House of Holland SS16

You might queue for half an hour and sit for another 30 minutes before the lights are even dimmed for a show at LFW. But when the music starts and all the fashion gossip ends, a catwalk feels like it’s over before it’s even begun (unless you’re in for a 60 look epic at Versus, that is). Illustrator James Davison came along to LFW with us to capture SS16’s designs in art. Using his signature sketchy style along with some abstract vibrancy, you can relive your favourite LFW looks through James’ drawings.

House of Holland SS16

Zandra Rhodes SS16

Sibling SS16

Peter Jensen SS16

Peter Jensen SS16

Ed Marler SS16

Illustration: James Davison (@jamesdavisonstudio)

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Custom Collabs

Lo’s inspiration for his silhouettes has derived from well known fairytales and characters which is immediately visible – styles were loose and often off the shoulder, completed with cape-inspired jackets and hooded intarsia knits. The fairytale pieces were finished off with Thongthai jewellery and Sophia Webster shoes, made exclusively for Lo.

Sweetheart Fairytale

Looks were adorned with frills, bows and fabric roses. The printed fabrics were decorated with repeats of hearts or romantic cottages inspired by the classic tale of Hansel & Gretel. The soft fabrics came in a feminine palette of pinks, white and ‘valentine’ red and were layered with more autumnal hues of plum, yellow and forest green.

Sugar and spice

Lo’s clothes might not always be the most wearable but that’s part of the fun. Dressing up as a princess everyday, go on then. Our favourite item to become a totally unnecessary but essential part of our wardrobe? A white floral embellished bonnet-meets-cape, it goes with everything.

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Modern Heritage

With such a rich heritage in knitwear, it would be a shame if Pringle of Scotland failed to channel some of this old-fashioned know-how into their contemporary collections. Fortunately for us, Massimo Nicosia is adept at using the brand’s past to inform their modern pieces. Traditional crochet was revamped this season with a range of breezy white dresses but, more inventively, with skirts that fell low in jagged frills and sleeves that looked almost serrated with their sawtooth edges – it was lovely play on juxtapositions: the soft cut into the sharp.

The Rough With The Smooth

The brand’s iconic argyle pattern was nicely riffed on through pieces made from a metallic-gold, diamond-repeat fabric, and a dress printed with a motif of weaving was a good way to keep the knitted DNA of the brand present even in smoother, smarter pieces. This sleekness was also observed in silky looking shirts that had flowing, super-long sleeves and were cut with heavily asymmetrical hems (matching full cut trousers lent a relaxed elegance to proceedings).

Knitty-Gritty

The focus on knitted texture reached its climax in the last two looks: black and white tops were made of wide-crochet that sprouted into tactile, three dimensional flowers at the hemline which, in turn, dissolved into frays of thread that fell down past the knees. These had just the slightest tinge of gothic-decay about them, and were probably the boldest pieces on show. Generally, it was plenty of quiet innovation from Nicosia – a perfect fit for a historical brand like Pringle.

WORDS: Benji Walters

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Edging Closer

Awkward angles and untraditional shapes were the order of the day at Haizhen Wang. It was all about small changes for a greater overall effect. Remember the golden ratio from secondary school maths? The idea that there’s a perfectly eye-pleasing proportion for shapes, yeah Haizhen Wang threw that out of the window for oversized shapes and asymmetric cuts.

Red Alert

An otherwise black, white and grey collection was splashed with red on perhaps the most wearable designs of the line. Shoulder-less crops in ruby red with co-ordinated three quarter trousers? Yes, please. Combined with the box-fresh white sneakers in the show, you’ve got your new night out look ready.

All that glitters

Swarovski crystals adorned gowns and compiled chokers to die for. Thick set rectangular gems were studded together to form cracked edges. Fierce and sharp, they added the final finesse needed in the loosely silhouetted collection to elevate it onto the catwalk.

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Heaven is indeed a half-pipe

All that glitters was totally gold for Ashish this SS16. Opening the show were a gaggle of rad teen skater girls who sped about the runway, throwing sequins at the usually stoney faced frow. In frilled flesh-tone chiffon dresses or torn bleached out denim, embellished with a million and one different sparkles, these girls were the Tony Hawk characters of your dreams. At their disappearance, the absolutely stunning Larry B and Jay Boogie (both incredible musicians) skulked out of the back holding hands – drawing screams of support from the now super excited crowd. In their rainbow sequined short shorts, or torn jeans, the two were such immense joy-bringers during a rainy Tuesday afternoon, at the back end of LFW.

