The second day of the Collections got off to an early start with Burberry at 08.30 and classicists Nicole Farhi and Margaret Howell both opening shop close to their respective W1 HQs. Farhi’s presentation invited the audience in to the shooting of their AW lookbook, white paper sets providing the perfect backdrop for photos of supermodel Clement Chabernaud as pro photographers jostled for position against a tide of Blackberry and iPhone wielding editors. Building on a reputation for quality separates, the palette at Farhi was built on soft reds, in textured knitwear and tactile outerwear. Also of note at Farhi was the pooping pug who’s own ‘production’ was widely Tweeted about and even reported by TimeOut.
Back at the Sorting Office, YMC nailed the zeitgeist with a collection explicitly referencing Post Punk whilst creating an instant trend with their countercultural berets.
Jonathan Saunders is much loved amongst the industry for his panache with colour and texture and his boucle coat is another item destined for editors’ wishlists as early Christmas presents.
Christopher Shannon stepped away from his fascination with lads in tracksuits to include a more mature collection, featuring zip-off sleeves and a one-eyed Sponge Bob print. Editors then had to leg it (or at least gambol) to reach Martine Rose’s presentation. Rose always pushes the avant-garde button at LC:M and this time she created an unsettlingly strange vision, as be-wigged models prowled around a set involving real furniture and a revolving podium. Inspired by notions of sovereignty and self-defined status, the stand out pieces included some beautiful draped trousers and bondage pants in heavy wools. Her signature twists on form saw deconstructed denim, parkas and the use of pub beer towels as emblematic subcultural signifiers.
Haute shoemaker Mr Hare, fresh off a plane from the Caribbean, presented a collection featuring iridescent space-age trainer-shoe hybrids, creating a whole new language for luxury shoes.
Oliver Spencer’s show, as ever, was all about the diverse casting and the use of celebrity models. A bearded Rick Edwards looked appropriately suave on the runway but didn’t draw attention away from the horizontally striped suiting.
Sibling are renowned at once for their boldness, their artistic tendencies and for the sheer power of their contacts book. Styled once again by Katie Grand, the show was packed with industry icons from Judy Blame and Princess Julia, to Anna Trevelyan and Anna Del Russo and created one of the biggest buzzes of the whole week. Highlights included a variation of their punky Fair Isle knits in soft candy pastels.
Having created the atmosphere of a raucous club, Sibling’s crowd then teetered off to catch James Long’s show that ended at a suitably social 8.30pm. Known for creating rich, textured surfaces, worthy of The Tudors, Long’s collection had a core colour base of luxurious browns and gold, and his embellished sweaters (one featuring Divine’s face) is likely to launch a trend for subcultural icons on knitwear.
Featured image by Eva K Salvi
