London Fashion Week ss11 -Day 3 highlights
*Mary Katranzou’s interior prints. I missed the show but saw everything up close on the stands. This young designer continues to raise the bar in her collections. Each one is better than the one before.
*Front row at Michael van der Ham. Sometimes you can time your arrival just so that a spare front row seat needs filling and you’re the nearest person to do it. I used my vantage point to eyeball Michael van der Ham’s acid-pastel hued shoes and crystal-adorned clutch bags up close. I love his colour palettes. For ss11, he’s pushing acid yellow, dove grey, cobalt blue and a medley of pinks. Having gained a following for his pieced-together collage dresses, he is now branching out into separates, including a covetable silk mannish trouser.
*David Longshaw. The LFW exhibition is vast and sprawling. Just when you think you have everything covered, you turn a corner and discover a whole other area. As I was about to give up the ghost near the end of the day, I came across David Longshaw, one of the Elle Talent Launch Pad winners. This new BFC-supported initiative gives emerging designers who have been in business for two years, further help and mentoring to nurture their careers. Longshaw is one of a new crop of designers who happily juggle many different plates. As well as his main collection, he creates his own prints, illustrates, writes stories and articles and has a blog (about a fashiony mouse). I liked his print scarves and the jewellery he has made in collaboration with Kirsty Ward.
*see more of my LFW coverage on the Style Compare blog…