The Autumn/Winter 2014 season of London Fashion Week opened with incessant showers, reminding us that looking chic is often impossible in the unforgiving British weather.
Towards the end of the week, however we were graced with blue skies and the large numbers of international press who were visiting London en route to Milan, were fully able to appreciate our home grown fashion scene.
This was a brilliant week for British designers as London Fashion Week cemented its position as a creative hub on the world stage. The excitement and breadth of creativity found here casts LFW as the playful counterpart to its more regimented peers in New York, Milan and Paris.
Highlights included big hitters Christopher Kane and Tom Ford who both exuded the confidence that comes with critical acclaim, safe in the knowledge that their take on new season trends would be widely accepted by the fashion elite (only Tom Ford could make sequin embellished American football tops look cool).
Christopher Bailey's swirling watercolours for Burberry, on the other hand, received mixed reactions. So too did Zoe Jordan's motor racing inspired collection emblazoned with 'Team Jordan' logos across a series of biker jackets. A theme that seemed an all too easy reference to her family racing connections.
Peter Pilotto were more adventurous with an exciting update of their signature bright prints via a collection of optical illusions. These designs required much closer inspection than a glance on the catwalk allowed. Having just snapped up a couple of bargains from their budget collaboration with Target, I'm quickly becoming a fan of this must-have fashion brand.
On the luxe casualwear front, everyone wanted to dress like the Pringle girl in those incredibly wearable monochrome shades with a cheeky colour pop of bright orange. The Scottish knitwear brand design the most cosy, snuggly knitwear known to man and pair their layered cardigans with slouchy trousers that most women would very happily mooch about in. The 3D printing was a very pleasant surprise from a heritage brand that continues, under the guidance of Creative Director Massimo Nicosia, to move in a very modern direction.
It was the week when American Vogue editor Anna Wintour got stuck in Newcastle when her flight from New York was forced to land off course due to turbulent winds (her one and only trip to the city I expect!), that model of the moment Cara Delevigne revealed her debut handbag line for Mulberry, when Bradley Cooper (fresh from the BAFTAS) was spotted on the FROW at Burberry supporting his new beau Suki Waterhouse and rising stars Sophia Webster and Eudon Choi triumphed alongside more established heritage brands.
Stand out trends winging their way to your wardrobes later in the year include geometric shapes (think Christopher Kane, Roksanda Ilincic and Jonathan Saunders), royal blue again was a major colour trend at both London and New York Fashion Week and metallics as seen at Daks and Holly Fulton amongst others.
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