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.

MARY KATRANTZOU

*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.

MICHAEL VAN DER HAM






*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