London Fashion Week: Highlights pt.2

Betty Jackson S/S ’11

Continuing from my previous posts, the highlights from the second half of London Fashion Week:

THE SHOWS: Erdem, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou, Holly Fulton, David Koma, Christopher Kane, Louise Amstrup, Roksana Ilincic, Todd Lynn, Nicole Farhi, Peter Pilotto.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

Erdem S/S ’11

Beatiful Erdem. Without a doubt, the most beautiful show I saw all week. From the gorgeous setting (the peaceful Bedford Square Gardens, with the sunlight streaming through the canopy of trees) and the calming Ballet Russes soundtrack (heaven on Fashion Week-weary heads) to the Autumn leaves swirling in the breeze behind us. When the models walked out with their ethereal makeup and ballerina braids, they looked like spring blossoms floating on the breeze. And the dresses… oh the dresses!

The always dandy Hamish Bowles (being capture by Tommy Ton)

Meeting the Fashion Icons in the flesh. From my favourite editors (Carine Roitfeld, Anna Dello Russo, Hamish Bowles, Kate Lanphear, Alex Schulman) to the designers, models and people I love to watch, I felt like someone had dropped a menagerie of my favourite sartorial characters in front of me.

Jonathan Saunders S/S ’11

Runway inspiration. Princess Margaret at Christopher Kane, the Russian Ballet at Erdem, aristocratic daughters at Jonathan Saunders, Joan Collins and a 60’s grand cruise at Holly Fulton… the show influences this season have moved away from the tough warrior woman and 90’s minimalism towards an air of wealth and (semi-attainable) opulence, strong femininity, 70’s glamour and 60’s bombshells.

It’s all glamour inside an official Fashion Week car…

The Mercedes Benz. Having the great privilege of covering Fashion Week with the entirely fabulous Liberty London Girl meant whizzing around in an official Fashion Week car. I’m not going to lie, having an official car and driver is a very rare treat and a positively enormous luxury and meant that we actually made it to every show. That said, it  rapidly became strewn with spare shoes, copies of The Daily, goody bags and heaven knows what else we had collected during the day.

Backstage at Louise Amstrup S/S ’11

Backstage access. Going backstage before a show is a bit like seeing sausages being made (ie. something one is probably better off not seeing) and does detract from the glamour of the show slightly – all frenzy, makeup-less models and ozone-destroying clouds of hairspray – but it’s still brilliant to watch the designers at work and see how it all comes together in minutes.

THE LOWLIGHTS (because it’s not all beautiful dresses and front-row glamour):

Fashion Week flu. All those close-quarters, late after parties at Bungalow 8 and early mornings make for an inevitably run-down immune system.

Not being able to wear heels for a week afterwards. Because Fashion Week and sensible shoes rarely mix. Enough said.

Smell-o-vision at Ozwald Boateng. I was surprised by how much I loved Menswear Day, and Ozwald Boateng’s 100 (very gorgeous) male model extravaganza at the Leicester Square Odeon was a delight. What was not, however, was the overpowering cologne being pumped into the air, and having to come home to explain to the Clever Boyfriend that I reeked of an older gentleman because I had been at a fashion show, not on a date.

The exceptionally lovely and beautiful Jessica Stam posing with my very own Marc Jacobs ‘Stam’ bag backstage at Matthew Williamson S/S ’11 (is it wrong that this is one of my favourite photos of the week?)

So tell me, if you’ve been to Fashion Week, what is your highlight? If not, what would show would you most love to see?

Love, Miss B xx