Meadham Kirchhoff FW12: Interplanetary psychedelia
Style.com

The FW12 Meadham Kirchhoff was the best way to close the last London Fashion Week. Even though I was a Meadham virgin I have never felt as relaxed at a runway show. Most of the attendees looked really wacky and cool. They greeted each other and just did their thing – a refreshing attitude.
After what I had seen in pictures from previous seasons I was quite surprised by how wearable a lot of the pieces were. The lace shirts with oversize round collars, a denim jacket, jumpers and jeans were cute and quirky, perfect for every day. Some of my favourites were the tartan dress with the sequin corset or the metallic leopard print quilted skirt. I was also pretty fascinated with the fur coats, which played with a monster theme that together with 60's disco brought us to an extraterrestrial world where fashionable aliens danced to Abba.
The finale motivated a huge applause that the models accompanied with glitter while they walked backstage dragging the psychedelic fur boas to return to their home planet.

You can see the rest of the collection here and check out my video of the finale below.

Mary Katrantzou FW12 & the No. HB Pencil skirt
Style.com, Courtesy of Swarovski

It is incredible how much hype there was around the Mary Katrantzou this season. The show, which had that tricky 9am start toward the end of London Fashion Week, had everyone queuing for coffees at the Top Shop venue well before the show. Everyone from Anna Wintour to Alexa Chung took to their seats with plenty of time to pose for their front row pictures.
The FW12 collection did not disappoint. Despite being the season of paplums, Katrantzou's expertise, the designer stayed away from her signature shapes to try new less rigid ones. We saw a lot of chiffon – the mini dresses with the flowing trail were a highlight – and once again the prints and embroidery, which is becoming more and more prominently integrated in them stole the show.
My absolute favourite piece was the HB pencil dress. I just loved how the pencils had been manipulated and how by playing with their colours it seemed only logical that the skirt finished with a ruffle. There were also clock prints, typewriter keys, telephones and cutlery. But everything so beautifully digitally put together that you would only realise after looking closely.

Take a look at my video of the finale below.

Giles FW12: Anna Karenina on Fire
Know Wear, Style.com

I am taking my time posting about the FW12 collections I saw in London because I don't like rushing all the posts in a short week. This also gives me more time to think about the things that I liked.
It was amazing to me to see the evolution of Giles' brand from young and playful to ultra sophisticated. To me the whole vibe of the FW12 collection was very Anna Karenina – someone please make Keira Knightley wear one of these to the premiere! – or even the decadence and downfall of the Tzars. My favourite part were the white chiffon dresses, which had a burn effect the designer had created by using layers and Swarovski crystals. Some of these numbers also included feathers in the same colour palette that, when in movement, did actually look like they were on fire. There was something ominously beautiful about the whole collection – as if a princess had run away from her castle in flames.
I was most impressed by the craftsmanship. From the effects on the chiffon to the similar ones on the satin blazers (can I have a menswear version?) to the thorn crown detailing on an mustard evening dress the collection was like an exquisite exercise of arts & crafts.

Click below on read more to see more detail shots.

Roksanda Ilincic FW12: "Cozy Luxury"
Style.com

One of the best feelings to have during a fashion show is surprise. There is nothing better than sitting in a room not knowing exactly what you're about to see. If the surprise is a good one you've got a winner. This is exactly what happened to me last September when I attended Roksanda Ilincic's SS12 show. I was completely in awe for its duration and even now can say it was my favourite show of the season.
So it goes without saying that I couldn't wait to see Roksanda's FW12 collection last February during London Fashion Week. I had great expectations, which can make the surprise go either way, Luckily the collection was another hit –ultra sophisticated and a breath of fresh air.
My favourite thing about it were the sportswear details like draw strings, hoods and sweatshirt necklines incorporated in luxurious evening astrakhan dresses with fur hemlines or exquisitely tailored tweed coats. And the women around me seemed to agree with me.
They were also very wearable clothes –something that Stephanie LaCava proved not only once but twice. The cocktail dresses with gathered details were perfect for work, a dinner or a party and the coats and jackets (the blue astrakhan bowler was a highlight) were just as versatile.
And to top it all off the music was simply perfect to accompany a stunning show.

The Best Music Tracks from London Fashion Week

Courtesy of Burberry, Style.com

*Listen to the songs by clicking on the different iPods.

Even though London Fashion Week is over and we're onto Milan I feel like it always takes me another week to properly digest everything I've seen at the shoes. Including the music. If you talked to my flatmate he could tell you I have been repeatedly streaming the same part of the Burberry show just to listen to "this song I loved". I could not, for the life of me, figure out who was it by. The same happened with another two tracks – one from Acne and one from Roksanda Ilincic. Thank God for mobile phone apps that can recognise songs! They have saved me a whole lot of effort.
Needless to say, I bought the songs off iTunes as soon as I made sure that I had got them right. My absolute favourite, 'Numb' by Marina & The Diamonds, just gives me goose bumps. I guess it's a combination of how good the song is and the memory of the velvets and rich colours from the Burberry Prorsum show.
'Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)' by The Shangri-Las, from the Roksanda Ilincic finale, really makes me want to dance and brings back the luxe sportswear and exquisite coats from the collection.
And from the Acne finale,  'Blue Monday 1988' by New Order, which even creative director Johnny Johansson could not resist shaking it to as he took a bow.

