fashion shows

Lemaire SS23 highlights



Lemaire ss23

What a week it’s been in the UK. If you’re craving calm and serenity after the last few days of chaos, please join me in appreciating the SS23 collection from Lemaire. Ahhhhh that feels better.

There was quite a bit of model-audience interaction at last weeks’ menswear shows. Lemaire also had an element of this with the models posing as everyday people just hanging out doing not very much, while the press and visitors mingled among them wondering which were the models and which were the guests. (In a case of role reversal, the peacocks were the watchers and the understated androgynes were the watched.) (more…)



First look at Wales Bonner SS23



Wales Bonner SS23

Dear Louis Vuitton, please put Grace in charge of menswear already!

The Wales Bonner ‘Horizon Blues’ SS23 collection is a wonderful evocation of ‘European heritage meets Afro Atlantic spirit’. But of special note are the pieces tailored by Old Burlington Street’s Anderson & Sheppard. The camel hair overcoat (serving Fran Lebowitz swagger), the cashmere dinner suit, the DB sleeveless jacket and trousers – pure perfection. (more…)



Shang Xia SS22 delivers super-luxe fashion for a future generation



Shang Xia SS22 PFW

An invigorating, palate-cleansing debut from Yang Li at Shang Xia SS22 yesterday.

The Beijing-born, Australia-raised designer showed his futuristic luxury vision for gen-2050 in a quest to put Chinese design centre stage. “It’s like imagining an empty chair at a round table of luxury fashion brands that should be for a Chinese representative. What a great mission to embark on. We’re going to give it our best go,” Li told Vogue.

As a breather from the maximalist showbiz of Fashion Month so far, we saw 90s-flavoured unlined leather coats and flat-front pants with signature Yang Li cape-detail dresses in fabrics that look deceptively simple from afar but I’m sure are ravishing when seen – and felt – in the flesh. Offsetting the sleek black separates were pops of neon orange and yellow on waistbands, box bags and surprisingly wearable trousers. The cool-girl casting and minimalist styling added to the appeal for me, not least as Joe McKenna was styling the show. (more…)