Meet Peggy

I was lucky to have made it to the Kinder Aggugini show this season in London. They had chosen a beautiful yet reduced venue, which was crammed. Luckily for me, I found a friend who couldn't make it to the show and I was happy again. Kinder is one of my favourite designers showing in London because I always love how he manages to create refined collections that still transpire his rebelliousness. For fw11 he said to be inspired by early 50's French fashion and Japanese designers of the 80's. As a result the collection made a point of juxtaposing from-hugging garments with sculptured jackets and coats, which created very interesting silhouettes. My favourite item was a cashmere mix coat dyed in a type of yellow degradé that seemed almost unfinished and had details, such as the gathered neck and the drawstring, which reminded me of sportswear or parkas.

As he did last season, Kinder commissioned hats from the genius Stephen Jones. This time they were sort of mini versions of top and fedora hats made of red, blue and green plastic and accompanied by veils. Once again, a great fusion of traditional and contemporary style (or "the fictitious marriage of Coco Chanel and Sid Vicious", as he described himself). There was also a rather elegant punk reference throughout most of the show, which, again, contrasted with the sparkly heels cuffed at the ankle that might have easily belonged to Dorothy.

I'm off.

[Pictures: soVIPzone, Style.com]

London's strongest new-comer

On Tuesday night I was one of the lucky few to attend the Thomas Tait fw11 show. And I mean lucky not only because I was invited but because I got to see closely a great designer in the making and his creations. In a charming hidden away venue in the heart of London the Canadian designer, who recently finished his MA at Central Saint Martins was won this year's Dorchester Prize, showed a collection that was as minimalist in cut as it was intricate in cut. It is said of Tait that he doesn't use shortcuts to make real his vision. Instead, he spends long periods of time focusing on impeccable pattern cutting. This showed in the architectural shapes of skirts, which combined folded wool and pleated silk, and the coats that filled the attendee's mouths after the show. I was also particularly taken away by the backless night gowns, which revealed a pleated trail so dynamic it seemed to have life of its own, and the shoes —suede slippers and ankle boots and minimal leather stilettos cuffed at the ankle.

I couldn't help but to think of Napoleonic clothing. Tait seemed to have taken 18th century France as inspiration and approached it from an avant-garde tailoring point of view. The colour palette reminded me of Céline's hit FW11 collection, as Tait restricted himself to black, navy blue, ivory and white.
Have a look at my video of the finale below. The clothes are even more stunning in movement. (And, for a spot of fun, have a look at the pictures on Style.com, I am in the background on the left!)

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

Burberry Prorsum fw11

It is probably fair to say that Burberry's show during each London Fashion Week is the highlight of the event. That's not to say everyone else isn't as good but no show is as big and covered as Burberry Prorsum. For fw11 Christopher Bailey chose a new venue in Kensington Gardens. If you attended or watched the show online you were probably as amazed as I was with how beautiful the park looked even on a grey rainy day. To compensate for this Burberry delivered a collection mostly based on coats. Bailey has clearly realised the power he acquired over outerwear when he became the king of shearling and he's not going to let go easily. This time he reinterpreted the trench in thick woollen fabrics and and bold shades of orange and cherry red as well as the brand's iconic checks. The collection was very much in line with the menswear shown in Milan a month ago . We also saw exquisite white jackets and coats covered in rabbit fur and tied to at the waist with leather bows. It was a softer more gentle collection than last winter's yet it retained that feeling of empowerment that wearing a Burberry coat gives.

As it could be expected, plenty of celebrities turned up to watch the show from the incredibly long front row. I was, of course, thrilled to see Rachel Bilson and Kate Bosworth arrive. I wasn't too keen on Bilson's long Burberry anorak for the event but she'll have to be excused, for she lives in ever-sunny LA. Bosworth, on the other hand, casually strolled in and posed for pictures in an unbelievable gold studded pencil skirt accompanied by that biker jacket we all want watching the colour of the skirt. She was, as I see it, the best dressed of the event. Even outdoing Lily Donaldson and Alexa Chung. The last attendee to report was, of course, Anna Wintour. Being a Brit at heart, she could hardly miss this!

I'm off.

[Pictures: Courtesy of Buberry]

LFW fw11: Print Heaven

It makes me excited to see so many good collections being talked, blogged and tweeted about. London has been reclaiming its place in fashion ever since the return of Burberry and it seems to me that this season is making clear the city's got its place back. Jonathan Saunders was probably the one collection I was most disappointed not to have tickets to. His fw11 line was all about contrasting the traditional and the innovative. The classic prints were remade into cool and exciting graphic motifs for the silk skirts and shirts, which came in bold combinations of tangerine, turquoise and neon green. I loved how the two combined made the classic pencil skirts and blouses dynamic and fresh. Saunders also introduced menswear this season, which was also very much talked about. Read more about that soon on Fashion, Frankly.

And it seems prints are the trend in London. Also on Saturday, Clements Ribeiro showed their extremely interesting take on prints. The design duo, who, if you care for some gossip, are also a couple in real life, focused on the fusion of prints rather than on the variety. I found very intriguing how they managed to create a kind of degradé between a leopard and a more traditional brocade pattern and then back to leopard again, all of it trimmed with ultramarine blue silk. I love how designers are starting to use technology more and more to create new ways of doing print. And I loved how Clements Ribeiro made a point out of their prints, leaving their clothes in a slightly secondary role.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

LFW day 1: Paul Costelloe

On Friday morning I rose early to attend the Paul Costelloe show, which opened the fw11 season in London. The strong 70's influence was combined with heritage elements of British clothing the likes of tweed and checked wools. These were coloured in bright metallic greens and pinks as well as the odd mustard, orange and gold. Costelloe's was a very playful collection that fit right into the city's fashion sense and opened way for a week of exciting shows.
Have a look at the whole collection here.

I'm off.