By Sara Darling

Fashion is going raving with a nod to neon.

Pack your glow sticks for SS15, as this summer’s neon trend is not going anywhere! If you missed the boat this summer (or indeed the eighties!) several designers were re-living their youth with flashes on neon suitable for Goa-n beach parties or hot long nights in the city. Fyodor Golan provided highlighter-marker stripes and ostrich feathers, whilst Christopher Raeburn and Ashish worked up multi-coloured frenzy; Lucas Nascimento proved that doubling up is not such a bad thing, with a double dose of orange- having the same mind set is Emilia Wickstead! For accessories, Sophia Webster mashed up clashing prints and rainbow textures, while Markus Lupfer journeyed to California for his super brights ‘surf dudes’ collection. Let’s hope next summer is a hot one! Neon goes so well with a suntan!

The 70s glamour puss

The 70s have dominated the men’s catwalks for the past two seasons, but now the womenswear designers are claiming the decade with my fave picks showcasing flattering flares, bold prints and glam rock platforms. Check out designers including Tom Ford who’s rock chick collection is perfect for Kate Moss or Mossy wannabes! House of Holland featured 70s loud prints on shirts, dresses and skirts in a mixture of that classic vintage curtain palette of yellow, green, red and orange. Matthew Williamson’s catwalk show at the BFC show space was stacked with 70s references: halter necks, jumpsuits and maxi dresses- perfect to embrace your inner hippy.

Denim like you’ve never seen it before

Burberry Prorsum is always a popular London show. It sets trends that become instant classics, and SS15 is no different. Creative Director Christopher Bailey wowed us all with his new denim trench coat, alongside cropped denim jackets and denim with feathers- some more practical than others!

Marques’ Almeida took inspiration from the 90s and the drama of songstress PJ Harvey by incorporating black metallic denim in part of the collection, for a grungy feel for summer. Perfect for sitting under a tree and writing poetry! Joseph on the other hand did oversized double denim. In the disused industrial show space, the loose shirts, frayed edges chunky jumpers and leather were layered up to accentuate the moody mood.

Meanwhile in Paris, Kenzo did supersize denim, with wide legged pants, midi length skirts and ¾ sleeve jackets. Perfect as separates as it becomes a little last season pyjama-party as a full look. Even Milan, the capital of sophistication, mixed denim with drummer-boy jackets and silk kimono jackets at Gucci.

 

Flower Power

With flowers never going out of fashion, somewhere across the globe designers nodded to the 60s, 70s and nineties at the shows this year, but the floral print was definitely given a 21^st century makeover.

It is never a surprise when the humble flower is on trend for the spring/summer season. After all what summarises the spring more than a blooming bulb? However, this time the floral trend is a little different, with 3D floral embellishments leading the way for SS15. Erdem featured 3D floral patterns, and House of Holland featured tops and dresses with 3D floral embellishment designs.

Paul & Joe gave us pretty florals AND stripes (two trends in one!) and Sarah Burton at McQueen showed us a collection inspired by traditional kimonos, complete with leather, buckles and graphic floral motifs. One can only hope the very enviable lace up gladiator sandals will go into production too.

On the other end of the spectrum, Viktor and Rolf showed very wearable loose floral separates, and in Milan, Marni went bold with daffodils, daisies, lilies and chrysanthemums playing a big part in the the garden party collection. Achew!! Now where did I put my hayfever tabs?

Technology Students

With designers out smarting themselves in the field of fabric development, it is great to see how engineering is fused with fashion to make some anti- sports, sportswear designs. Richard Nicoll used mesh and fibres and H by Hakaan Yildrim worked cylindrical shapes and hexagonal motif on skirts and outerwear. Marios Schwab’s collection was an architectural adventure into fitness and travel, and Preen by Thornton Bregazzi led the body con trend in scuba style fabrics and made dresses look sporty and sexy! The Whistles collection was inspired by grown up street wear, as was the new kid on the block, Nasir Mazhar who knows how to make a crop top. Alexander Wang re-interpreted sportswear with bodycon dresses, high-heeled pumps and sporty accessories- which you don’t need to wear at the gym.

Even the humble parka was brought back to life at the New York shows, with a makeover by J. Crew and Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Hugo Boss offered us a safe and completely wearable take on the polo shirt.

 

Gingham girls

Stripes and checks make for a Little House on the Prairie trend with New York leading the way. Diane von Furstenberg showcased flirty dresses perfect for the French Riviera, and bound to put a spring in your pedicured step! Oscar de la Renta is as glam as you can expect, and his checks took a large, pastel turn. Shorts suits coupled with loose oversized jackets are perfect for layering and pretty enough to see you through any weather and Lela Rose showed us that checks don’t have to look like your granny’s tablecloth in her version of the spring summer two piece! And if you need any extra assurance, check out Altuzarra- perfect for the sexy girl. The gingham silhouettes unbuttoned just enough to tantalize and a silhouette designed to flatter. Whilst the Italian powerhouse Mui Mui took us on a trip to a John Walters film with 50s inspired pencil skirts and housecoats.

In London, we did it slightly differently and Ryan Lo presented a knitted version in a sugarcoated pastel palette and Lulu Lui gave us vertical stripes – if you have the legs for it! Or spend the next five months getting those legs into check!

 

By Sara Darling