London Fashion Week Spring 2015’s Best Moments
1
Models of a Certain Age at Mary Katrantzou Mary Katrantzou’s richly textured, ethereal collection, inspired by early life forms and the shifting of earth’s Teutonic plates, was her most sophisticated yet. And casting runway vets Kirsten Owen (age 44), Anne-Catherine Lacroix (36), and Audrey Marnay (33) to model the clothes only elevated them further.
Photo by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
2
Thomas Tait Gives Us Something to Talk About Having won LVMH’s inaugural Young Fashion Designer Prize last May, Thomas Tait was one of the more buzzed about names of London Fashion Week. And while his spring collection—fluttering, irregularly shaped looks, inspired by the work of the French photographer George Rousse, and staged amidst a vibrant installation by the artist in an eviscerated warehouse—left some editors captivated and others confounded, it will certainly keep the conversation going.
3
J.W. Anderson Goes Nouveau Riche J.W Anderson’s clothes have long been a little weird, and that’s part of their appeal. His spring collection included all the unexpected elements we delight in—floppy leather sun hats, sailor pants with buttons in the rear—but with an alluringly bourgeois overtone that no doubt stems from his appointment as creative director of Spanish luxury house Loewe.
Photo by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
4
Sheer Magic For those who dare to bare, sheer, flowy fabrics showed up nearly everywhere: Simone Rocha embroidered them with flowers, Christopher Kane with a knotted rope motif, Barbara Casasola cut them into plisse skirts, and Tom Ford covered them with shiny pasties.
Photos by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
5
Top Heavy All the transparent looks have rendered breasts big in London—quite literally. One couldn’t help but notice Cara Delevingne looking far more shapely than she ever has as she opened and closed the Topshop Unique show.
Photo by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
6
A Dynamic Duo On the topic of Ms. Delevingne, the golden girl who opened and closed Burberry last season didn’t do much walking in the spring show—merely to her front row perch, where, to the great delight of all those across the catwalk, she was seated beside Kate Moss, her co-star in the new My Burberry fragrance campaign.
Photo by Getty Images
7
Welcome to the Jungle Only Marianne North, the Victorian botanical artist who inspired Erdem Moralioglu’s lush collection, could have imagined a wilder, more wonderfully sinister jungle set for the show.
8
Hey Dude Playing with Dazzle, a camouflage painting technique that was used on British warships in WW1, Hunter Original’s creative director Alasdhair Willis sent out striking, geometric-print rain jackets and tank dresses. But equally as attention-grabbing was the sight of his father-in-law Paul McCartney seated in the front row. The former Beatle also turned heads the following night, when he was spotted dining with Samuel L. Jackson at the Mayfair restaurant 34.
From left, Photo by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD; Photo by Getty Images
9
Rick Owens Takes the Piss Out of London To celebrate Rick Owens’ 20th anniversary in the business, London department store Selfridges has initiated “The World of Rick Owens”—a month-long celebration of the subversive designer, who God love him, has mounted a 25-foot-tall statue of himself urinating onto a mirror above the main entrance.
Courtesy photo
10
Toga Party One of the most interesting and exciting designers of London Fashion Week was Yasuko Furuta of the Japanese label Toga. Smart, complicated, and strangely sexy, her clothes have drawn a cult following over the years—and this season’s high-waist jeans and tulle-sprouting trench coats will only earn her more fans.
Photo by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
11
Clip-Clop Along Tom Ford, Marques’ Almeida, Joseph, and Mulberry all made a strong case for wooden clogs come spring.
Tom Ford clogs by Getty Images
12
Going Natural With apologies to our beauty director Jane Larkworthy, it was refreshing to see so little hair and makeup at Jonathan Saunders, Peter Pilotto, and Mary Katrantzou. Heavy-duty fashion just seems to call for a light-handed approach to everything else.
Backstage at Mary Katrantzou by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
