Highlights from LFW Day 2 & 3
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London - London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2017 is currently in full swing, with presentations and shows from top local and international fashion talent taking place across the city. FashionUnited shares a few of the highlights from Day 2 and Day of LFW.
House of Holland
British designer Henry Holland celebrated his brand’s House of Holland 10th anniversary this season with a throwback to the very item that shot him to fame. During his LFW SS17 show finale models stormed the catwalk wearing an update version of Holland’s signature slogan t-shirts, oversized sunglasses and golden earrings. Popular slogans included: ‘I’m yours for a tenner Kendall Jenner’, ‘Let’s breed Bella Hadid’ and ‘Give us a toss Karlie Kloss’.
The t-shirts were available for sale online from Holland’s website and selected retailers following the show, signalling the designer’s first foray into ’See Now, Buy Now.’ The rest of the collection was rather feminine, featuring gingham, florals and frills. However the designer kept it fresh and not overtly sweet by using gingham on bomber jackets, crop tops and dresses and mixing florals with mesh to give the collection more of a street-style edge.
Gareth Pugh
British designer Gareth Pugh, who is best known for his avant-garde designs, decided to take on a more conceptual approach for Spring/Sumer 2017. His collection featured dramatic sculptural shapes and forms, inspired by the opera “Eliogablo”, for which Pugh created over sixty costumes for. The opera tells the tale of a child emperor in Imperial Rome, and the opera’ subtext of imperialism, power and royalty were evident in the collection. The show opened with a black sun, a symbol of power which was seen throughout the rest of his collection, which palette range from deep back to regal purple and gold and white.
"In one way the sun is a symbol of creation and warmth -- an explosion of power and life -- but it can also represent tyrannical power and destruction," said Pugh on Saturday to AFP. "I wanted to explore that duality, to show two sides of the same, but for grace to triumph over nature."
Topshop Unique
British high street staple Topshop shook things up this London Fashion Week by taking over the Old Spitalfields Market in London for its ‘See Now, Buy Now’ catwalk show. The September 2016 collection drew heavily on the 1980s and 1950s for inspiration, featuring black vinyl pencil skirts, with slits to the thigh, neat floral blouses and micro mini skirts. The high street retailer also featured one animal print heavily through out its collection, although it may not be the print you immediately associated with the 80s.
Eschewing leopard print, Topshop decided to go all out with zebra print for autumn/winter. Topshop also opted to launch a curated selected of the collection directly following the show this afternoon in stores and online as part of its runway to retail initiative. The rest of the collection is set to launch in a few weeks, and the entire collection will be in stores by February 2017.
Mary Katrantzou
London Fashion Week designer Mary Katrantzou went back to her roots for her Spring/Summer 2017 collection - and further. The designer was inspired by the culture of the ancient greeks, as well as the psychedelic art from the 1960s. The resulting collection featured key patterns such as terracotta vase silhouettes and women’s profiles in repose and men riding chariots on blouses, tunics and dresses.
Classical ancient Greek imagery was featured on short dresses and blazers, while vibrantly colour tile-like squares covered flared trousers. Key pieces included mini dresses crafted from perspex panels linked with chains worn over polo necks, very 1960s. Although the mixtures of prints and patterns may be a bit too much for some consumers, each piece is extremely wearable on its own.
Photos: Topshop Unique LFW September 2016 livestream, screenshot