LFW SS16 highlights: Day 4

Burberry Prorsum SS16 show at LFW

Clearly targeting a younger customer for Spring, Burberry Prorsum’s collection felt much cooler and ‘street’-er than this season’s haute bohemia. That meant an abundance of lightweight rain jackets shrugged over lace Friday night (or festival, perhaps) dresses and accessorised with monogrammed nylon rucksacks (the new monogrammed poncho) that you can order right now (click here to order).

The makeup was another cool element, with a garnet matte lip a repeat of the matte red mouth seen at Topshop Unique. Also different was a new layout; the open-ended tent centred around a circular orchestra, with Alison Moyet crooning from the midst of it, facing the spectacular Albert Memorial. Of course, hardcore fans had already seen Burberry’s collection the evening before, catalogued in detail on Snapchat. Fashion shows are increasingly as much about the full 36-degree content opportunities as the clothes, and the fun continued throughout yesterday with a realtime ‘Snapchat Story’ sponsored by Snapchat.

Burberry Prorsum SS16 - monogrammed rucksacks are the new poncho
Burberry monogrammed rucksack ss16 seen at the SS16 LFW show

Post-Burberry, it was a treat not to have to sprint for the courtesy bus to the next show, but just to slink into the ample leather seats of my VIP chauffeured car, on loan from Mercedes-Benz for the week… (shoutout to H&M for the men’s coat – the quality feels great and I love its quilted lining.)
Mercedes-Benz at LFW

As I was early for Thomas Tait, it felt like a good opportunity to re-see the Louis Vuitton Series 3 exhibition which happened to be conveniently situated slap bang next to the venue. I had seen more Snapchat action from the Vuitton party the night before, in which the red carpet arrivals had been documented with emoticons and influencer air kisses galore. On my second visit it was interesting to see how non-fashion visitors engaged with the exhibition, with phones in overdrive as you’d expect, documenting every detail. One of the rooms is surrounded by mirrors, instinctively inviting the inevitable selfie. Of course, having taken a ton of photos, you need to pause to upload all that content, so why not do it in the comfort of the charming Bistrotheque café (which I’m happy to report, did open on time). This is also where you get to choose your going home gift: a sticker or two from the vast, Insta-friendly sticker wall. There’s definitely a trend for the social-isation of culture, in which social media bait has to be incorporated into an exhibition, to maximise the visitor’s experience while spreading awareness and buzz at the same time.
Louis Vuitton Series 3 stickers

Thomas Tait is evolving confidently from his earlier androgynous silhouettes (remember the lush biker jackets and coats?). But I liked his bold ways with mixed media fabrics and long, leggy silhouettes; he has a strong, consistent point of view that’s now being polished into something quite commercial…
Thomas Tait ss16 Lfw
Thomas Tait ss16 Lfw

What would we do if Christopher Kane were to desert us for Paris? Shhh it doesn’t bear thinking about… His show was big on toothache neons and ‘chaos embroidery’, but the biggest ‘wow’ moment came from his logoed hair ties which were original and cool…
Christopher Kane ss16
Christopher Kane ss16 plastic hair ties
Christopher Kane ss16 hair ties
The LFW Daily is my essential Fashion Week reading, uncovering micro trends and insider opinions as they happen. This season the team moved their editorial ‘hub’ to the H&M PR showroom in Oxford Circus and invited me to swing by for a nose. Lots has changed since I did a season with them six years ago and now they have a bigger team and a super-slick operation. I loved the daily moodboards and fashion illustrations by Julie Verhoeven and Tanya Ling…
The Daily LFW hub
The Daily LFW hub
The Daily LFW hub
The Daily LFW hub

I’m a big fan of Peter Jensen. His off-beat muses and wearable collections are always fun without veering too far into kitsch. His SS16 muse is Shirley Kurata, an L.A stylist whose primary colour combos are celebrated in a bold cactus knit, red caps (by Bernstock & Spiers) and bright yellow accents.
Peter Jensen ss16
Peter Jensen ss16

My day ended very successfully at the Hayward Gallery lapping up Joseph’s wonderful knotty dresses and tops and a finale of pyjama-loose separates with trailing taped straps. Joseph is one of the most commercial brands to show at LFW, yet it always manages to look fresh and forward-thinking at the same time.
Joseph SS16
Joseph SS16

WORDS: Navaz Batliwalla/Disneyrollergirl
IMAGES: GPS Radar, Stylist, Disneyrollergirl, Burberry

With thanks to Mercedes-Benz