London is fraught with an air of excitement and hysteria as the passing of Day 4 at London Fashion Week sees the countries best designers yet to disappoint. As the Union Jack proudly blew in the Autumn breeze over Somerset house - home to the paparazzi, gorgeous models, and celebs galore for the next 6 days, Fashion Fever even spread to number 10 and 11 Downing Street as Brown revived the tradition - shockingly abandoned by Mr Blair, of hosting receptions during fashion week, reminding us of the importance of celebrating our countries finest, raw talent! After the increasing build up and media coverage over the 25th year milestone, so too grew the danger of the designers collections becoming overshadowed by hype and celebrations. However, this was far from the truth as the catwalk displayed some of the finest and exciting collections I have ever seen!
My personal favourite was Mario Schwab's fresh and inspirational collection which was certainly nothing to sneeze at. His delicate, sheer fabrics were teamed effortlessly with hard, liner elements by combining cropped boleros with high waisted, pleated kilts and an underneath, floor length layer of draping chiffon. The feminine pastel shades of pinks, lilacs, golds and grey's juxtaposed with the intense navy's and purples, resulting in an original and romantic collection.
Across the Pond however, New York has exposed some exciting new trends and Alexander Wang is certainly no exception with his 'All American', largely utilitarian collection which reeked of confidence, attitude and in the words of Cheryl Cole...'Swagger'! Hooded outerwear and lace up leather shorts were teamed with his version of a "timeless" grey sweatshirt which was customized, reshaped and layered creating boxy silhouettes, providing an edgy take on American high school with the collection reflecting a varsity 'pin-up' theme - even his cut-out socks clad with rough, zippered, open toe biker boots, spoke sex appeal and boy, I MUST have a pair. Peep toe boots are definitely key this forthcoming season and there is still hope for those of us still paying off a loan, as these Topshop beauties are fab and worth every pennie..all 9000 of them!
An impressive handful of home grown names have been lured back to London after a long awaited return from foreign catwalks to symbolize the unity of British designers after 25 years, and tomorrow we will see Burberry, Luella, and Mathew Williamson - to name but a few, all taking to the stage to show us what London's been missing.
Bring on Day 5....We Are Ready!
