London Fashion Week SS15 highlights: Day 4

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The answer to the question “why do we still need fashion shows?” was answered succinctly on Monday with Thomas Tait’s powerpacked, techno-soundtracked stomper of a show. Fashion shows need emotion, energy and feeling in order to express something these days, the clothes are only part of the story. And so Tait created tension and anticipation in his concrete box of a location, with walls painted in collaboration with artist Georges Rousse setting an intriguing scene.

When the models came out, depending on where you sat, they appeared to be marching out of the painted walls, their graphic, strategically-slashed dresses matching the artwork. I was sat directly in front of a speaker, so the whole experience was amplified to the power of ten. It transported me back to those early London McQueen shows – raw, powerful and heart-pounding. It definitely made the show feel much more of an experience and was the most exciting show of the week for me. (A special shout out goes to the shoes, equally aggressive with their upturned spike heels.)

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Thomas-Tait-ss15-SHOES

Erdem‘s show was another evocative production, a dark, tropical setting with a sinister hint of Lord of The Flies. I loved the styling of ornate gowns paired with flat black brogues. After the show I was interviewed by Daisy Lowe for her segment of the BBC Iplayer fashion week documentary which airs tomorrow. I grabbed a couple of shots of her interviewing Vogue’s Alexandra Shulman outside the venue, then directing the street-style paps, telling them where to stand to get her best angle!

ERDEM
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Daisy-Lowe LFW
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Burberry’s gone kawaii!  I sensed something was up by the new-style invitation (colourful graphics rather than tasteful cream card) and the printed plastic roof. There was a definite nod to the new youth consumer at Burberry Prorsum, with Vivienne Westwood-ish hourglass denim, cropped furry jackets and trainers on the runway. It was a world away from luxe, heritage Burberry, right down to the sky blue nail polish (which as usual, you can buy now for a limited time. Click HERE). Although I found a few of the pieces a little overdone, the finale of printed trenches was colourful and playful. Burberry also partnered with Youtube this season to give online show viewers additional content. Click on the icon in the top left corner of the video below to customise your view.

BURBERRY PRORSUM

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Pitstop at The Delaunay… a good (and rather beautiful) hideaway between shows
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Over at Somerset House I managed to steal a half hour to look at the NEWGEN designers on the stands, sponsored by Topshop. It’s always great to see Claire Barrow’s hand illustrated pieces up close. I love her uncompromising vision and how she manages to make her work both personal yet commercial.  I also got a closer look at Ashley Williams’ teen-centric collection, having seen her show the day before. She’s collaborating with Coca-Cola for SS15 with some amazing jewellery and this knit top (which says Coke in Chinese)…

ASHLEY WILLIAMS
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Ashley-Williams-Coca-cola-jewellery

CLAIRE BARROW
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Claire-Barrow-ss15

I took the evening off from show-going and blogging to indulge in a two-hours-plus film screening of Malcolm McLaren: The Anarchist Generation. It’s long but it’s full of gems, especially McLaren himself telling stories of his life (how true they are, who knows…) plus some amazing old footage of early Westwood shows. I think we’re ready to see shows like this and this again…