The subtle sequin

The designer – who has been building his insanely glittery label for ten years now – is unquestionably influenced by those unmistakeable late nineties/early naughties feels. Usually his pieces take imagery directly from the pop culture of the now: the sequin faces of one Direction plastered all over a bleached out mom jean are a particular past favourite. This season, however, felt a little more subtle. Yes everything was totally rammed with sequins – but this time upon beautifully cut Western jackets and jeans; jersey tracksuits were dotted with silver sequins, and finished with New Romantic style floaty cuffs and collars; sheer chiffon shirts, a floor length cape, shorts, trousers and baby-doll dresses all flowed ethereally, whether mid-skate or not.

Real Talk

But there’s something for everyone with Ashish. Mixing his wonderful hi-shine, with super cool oversized denim trousers in pink or deep indigo – you don’t have to go sequin to succeed here. The brand’s design diversity is shown through an ability to construct statement pieces – such as the pink tie denim shirt, or the high waisted über flares – without having to scream about it. That said, the entire sequined diagram of a labelled digestive tract is an absolute must buy, as well as the pink slip worn by Larry B – depicting a hand drawn pair of breasts and a vagina mapped onto the male body. Ashish at its heart is fun – of course – but every collection brings with it some form of politics. Be it with regards to the state of Pop Culture today, or the matter of gender and sexuality equality. It’s such a pleasure to see a talented designer using their platform for both celebration and conversation. Bravo.

Words: Tom Rasmussen

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Diamonds are a Girl’s Best-friend

You know the saying, and you agree with it. Thomas Tait’s SS16 Collection did something marvellous with the use of Swarovski Crystals. Presented on playsuits, skirts, and dresses, our hearts flutter and mouths watered, especially when we saw that adorable little red skirt embellished with multicoloured crystals. They were seen on even the smallest of items – belts and headbands, necklaces and earrings. Being on the front row of this show must have been tricky – do the hands not earn to touch and feel? And there’s wasn’t too much of it either; a rare-looking statement piece made the most simplest of outfits stand out. Thomas Tait, you really do know us too well.

Layering and Experimentation

Equally, he also knows the precision and craftsmanship that goes into the unique layering and structures and the fluidity of combining and mixing. Thomas Tait should be championed for his exceptional dedication to detail and it’s refinement, and it is this ultimate skill of his that has made this collection so magical. “It was very much about playing around with the forms… and to do it with a sense of fun and spontaneity,” Tate explained.

Galactic Mood

The Thomas Tait SS16 Collection didn’t find any inspiration on our planet so ventured out above the atmosphere to see what it could nab onto there. The preoccupation with negative space, as seen in the round, metallic cut-outs and the cracks that plastered various surfaces, was a key theme here. Jewellery resembled some D.I.Y from bits and bobs found on a spaceship and constellations delicately enhanced silk tunics and leather. The cut-out trend was perfectly mastered albeit not overly exemplified. Subtle is good.

Words: Marianna Mukhametzyanova

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Hot Hues

A bright palette of reds and yellows could be seen in all their vivid glory in Johnathan Saunders’s venue: a semi-transparent plastic greenhouse which allowed the light (and the heat) to soar in and illuminate his summer-ready designs. These shades didn’t just sing on their own though, they were meshed against each other in unique and surprising ways – light brown and blue found themselves alternating in a diagonal stripe while crimson and a super-feminine pink pattern were also thrown together with delicious abandon.

Effortful Effortlessness

Beyond the colour that has become Saunders’ trademark, a new speciality shined through this time: the bias cut. Infamously demanding, technically speaking, the designer himself exclaimed “what a nightmare!” when it came to talking about the signature cut of this collection. A nightmare to pull off, perhaps, but the finished products were a heavenly dream: it gave everything a fluent, carefree elegance that perfectly complimented the exotic glamour of the pieces.

