Report by Isaac Lock

This season, the LFW celebrity ante was upped significantly. As well as the usual cast of Alexa and Peaches and Pixie Geldof, we’ve had the Olsens, Donatella Versace, Gwyneth Paltrow, TV’s Lorraine Kelly (who had a mumsie moment in the front row of House of Holland) and Nicola out of Girls Aloud. Most intriguingly, Victoria Beckham [see above with Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman] slipped in to sit on a bench by a makeshift runway in a damp tunnel under LFW’s new home, Somerset House, for new-designer initiative Fashion East. “I’m working and haven’t time to see loads of shows,” she said. “But there’s so much great new talent I wanted to make it to this.”

Post-show, she said she loved Central St Martins graduate Michael van der Ham’s patchwork dresses. Mrs B seemed to be there from her own genuine interest. “We don’t court celebrities,” said Fashion East founder Lulu Kennedy, “but Victoria got in touch and said she wanted to come. She insisted she wanted to be treated like everyone else, turned up with a friend and watched quietly. It all seemed very down to earth.”

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“The first fashion-show season with Twitter in full force is like Gossip Girl on crack!” So reads designer Henry Holland’s (henryholland) Twitter, summing up the latest obsession to take LFW in less than 140 characters. If we’re not tweeting about spotting Donatella Versace/Joan Collins/Martine McCutcheon, we’re tweeting mini trend reports as they happen: “RoboCop shoulders at Todd Lynn!”; “Polka-dot shoes at Luella!” in a barrage of sartorial sound bites. But what’s the official code of conduct at the shows? Is it offensive to a designer if we watch-n-tweet or is it a compliment that we can’t wait? “I tweet before the shows but not during,” says Stacey Duguid, Executive Fashion Editor of Elle.

“A designer has spent four months of preparation for a seven-to-eight minute show and people spend four minutes tweeting? It’s rude. Also, you haven’t really formed an opinion about the show, so it’s competitive tweeting. It becomes a big tweet-off!”

For some fashion editors, it’s all for the readers. “We’re about fashion as it happens and opening up our world, so it’s important that we tweet,” says Hattie Brett, Web Editor of Grazia Daily (Grazia_Live). “But I would only tweet in a show if something unmissable happens.” What ’s ‘unmissable’? A model tumble? A seizure? “I tweeted a TwitPic during Danielle Scutt’s show,” admits Duguid, “because the hair was so incredible.”
The buyers are brandishing their BlackBerrys, too, with online stores leading the charge. Net-A-Porter (Luxury_Fashion) tweets at almost every show. But not East End fashion boutique Start. Owner Brix Smith-Start (Brixsmithstart) says, “I focus on the energy of the moment.”

To see fashion pack tweets from the London shows, go to londonfashionwk on Twitter.

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Report by Julia Robson

Photography by Marcus Dawes

Forget fashion’s current leopard-print fad, cats of the domestic variety are the mascots of next season. Backstage at her recent presentation, Suzanne Clements, of design duo Clements Ribeiro, revealed the two reasons why their Spring/Summer 2010 collection has such a feline theme: “Toulouse and Marie, our new British Blue pet cats.” Cat fans will go gaga over the new Clements Ribeiro range, which features embellished cats on preppy cashmere cardigans and a cat print on silk dresses. It’s purrrfect!

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It all started with a smile. On the catwalk! True, an almost unheard of occurrence in the straight-faced business of modelling. The girl in question was prancing down Dame Vivienne Westwood’s catwalk and –boom! – out of nowhere, a beautiful, broad, toothy smile.

And so it was that by the time Nathan Jenden’s models stormed the catwalk at the end of his show – dancing, leaping, laughing and encouraging their audience to do the same – there was no question that London Fashion Week (which ended on Wednesday) was in the grips of an optimistism pandemic.

“They all did it spontaneously, even in rehearsal,” said a breathless Jenden backstage. “It’s all about having fun; fashion should be fun.”

There was much to feel good about – a spectacular new show venue at Somerset House, a landmark anniversary celebrating 25 years of London fashion and an international front row, spearheaded by US Vogue’

s all-powerful Anna Wintour, who had flown in to see what all the fuss was about. Luckily, the designers they had come over to see did not disappoint. How embarrassing might it have been if Christopher Kane had presented a dud or Erdem had started over two hours late? But there were to be none of the usual LFW antics; in their place a slick, professional schedule and polished shows of an international class. Phew.

But more than that, a powerful buoyed-up feeling of positivity. London’s 25-year celebration – a kind of coming of age for the fashion city known for producing sapling talent only for it to leave and make a name for itself elsewhere – could even be felt in the stitches of the clothes. There was a sweetness to the London collections, not just with the proliferation of sugared- almond colours and so many pretty dresses, but also because designers actually used the word ‘pretty’ and talked of wanting their customers to feel ‘uplifted’. Antonio Berardi – a huge talent who came back to London having shown his collections in Milan and Paris for the past 10 years – described his show venue, St Mark’s Church in Mayfair, as ‘euphoric’

.

