicoll seem apt in the year of the Olympics...

Acne; Clements Ribiero; Christopher Kane; Clements Ribiero

Far more common than colour blocking was the introduction of prints at LFW. Here, designers have taken inspiration from nature, with tie-dye, flowers, shells all present (and CR on the far-right arranging his pattern in an interpretation of snake print). Yet these prints are far from soft and girly, the top and trousers suggests an androgynous defiance, and the slip of thigh at Christopher Kane references the sexuality of the miniskirt.

Kinder Aggugini; Ann-Sofie Back Atelje; Richard Nicoll

Texture and structuralism was again brought into play, with velvet, silk, sheer, leather and complex tailoring. Ann-Sofie Back Atelje was an incredibly exciting show, and on a personal note I would happily walk out the house in that Nicoll outfit! 

Jonathan Saunders, House of Holland, Paul Smith

Pastels carried on from NYFW, and were heavily plugged by both Saunders and Henry Holland. This blue and yellow midi dress seems like the most perfect ray of sunshine to complement a summer's day, practical enough for England's unpredictable weather yet cooling in the heat of the Mediterranean. I always love the variations on tartan that Holland comes up with, and the playful use of grunge mesh in a preppy polo top is genious. Paul Smith is always a favourite of mine, I find his clothes to die for: masculine yet impeccably tailored to complement the female body.

Temperley London, Giles, Meadham Kirchhoff, Mary Katrantzou

Lastly, enter my inner madwoman. This kimono-style two-piece from Temperley, complete with turban and sunnies, is extravagant and inspiring. Think Gloria Swanson from Sunset Boulevard (not Hailee Steinfeld for Miu Miu). If I was going to be on the red carpet any time soon, I would wear this from Giles-especially if I was Natalie Portman winning an Oscar for Black Swan! By the way, I bet you anything that swans and swan-related items will feature heavily on the high street in the coming months. This outfit by Meadham Kirchhoff is brilliant: part Tudor courtier, part '20s flapper, part burlesque star, part schoolgirl, part old cushion cover, every bit extraordinary. And I raved about my love for Mary Katrantzou in my first ever post, and I still love her crazy prints that really shouldn't work but somehow totally do!

photos from style.com

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