1. CELLO SILHOUETTE
top: Central Saint Martins, Meadham Kirchhoff, Roksanda Ilincic, Erdem
bottom: Sinha-Stanic, Central Saint Martins, Jens Laugesen, Armand Basi
The interesting trends to emerge from London Fashion Week for Fall 2008 were the voluptuous cello-shaped silhouette (baby's a whole lotta woman with major back, hips, shoulders - all showcased by a defined waist), major shoulders, poufy pleated pants (argh...the return of the dreaded mom jeans), and ankle-skimming to floor-dragging lengths. Fantasy with a dark edge helped inspire influential designers like Giles (Masque of the Red Death aka "Femme fatale in a gothic disco"), Luella (the witch museum in Boscastle, Cornwall), Louise Goldin (Pierre Hardy-shod space eskimos), Nathan Jenden (Tudor ladies at the court of a 21st century samurai ), and Gareth Pugh (Mad Max'ish post-apocalpyse warrior women). On a less serious note, Paul Smith chanelled the Paris of his misspent youth (the swinging 60s), Peter Jensen went for a miserable camping trip (Mike Leigh's Nuts in May), House of Holland visited mythical Scotland, Allegra Hicks took the artistic high road (Olga Khokhlova of the Ballet Russes in the Picasso portrait of 1971) as did Roksanda Ilincic (architect Oscar Niemeyer) - while Christopher Kane veered off in his own direction entirely, with the Queen, Barbara Cartland and Big Bird.
Shoes reflected the global warming-influenced trend of shoes for all seasons - simply add tights when temperatures drop, while lips went deep and dark to the point of a corpse-like blue in some cases. In terms of the fabric color palette, somber greys and silvers still took center (centre?) stage, as did muted plaids, intarsia knits, hints of red, and denim blue. "A lot of people, from young babies to adult men, are wearing blue jeans. Denim dressing is something that has been here for a long time, and it will continue to be here. Having colors that work well with denim is really important," points out Nancy J. Thomas, Editorial Director of Lion Brand Yarns in an interview with Fashiontribes.com. "Given that 35 percent of the American public considers blue to be their favorite color, the blue/greens are "always going to be winners," says Leatrice Eiseman, Director of the Pantone Color Institute (the arm of Pantone which research consumer color preferences, physchology, and forecasting). "A large part of it is that we look forward to beautiful blue skies. It can be covered up but we always look forward to the serenity of that beautiful sky," she says. "For most people, colors take on an attachment to nature, and how they perceive that color in nature."
Here are the Top 10 Most Interesting Trends from the Fall 2008 London Fashion Week:
- Cello Silhouette
- Signficant Shoulders
- Poufy Pants
- Swingy Skirts
- Tally Ho!
- Ankle Skimming
- Singin' the Blues
- Seasonless Shoes
- Hair goes Lady...or The Tramp
- Deep Dark Lips
2. SIGNIFICANT SHOULDERS
top: Gareth Pugh, Louise Goldin, Simone Shailes (Central Saint Martins), Roksanda Ilincic
bottom: Giles, Eley Kishimoto, Krystof Strozyna, Nathan Jenden
3. POUFY PANTS
Luella, Eley Kishimoto, Peter Jensen, Modernist
4. SWINGY SKIRTS
Giles, Nathan Jenden, Paul Smith, Aquascutum
5. TALLY HO!
Antoni & Alison, Biba, Peter Jensen, Eley Kishimoto, Vivienne Westwood Red Label
6. ANKLE SKIMMING
top: Marios Schwab, Roksanda Ilincic, Meadham Kirchhoff, Giles
bottom: Central Saint Martins, Christopher Kane, Jenny Packham, Nathan Jenden
7. SINGIN' THE BLUES
top: Louise Goldin, Vivienne Westwood Red Label. Richard Nicoll, Osman Yousefzada, Nathan Jenden
bottom: Luella, Mary Katrantzou (Central Saint Martins), Allegra Hicks, House of Holland
8. SEASONLESS SHOES
House of Holland, Luella, Peter Jensen, Louise Goldin, Giles, Christopher Kane
9. HAIR GOES LADY...OR THE TRAMP
top: Roksanda Ilincic, Louise Goldin, PPQ
bottom: Vivienne Westwood Red Label, Luella, House of Holland
10. DEEP, DARK LIPS
Giles, Jens Laugesen, Gareth Pugh, Nathan Jenden
- Lesley Scott
(photos: style.com & nymag.com)
