fashionUK

Collection Reports

This season Fashion Week was extended to six days and featured more catwalk shows and designers taking part in the Exhibition than ever before. The week started on Sunday with the launch of Vivienne Westwood's diffusion range, 'Red Label' in a Lolita-themed show.

On Monday, gale-force winds threatened to tear down the marquees erected at London's Natural History Museum to house catwalk shows. The day kicked off with a feminine collection by Ronit Zilkha. A strong Edwardian theme was in evidence with luxurious velvet maxi-length coats and asymmetric dresses. Zilkha interpreted the Portobello look, mismatching A-line skirts with bold printed tops and there was emphasis on collars, cuffs and necklines throughout.

Also on Monday, Owen Gaster rocked the house with his 'Chopper' collection. Models sauntered along a catwalk sprinkled with black sequins wearing triangular crimped wigs and sporting ghostly white faces. There were metallic colours, heat-reactive fabrics and futuristic silver accessories. Apron skirts appeared over pyjama trousers and colours included cerise pink, aquas and gold.

Tuesday saw a London Fashion Week debut show by award-winning Spanish designer Amaya Arzuaga. Known principally for her knitwear, Amaya's collection featured a huge range of jumper dresses, cropped jumpers and cardigans. The pieces made from a combination of chenille and Lycra were slinky, sexy and very wearable. Earthy colours dominated, with berry red, rust, burnt orange and sky blue. Socks were worn with stiletto heels, dresses and pedal pushers.

The People Corporation offered a dramatic Soho sleaze adventure in their catwalk show at the Leisure Lounge nightclub. Models wore slashed, gashed and revealing outfits, complementing their drugged stares and smudged make-up. The collection features tight mini dresses, velvet suits, camel car coats and flared trousers along with fetishistic accessories - dog collars, footless tights worn with spiky heels, and fake fur scarves worn as chokers. Hard, fast, lurid clothes for a generation of post-punk junkies. Wicked stuff.

Wednesday saw the the East Tent almost explode with excitement at the Red or Dead show. For consistently producing a range of accessible, affordable but totally cutting-edge clothes, there is no other British label to compete with Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway's. Inspired by a rambling theme (further proof that naff and cool are inches away on the style barometer) Red or Dead delivered 20 minutes of pure fashion infotainment featuring corduroy jodhpurs, checked shirts, chunky jumpers, waxed military trousers, dark denim jeans and jackets with orange stitching, pinafore dresses and tweed suits. Kilts were worn over trousers and pork pie hats, desert boots, brogues and Chelsea boots all added an edge. But two touches of genius deserve special mention: stick-on beards and diamond socks. Red on Dead, on the case and on the edge of madness.

Thursday's star turn award goes to Thailand's Chamnan whose 'Flynow' range saw its second London Fashion Week showing. The audience was bemused, amused and gobsmacked at the sight of incredible heel-less shoes and boots, electric blue fake fur stoles and sleeveless jackets and coats which trapped the models' arms behind metres of fabric. Entitled "Hybrid', the show was a cross-cultural riot of ideas which focused on Eastern imagery. Thai gods appeared on faux sheepskin coats, jackets and waistcoats and Oriental printed dresses offered an updated interpretation of the Geisha girl look. Colours included rich purple, gold, orange, silver and blue.

Friday saw a mammoth show by London's premier fashion college, Central Saint Martin's. Twenty-four MA students joined forces to exhibit their work, ranging from understated sexy collections to outrageous fetishisms. Highlights included Andrew Grove's macabre clothes fitted with nails, Tristen Webber's black leather interpretation of the cowboy look, and Alison Wojanski's menswear collection with maxi-length feather coat, tan tops and a wood print zoot suit.

Further reports: Bella Freud, Paul Frith, Abe Hamilton.

All photographs by Mark J. Curtis

London Fashion Week | Introduction | Behind the Scenes | Collection Reports

---

© WideMedia Ltd. 1995-1999