Burberry Prorsum FW12: Christopher Bailey at his best
Courtesy of Burberry

The Burberry Prorsum winter collections are always more exciting than spring because outerwear is the brand's strength. I knew after seeing the menswear collection in Milan last January that the new womenswear line was going to be particularly exciting.
Burberry had set once again their staple see-through tent in the middle of the beautiful Kensington Gardens where they held over a thousands guests (!) including front row regulars like Mario Testino and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and, my favourite, Kate Bosworth – post coming up.
The show opened with some of the signature Burberry styles we have seen in the past but soon became a spectacular display of colour, shape and texture, which was very interesting for Burberry and took it back to its roots after the summer trip to Africa. There were much fewer reinterpretations of the trench coat for FW12. Instead we saw the reinvention of more utilitarian pieces like the Barbour jacket or the down jacket that were cropped, more fitted and made in richer materials and with more attention to detail. My favourite was probably the bolero Barbour number Jourdan Dunn walked down the runway.

As I had mentioned after looking at the Pre-Fall 2012 collection I was expecting a lot more evening and cocktail wear this season. Burberry has been doing a lot of custom-made gowns  – most notably Adele's latest elegant hits – for the last few months and it seemed only logical to add some options to the catwalk.
Bailey didn't quite get into gowns just yet but he did delivered a handful of knock-out cocktail pieces like a burgundy printed number or an über-sexy fringed dress with stripe details.
My other favourite bit from the collection were the skirts. Burberry has also become well known for their pencil skirts, which are the best way to accompany their trench coats. After their stripy hits for SS12 Bailey has turned to earthy-coloured tweeds with the most beautiful zig-zag ruffle details at the front. But there were also a lot of peplums. Whether as attachments to coats or at their more traditional use on skirts they were also stunning and looked great with the cute velvet bow belts that tied the collection together.
If you haven't yet take a look at the entire collection because there is not a single item that should be missed. Pay special attention to the accessories – studded and snakeskin gloves, velvet and leather belts, new bags, iPad covers... and, my absolute favourite, the umbrellas that so beautifully closed the show. Click here to see the full video of the collection.

Courtesy of Burberry

What Stephanie LaCava wore: LFW Day 4
KnowWear

Yesterday was a super crazy day in terms of shows, which is why I could not manage a post until today and why I unfortunately missed miss LaCava in the fashion mayhem that is the Burberry exodus. So I could not snap her fabulous outfit.
Gladly, we caught up today at Mary Katrantzou and later at Roksanda Ilincic (another two posts coming...) where she honoured the latter by sporting one of the tops from the SS12 collection that we saw together 6 months ago at the same venue.
Her hair was looking even more fantastic than normal and she had paired the bell-sleeved Roksanda top with a pair of Rag & Bone jeans that fitted her like a glove and her incredible pair of Ann Demeulemeester boots.
It was also sad to say goodbye to her but her Paris outfits, I am sure, will more than make up for it.


Stay tuned for all the London updates – it's so hard to keep up blog-wise as it takes quite a bit of time to edit the images for every post. But I will work my hardest to get everything live in the next couple of days!

London Fashion Week: Acne FW12
Style.com

Yesterday night I attended the Acne FW12 show in London. I had brimming with excitement because not only it was the only show I was seeing on Sunday but it was also the first time I got to see Acne live on the catwalk.
I was firstly impressed by the size of the venue, a massive warehous-y space with chunky cement columns. It seemed like the intimate shows they used to hold in London are no longer possible because the brand's become super popular and everyone wants to be there – everyone from Emmanuelle Alt and Yasmin Sewell to Taylor Tomasi Hill and Garance Doré were there.

The collection, which the models walked down to an intoxicating electronic beat, didn't disappoint. I have always regarded Acne as mainly a shape-focused brand much in the line of a young and more commercial Margiela. But this time it looked like it was just as much about colour and fabrics. The collection kept me wondering over and over again which material was this or that. Especially with the leathers, I just couldn't figure out it it was real or pleather. My absolute favourite pieces were the fluffy emerald pencil skirt and the daring orange coat.

The shoes were my other highlight. There were more models that I can account for –military suede ankle boots, strappy sandals, utilitarian flats... And all to die for!

Watch the Burberry Prorsum FW12 Show live today at 4pm (GMT)

What Stephanie LaCava wore – LFW Day 2
KnowWear

Last night I attended the (amazing!) Acne show at the end of the day, which I will be posting about soon. And once again I was lucky enough to run into Stephanie LaCava. You should have seen the crowd, running into someone you knew wasn't that easy. So I was very lucky!
Stephanie was looking über cool in a really chunky cropped knit jumper from Balenciaga, which she paired with a plain J. Crew white tee and these sexy leather Bottega Veneta trousers. But, for me, the key of the outfit were the accessories – one of Burberry Prorsum's SS12 raffia hats from the menswear collection and, my favourite, a pair of Aquazzura pumps. If you look closely enough you'll see that the stunning leather stilettos have a thin golden chain that wraps around the ankle twice.



Today I'm attending Antonio Berardi and Burberry Prorsum – So excited! So make sure to keep checking back for updates!

What Stephanie LaCava wore - LFW Day 1
Know Wear

Even though London Fashion Week kicked off I count today as day 1 because my dear Stephanie LaCava just touched down! We had a lot of catching up to do because we hadn't seen each other since September.

Last season I tried to do a little photo diary of what Stephanie wore everyday but we ended up having a ridiculously hectic few days so we kept forgetting. Hopefully this time around we get around to it. So far so good. Today I snapped her outside one of her first appointments in London dressed up in one of her famous chic ensembles.

She is wearing a khaki Thakoon jumpsuit gathered at the waist – you should see how amazingly it fits her –, a Jil Sander coat, Ann Demeulemeester boots and the greatest Maison Michel hat!

Show-wise, I am keeping things simple this season because I don't seem to be in a crazy fashion week mood. But I am covering a few really good shows I'm super excited about starting with Acne this evening. So stay tuned for updates on LFW!