Highlights London Fashion Week SS2011

Though for years London Fashion Week was left aside a bit by the media, with the return of Burberry to the British capital that is changing. More and more brands want to show their new collections during London Fashion Week. And why shouldn’t they? London has a lot to offer and has quite a lot talent. London fashion is very hip and funky and really stands out in its own way.

Some of our favorite shows we saw in London were Matthew Williamson (who will be launching a new line soon), Burberry and Christopher Kane. We loved the colors and the special prints. We were blown away by the setting of the Erdem show and of course we’re very proud of the Dutch sisters of label Spijkers en Spijkers which is a big success in London too.

Matthew Williamson
For spring Matthew Williamson designed for a girl marooned on a desert island. The girl’s wardrobe had lots of nature-inspired shades (and prints) in it like khaki, beige and sand. The clothes, safari blouses and cargo pants, seemed perfect for the jungle as well. Yet Williamson managed to keep his collection feminine and city chic by adding corset-bodies and sheer airy fabrics.

Christopher Kane
‘Neon gets me going’, he said backstage. And we sure could see that. The Christopher Kane show was full of fluor fashion. Fashion-forward bright shades of green, pink, orange an yellow were used for more classic outfits. Like a sophisticated jacket of floral-printed lace of an Argyll-printed vest with matching top and skirt. Together with the funky prints, he introduced during the second half of the show, it felt like a very fresh new collection.

Paul Smith
We loved the Paul Smith collection, because his girls looked very tough and edgy. And even though they were wearing very manly clothes (suit jackets, blouses and ties), they looked sexy as hell. Highlight of the show were the sheer shirt dresses, the floral prints and the skirts combined with sweaters. Great styling!

Burberry
Burberry of course kicked of London fashion week with a dazzling show. The brand showed tough leather jackets combined with bright colors and tight leather pants. We would love to have every single studded jacket. And despite the staggering models in the super-high heels the show was perfection.

Peter Pilotto
Since it has become their trademark for their new collection Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos of course used digital printing. Only this time they took it to another level designing silk-screen prints and making them look three-dimensional. It looked spectacular on the lady-like dresses they’d designed. The Pilotto woman seemed to have grown up; changing her cocktail party dresses for column gowns and mid-calf skirts. Yet she’s keeping her sexiness and still feels comfortable. How wonderful.