Culture Clash

And exotically multicultural they were; African inspired batik prints cropped up, as did some wonderful takes on the kimono cut that were somewhere between jackets and tops and were tied with degage elegance at the waist with printed belts. All in all it was an inspired season for Saunders and with greater financial investment for his brand this year, it’s good to know that his creativity is as strong as his business.

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Welcome to the jvngle

There was hardly a menagerie of prints on hand but the inclusion of bright white leopard was an antidote to the harsh leather and sharp shapes of the collection. Elsewhere prints came in the form of a fruity number dotted with pineapples and a regretfully forgettable floral addition.

PVC Dreams

Shiny must have been the word of the day in the Versus studio at some point this season. All leather was glossed or at least silky smooth for looks that made up half of the collection. Bin-bag texture jumpsuits, forest green bombers and slips of skirts all got the leathered treatment for SS16, let’s just hope summer isn’t too hot.

When in Rome

Italiano influence was strong with gladiator vibes running throughout. Gowns fanned out with trains fit for princesses and cut-outs with strapped sides. Medallions were plastered across dresses in finer details and arched across trouser hips for the boys.

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“I Saw A Bride In the Bamboo Forest”

A series of haiku-like phrases constituted the Simone Rocha show notes this season. Lines like “crystal ears, jelly feet” and “man made and natural, flowers and cars” set the tone perfectly for what was to come: thoughtfully composed, vaguely poetic, but also wryly off-kilter and a little self-consciously strange. This celebration of the odd was most evident in Rocha’s conversion of the humble (and infamously ugly) jelly shoe to a bejewled and not entirely loathsome piece of footwear.

Big In Japan

If this sounds gimmicky, it wasn’t really. And neither were the clothes. The designer’s trip to Tokyo didn’t result in cringingly re-appropriated pieces that screamed geisha in a tea ceremony, but rather they whispered their gently and evocatively felt influences; a “moss forest” softness could be observed in delicately fabricated dresses presented in diaphanous chiffon with lightly puffed sleeves. And if a Japanese-inflected floral type motif found itself in a print or two, it didn’t seem overstated.

All Tied Up

There was another side to this collection though: beyond, and sometimes on top of graceful dresses, there was present the idea of binding. It wasn’t necessarily an erotic bondage, but there was certainly an abundance of fabrics that criss-crossed over themselves like links in a fence as well as a recurring motif that consisted of ropes or fabric-straps that softly, and not so softly, harnessed the models into their outfits. It was a delicately subversive touch in a collection that specialised in staying just the right side of strange.

Words: Benji Walters

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Destruction and Repair

Close to Christopher Kane’s heart and largely autobiographical, as in other seasons, the SS16 Crash and Repair collection focuses on the designer and his sister, Tammy, through a certain turbulent period in their lives. It looks into the cyclical process of damage and repair – the way that we go through a certain troubling and psychological pressing time in our lives to then pick up the pieces and build something new out of it. The collection draws upon this psychological damage and reproduces it in the material sense – “there is the idea of creating coming from that destruction, that repair making something new”. It’s one of those things that struck a chord in the audience’s perception of the collection, and because we can all relate to the hardships that life sometimes brings, Crash and Repair becomes symbolically significant this week.

New Primitivism

If using painful experiences and restructuring them into something more meaningful and beautiful was on Christopher’s mind when he designed this collection then Wonderland isn’t surprised that he has also implemented elements of New Primitivism this season. John Chamberlain’s ‘car crash’ sculptures help illuminate the stream-of-consciousness feel to the collection, with themes being revisited in very dreamlike and subconscious ways. It balanced metamorphosing bacterial blobs and x-ray scan garments, and then some lace garments that echoed fractures and crashes. Kane wanted “childlike and honest” and this is exactly what he produced – a season of untouched and untainted pieces that come together at the end.

There are no rules to Fashion

Yes the Christopher Kane runway girl has seen way too much in life and she might not be an insider to the nature of fashion, but she still means a lot. She represents individuality and freedom, a kind of unfaltering sense of dedication to the outsider experience that has shaped her to such a large extent. Disruption and decoration come hand in hand and dichotomies such as these make us question the standards and rules of life. Fake or real, structured or disorientated, jelly or plastic, nothing stopped Kane from presenting his experiences in the most genuine and honest way this season.

Words: Marianna Mukhametzyanova

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