LFW SEPTEMBER ’15: DAY (3) SS15
Mulberry SS15
The second collection since the departure of its former creative director Emma Hill, Mulberry’s theme for this year was the English garden. The prints were inspired by delphinium, cow parsley and cornflower, making the pallet of the show rather subdue. Accentuated with leather, the collection seemed commercial with the design team clearly having their customer in mind and taking the words of “Ready to wear” to heart. The pieces were pretty and wearable though the overall impression was rather prim with a luxury feel.
Recently the brand seems to have been banking on the pull of celebrities, with Cara Delevigne designing a range of bags, a move away from previous Mulberrydarling Alexa Chung. And while the move to it girl Delevgine was certainly a logical one, it remains unclear whether this has really helped the brand move forward. It is easy to imagine someone like Kate Middleton in the new collection, however with Mulberry’s ever increasing prices one cannot help but wonder whether they are moving further and further away from their original customer. The Mulberry woman has certainly undergone a kind of transformation and it will be interesting to see how the brand develops once a new creative director has been appointed.
Richard Nicholl
Nicholl’s latest collection opened with a slip dress illuminated by fibre optics, which was an interesting start to what felt like an elevated sportswear collection infused with some casual dresses that could double as eveningwear for the right woman. Greys, whites, duck egg blue tones, a few blush pink tones and lots of metallic further pushed the sportswear aspects of the collection before moving into navy and blacks for the more elegant looks of the show. Transparency played a major role with Nicholl for SS15, which lend for a certain airiness to the collection. The evening wear Nicholl showed us this season was beautiful and had a simple elegance about them, which worked well with the more day-centric looks at the beginning of the show.
Overall, the collection had a wonderful range of pieces and Nicholl managed to dress his woman from day to night, somehow always making her look chic. SS15 felt very much in Nicholls’s comfort zone in terms of his choice of colours and cut, however the use of metallic was certainly a step forward for the designer. His ability to give us beautifully crafted and sharp tailoring never fails to make us smile.
Marios Schwab
Greco-Austrian Central St Martins MA graduate Marios Schwab is famed for his seductive little dresses featuring sheer fabric panels and form fitting shapes. His SS15 collection certainly featured his trademark dress but also easy tailored separates that epitomised summer in the city. Trench coats, sleeveless jackets, loose shift dresses and asymmetric hems in block colours of beige, white, teal and blue sat alongside monochrome blurred prints and cut out shirts to create a fresh and highly wearable collection.
Spaghetti strap dresses were layered over asymmetric long skirts, crop jackets with long coat tails and simple sheath strapless dresses with tie fastenings gave a stripped back look. The statement sheer gowns were still there, featuring heavily embroidered graphic panels, vibrant colour pops and metallic detailing but were an elegant feature alongside the tailored pieces.
Matthew Williamson
With a collection going back to the brand’s roots, the Spring Summer 2015 show from Matthew Williamson heavily featured floral prints, a bold colour palette, flowing gowns and sumptuous fabrics.
Inspired by photographs of Marie Helvin in David Bailey’s book Chasing Rainbows, the collection was reminiscent of 1970’s Palm Springs. Lounge suits sat amongst flowing gowns, shirt dresses alongside long sleeved cocktail dresses, silk shirts paired with sheer lace skirts and flirty crop tops with asymmetric hem mini skirts, creating elegant silhouettes.
Heavily embellished dresses featured shimmering sequins, vibrant embroidered hibiscus flowers, billowing fabric and luxe ostrich feather trims. A striking colour palette of oxblood, coral, teal, emerald green, sky blue and neon pops had the Matthew Williamson DNA all over it, proving to be a gorgeous, cohesive collection which will likely feature heavily across magazine covers next season.
Temperley
For SS15 Alice Temperley from Temperley London really stepped away from what the brand was previously known for, namely evening wear, and showed us a range of beautifully tailored separates and dresses. This is the second collection for Temperley since she fused her two brands (Temperley and Alice byTemperley) about a year ago and the designer’s collection certainly combines her two previous women seamlessly. Temperley’s woman does seem to enjoy power dressing with an androgynous edge, as we saw a range of suits in different colours ranging from grey to ivory tones and made out of various different fabrics come down the runway.
The inspiration for the newest collection, Temperley revealed in the supporting statement, came from the Japanses shunga paintings. This came to light in airy kimono jackets in intricate yet bold prints as well as the stencilled out layers visible under some of the jackets. The collection has a certain carefree, airy youthfulness to it, which made the collection feel like a breeze of fresh air for our summer wardrobes. The Temperley woman is certainly a sharp and confident dresser who likes to look glamorous without trying too hard. The sharp tailoring and attention to details in the collection were proof of that.
– Deborah Ajia
Jonathan Saunders
The first thought that came to mind when looking at the opening pieces ofJonathan Saunders’ newest collection was “Matisse”. His opening coat and trousers were adorned with cut-out pieces of leaves and bows which certainly set the tone for the rest of the collection by moving from much darker colours to a much more light palette as the show progressed.
Set to the rather eerie soundtrack of Under the skin Saunders’ woman was wearing a mix of no-nonsense pieces to much more abstract pieces later in the show, keeping the leaf inspiration throughout. The colours Saunders presented us with were quite traditional summer colours of tan tones, white and blues in different shades. And while many pieces reflected a certain masculinity, the tailored trousers and jackets, managed to keep a feminine aspect to them which Saunders expressed through the use of oversized bows and ruffles.
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