BR IT FA NTA SY Surprise Surprises, celebrations, and muted seduction rocked the Lon London collections. By Sharmita Summugam.
Burberry Spring/ Summer ’15
Aheady mix of English garden flowers and the electric ’70s defined the Spring/Summer ’15 shows at London Fashion Week. Surface textile was the star of the collections with a lively play of laser-cut leathers, exaggerated lace, and tiered tulle. Think A Midsummer Night’s Dream meets ABBA. Tom Ford’s models strutted down the mirrored runway in Debbie Harry inspired hairdos, flared trousers, and glam rock trouser suits that gave off a very chic rock ’n’ roll edge to the entire collection. Matthew Williamson and Peter Pilotto echoed the theme with equally stage-worthy looks.
On the other end of the spectrum, fashion’s mood swirled into Shakespearean with a twist. Burberry’s Christopher Bailey armed his models with swatches of layered tulle around their waists in pretty bows. The entire collection was a breath of fresh air with shades of lilac, moss green, a dash of acid yellow, magenta, and soft shades of pink. More exciting colours seeped into other collections as well; cerulean and cornflower blues made their way through the runway looks of Jonathan Saunders and Christopher Kane, while Antonio Berardi splashed on bold hues of red. Mary Katrantzou shook things up by sending out models in complete nude-coloured looks with a mix of sand tones; the well-executed collection of restrained play perfectly reflected the Katrantzou we all love and obsess over, marching down the catwalk to a hypnotic soundtrack by Sigur Rós.
A welcomed surprise this season was a one-off return of the Marchesa ladies, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, who celebrated 10 years in the industry with a magical show at London’s Whitehall. The entire season came to a whimsical end thanks to handbag designer Anya Hindmarch and her spinning neon tea cups, metallic helium balloons, and glow-in-the-dark skeletons.