“Women need to feel an emotional attachment with the clothes they buy,” said designer Marios Schwab. “I want them to feel good. It’s the only way people are really going to buy clothes now.”

So the biggest new trend to come out of London this season? Optimism.

CRIB UP ON THE SPRING/SUMMER 2010 TRENDS WITH THE LFW DAILY’S SNEAK PEEK OF WHAT YOU’

LL BE WEARING Compiled by Cat Catalogue in the following posts…

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AFRICA ‘BACONGO’ CHIC
At Paul Smith

BURBERRY, JONATHAN SAUNDERS
AND MATTHEW WILLIAMSON
Stellar returns to the London catwalk

SHOP FOR VICTORY!
With such great Brit brands on the runway, now there’s no reason not to buy British

PALOMA FAITH
Her acoustic set at the Pandora LFW Daily Disco ROCKED!

Going Down

 
POINTY SHOULDERS
Enough!

BLACK
We all love pastels now

BRA TOPS
Apparently, they’re coming back, but not round our way!

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A great new venue, a landmark anniversary and the attention of the world’s press and buyers focused squarely back on London Fashion Week: there are a lot of reasons to feel good about the past few days. But more than that, more than the fact that Spring/Summer is by default lighter, brighter and that little bit sunnier, there is a new shared feeling of optimism among designers that is hard to shake.
“I think it is really interesting when everything is really grim in the rest of the world that designers seem to be doing things to make you smile,” says The Sunday Times Style Fashion Director, Lucy Ewing.
And it’s true, many of the best shows have plugged in to the new upbeat mood, with sugared-almond hues (Louise Goldin, Christopher Kane and Nicole Farhi), frills and flounces (Charles Anastase, Richard Nicoll and Graeme Black) and a certain extra spring in their step.
“I got so bogged down with concepts last season that I wanted something pretty and uplifting,” said Danielle Scutt of her frothy, peachy-pink Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Richard Nicoll couldn’t agree more. “We all need frivolity in our lives,” said the designer, whose collection had been inspired by a fun summer in Spain.
Marios Schwab, who still had a very cerebral concept behind his fine, romantic vision, admitted that optimism played a big part. “Absolutely,” he said. “Women need an emotional attachment with the clothes they buy.” And what women want right now, it seems, is to connect with something uplifting.
Even when the clothes came coated in a hard, protective edge, often the choice of venue told a different story. “We have been showing in a church in Paris for the past few seasons,” said Antonio Berardi at his London show space, St Mark’s Church. “It just feels really uplifting and euphoric.”
For some designers, it has been about having a good time despite everything. “I am most inspired when I’m out dancing,” said Louise Gray. “The woman I design for is ultimately someone who is fun.”
So let’s hear it for positive thinking. With what we have seen so far this week, it can clearly go a long way.

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Report by Julia Robson

Photography by Marcus Dawes

It’s amazing what you can find off-catwalk, lurking in the labyrinths of Somerset House during London Fashion Week. A bra by Yes Master, fashioned out of black feathers and inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe poem The Raven, for instance. Or the jewellery collection by Mawi [above], inspired by dynamite.

So will it be flats or heels next summer? Beatrix Ong has all the options covered. “Really high, really flat and ‘flared’ are doing equally well,” the designer told me, “along with the concealed platform.”

Shoe designer Sonya Parenti [see top right], who worked for Prada, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana before launching her first range here this season, agrees. “You just can’t work the mid-heel with leggings, and they still seem to be strong for next summer.”

Her insider tip? Hand-studded, cage-effect flats with signature, shocking-pink soles. Linda Farrow can usually be relied on to come up with the definitive sunglass shape. “It’s between Matthew Williamson’s supersized, graduated-lens Aviators, Jeremy Scott’s Flintstones-inspired TV screens, KTZ Blade Runner-esque and Gaga frames,” Danielle Xerxes-Searle advises.

White has been a big trend on the runways. Off-runway, too. Erickson Beamon’s statement necklaces made from Lucite – a type of Perspex – encrusted with Swarovski crystals, have been strong sellers.

Over at 180 – the industrial space that feels as if Tokyo’s crucially trendy Harajuku shopping district has crash-landed on The Strand – the profusion of desirable items and fashion-forward trends is intoxicating.

My favourite has to be Alex Monroe’s stand, The Gardener, inspired by his allotment in Dulwich. Here, you can see tiny gold watering cans, pea pods and seed labels, displayed deftly on a bed of moss and accessorised by snails, that appear to have been made by/for elves.

Equally eye-catching was the Liberty of London stand, home to a display of shift dresses, scarves and even leather clutch bags, all printed with paintings by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones. All very rock’n’roll.

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Report by David Hayes

Ten years is a long time, but in fashion? It’s an eternity. So you couldn’t blame designer Antonio Berardi for feeling a little nervous about showing back in London after a decade away on the catwalks of Milan and Paris. “I’ve been terrified,” joked Berardi backstage. “But everyone here has been so supportive. It has been amazing.”
Beer money (from sponsor Peroni) and the BFC brought Berardi back and he needn’t have worried one bit.His homecoming catwalk outing in Mayfair’s St Mark’s Church last night showed him at his very best. Sexy, sheer-but-structured dresses under drapey silk kimono jackets, architectural seamed shifts, razor- sharp tailoring, black lace worked into delicate pleats, lashings of sparkly crystals, handkerchief-point layers and hot colour all added up to his own modern take on couture.
“The devil is in the detail with Antonio,” explained Creative Director and close friend Sophia Neophitou, who has been back working with the designer for the past six seasons. “The collection was inspired by a trip to Venice; the deep blues and oranges, the lace. The slightly abandoned feel of the church suited it perfectly.”
“We didn’t do anything different for London,” said Berardi. “We just do what we do.”
And you really have to admit, whatever he and his team do, they do it rather beautifully.

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THE FASHION MOMENT Kinder Aggugini’s fairy-tale show of puffball dreams in perfect cuts left press and guests happy ever after. Photography by Anna Bauer

Report by David Hayes

“Fairy tale,” said an emotional Kinder Aggugini backstage after his show. And it was, in more ways than one.

Close friend, agent Camilla Lowther also celebrating 25 years in fashion this week – had stepped in like a fairy godmother, not only to supply the creative talents of make-up artist Pat McGrath and hair stylist Malcolm Edwards for free, but also to foot the bill for the whole show. “Yes, I helped with everything,” said a proud Camilla. “I was basically his sponsor this season. He’s a great friend and it’s better the devil you know.” And a grateful Kinder was first to admit, “The show wouldn’t have happened without her.”

The collection, too, seemed as if it had stepped straight from the pages of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy story: outsized polka dots, wild animal prints, crocodile cloqué, dog’s tooth check tweed, cut-out fluoro silk and metallic brocades were all thrown into a madcap mix of overblown ballgowns, puffball skirts, neat fitted jackets and sugar-sweet dresses on a parade of models with doll-like curls and Cupid’s-bow lips – topped off with oversized hats from Stephen Jones.

And what fairy tale would be complete without a real-life princess – well, royalty at least – in the form of Lady Helen Winsor, sat front row with Jasmine Guinness, Nick Rhodes and Trinny Woodall? “It was beautiful. The most beautiful show I have seen in a long time. The hats would be great for Ascot!” said Lady Helen after the show. Jasmine Guinness was equally impressed. “The jackets, the coats and the red dress with the lace insert. I want it all. It’s a nightmare!” she joked. 

“The jackets were great,” said Matches’ Bridget Cosgrave. “He is the king of jackets.”

“The cut was magical,” said Hilary Alexander, clearly enchanted by the collection. “We haven’t seen someone to set things on fire like that for a while. I think Kinder would be perfect for a big fashion house like Ungaro. If he doesn’t get offered something by the end of the year I’ll eat one of those Stephen Jones hats!”

A big fashion house contract? Now that would be a real fairy-tale ending.

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Interview by Cat Callender 

Photography Banquet 2004 © Nick Knight

Everything you should know about fashion’s most visionary photographer – in his own fine words…

* Contrary to popular belief, I do get out of bed for less than £100,000. I’d spend quite a lot of time in bed otherwise!

* I don’t like to wear green because it was the colour of my school uniform. It was the most revolting, unnatural shade of green I have ever seen. It has put me off green clothing for ever.

* I don’t have paintings or sculptures in my house, I have large chunks of minerals. I collect them. My favourite is hemimorphite. It’s usually a grey colour, a bit like concrete. But when you get copper running through it, it goes a most beautiful blue and looks like a crashing wave. * I’m not great with dishonesty as a trait in people. 

* Sometimes my clients think I’m being difficult. But actually I’m working hard to make their image great and I think they want to give up before I do. Sometimes people can mistake that for me being difficult or hard to work with. But I’m not. 

* When I was a skinhead in the 1970s, people would cross the road so as to avoid me. * I used to dream in French. Now my dreams are about abstract shapes, quite often reoccurring abstract shapes, which is fine, but it doesn’t make them very interesting. 

* I don’t enjoy parties, dinners or making small talk. Perhaps it’s because I’m 6ft 3in and most people aren’t, so I miss quite a lot of the conversation because it’s lower than my ears. I spend quite a lot of time at such events daydreaming, and then have to catch up on the conversation that I’ve either not heard or ignored! * I have a tattoo of a rose – where, I won’t say – that I had done when I was about 17. I photograph roses, so I’ve been in love with them for a long time. Architects make buildings and photographers photograph roses.

 * I wonder whether at the end of my life I’ll look back on it and be able to say, ‘You did something that was of some worth to people.’ That’s a lingering doubt of mine. 

The private view of Nick Knight’s exhibition SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution is on Monday at 7pm at Somerset House. It runs until 20 December. For more details, go to www.showstudio.com

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