George Ryan
Advertising Manager
george@lfwdaily or 020 8960 8263

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Compiled by Cat Catalogue

Photography by Catwalking.com

Hooray for the return of Pringle of Scotland. The brand usually shows its collections in Milan, but returned to the British
capital to celebrate London Fashion Week’s 25th anniversary. With actress Tilda Swinton [the face of the Pringle’s Spring/Summer 2010 campaign] sitting front row, Creative Director Clare Waight Keller’s collection for the label returned to Pringle’s roots: knitwear. Think chunky and open-knit cable cardigans [see right] with a cool, urban feel and not in the slightest bit homespun.

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If there’s one great positive to come out of day four at the London shows, it’s the look of polish: slickly produced, well-lit, beautifully cast shows – and, for the most part, clothes of a standard you could see in Paris and Milan.
Of course, it helps that the front row now has an international flavour, boasting the likes of Anna, Tonne, Glenda, Michael et al.
But it’s not just them. Time was when there were only two choices of venue for a London runway presentation: the tents (not like now, they were badly lit dungeons of death in terms of generating any kind of atmosphere) or the begged, borrowed and, yes, even stolen venue: a freezing car park/gallery space/warehouse or whatever. The amazing Somerset House and Topshop venues prove that an edgy location is no longer necessary
to impress.
Until recently, there were only a few international catwalk girls whose agents would deign to allow them to stalk the London runways. And, I’m afraid, size 6 or 12, it doesn’t matter, the top-gear models can lift a collection from mediocre to magnifique like a super-fast 0 to 60 seconds. They are the Ferraris of the collections, and they make a difference.
And then comes the most vital ingredient: the clothes. Where once the London collections assumed a kind of studenty, stitched-together-at-the-last-minute mentality, the look today could not feel more elegant, grown-up or business-minded. Back in the day, ‘commercial’ was a dirty word. The ‘concept’ was the thing, and it might have led to some brilliant showmanship, but very little in the way of a business bottom line. Hence our long history of crash-and-burn victims; London’s designer bankrupts are legend. Today’s big London names, however – the Chris Kanes and Marios Schwabs of this world – want to sell their creations. The romantic notion of a Galliano in his bedsit cooking baked beans on a camping stove is long gone.

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Report by Sarah Harris,
Fashion Features Writer, Vogue

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By India Wright

It’s London Fashion Week and I want to be part of it. I’m three years into an architecture degree but am planning a swap to fashion. For part of my portfolio I’ve decided to stage my own show, wearing a dress I designed and made.
I’ve always wanted to be a fashion designer, but somehow ended up studying architecture. Courrèges trained as an architect and I know that Zaha Hadid has designed clothes. Creating garments for living in – rather than spaces – is a dream I intend to make a reality.
I’ve constructed this figure-accentuating, structurally expressive dress of black laser-cut leather that I stitched together by hand. I’ve done my own hair and make-up and I’ll be modelling, too. I want to use LFW as a stage for my ‘show’. If I’m fortunate, I’ll get talent-spotted. I can also use the opportunity to seek advice from people in the business.
Talk about luck, a friend introduces me to Sarah Mower, the BFC’s Ambassador for Emerging Talent. “Go and see Louise Wilson and do the MA at Saint Martins. With that dress and a portfolio, you’ll get in.” Her words inspire me immensely and my slow progress around the courtyard at Somerset House is punctuated with photo opportunities. Twelve people, including photographers from Stylesignal, Facehunter, London Lite and Visit Britain took my picture (they can’t all be wrong, can they?). I then get chatting with two of the Vogue fashion assistants, Michelle Duguid and Gillian Wilkins. They reckon that the transition from one three-dimensional discipline to another would be complementary.
I vow that the next time I show, it will be the real thing.
Photography by Tyrone Lebon

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Report by Anna-Marie Solowij

“Of course I’m here for the shows, but actually I have an equally busy cultural agenda, too,” explains make-up artist and Visionaire co-founder James Kaliardos.
Kaliardos is a regular at London Fashion Week, in his role as International Make-up Artist for L’Oréal Paris. Backstage at Matthew Williamson, touching up Freja’s 1990s minimalist make-up look [see right], Kaliardos appears rested, despite his arrival in London from New York late the night before.
“I used this new gadget – L’Oréal Paris’ Revitalift Pro-Contouring System – to massage my face, and it is amazing! Twenty minutes and you look like you’ve slept for a week,” he quips. “It’s as good as the relaxation exercises I do in my classes at The Actors Studio in New York.”
Kaliardos deserves the title of polymath: multi-talented (he prefers multi-interested), Kaliardos loves theatre, auditioning for acting roles to improve his stage skills (London’s Soho Theatre is a favourite venue). He is also an opera singer (he performed Verdi in Paris last July), while other passions include photography (Ryan McGinley’s Moonmilk show at Alison Jacques Gallery is on his list this visit), art and culture. “I was once in Qatar with Richard Avedon and we saw this wonderful sheikh – that whole cultural world fascinates me,” he says.
As a film and fashion buff, he saw The September Issue – twice – and despite knowing that world, he says that he learned much about the pressures of producing a glossy magazine like Vogue. “How Anna juggles the creative spirit and commercial obligations… I adore the unparalleled quality of the fashion imagery – Grace’s work uplifts the entire industry,” he says.
Even eating can be a creative pastime for Kaliardos. “I went to this cute restaurant on Lexington Street [Andrew Edmunds] that was full of characters.” He frequents Claridge’s for tea, J Sheekey and The Wolseley. “And if only Tom’s Kitchen was open 24 hours, I’d come back to London more often,” he laughs.
Photography by Anna Bauer

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Report by Julia Robson

Fittingly, the first truly international-feel show of London Fashion Week was pulled off by its greatest export and most accomplished crowd-pleaser. Who else could have newly arrived big shots, like Anna Wintour, Natalie Massenet, Jefferson Hack and Kate Lanphear, perched on the edge of their gilt chairs in a converted dairy, waiting for the show to start like a pack of Pavlov’s hounds? No pressure. Happily, this is one blonde mother who knows exactly how to mix the right amount of oomph with the right amount of aaaahhh.
It takes a tomboy to understand that somewhere deep within every grown-up woman lurks a little girl, who misses dressing her dollies. Luella tapped into the Zeitgeist for childlike innocence and came up with something cheerful, polished and pretty, in that edgy London way she has made her own. Her collection felt like the sort of wardrobe young teenagers (like Tavi?) dream of. It also made hardened hacks, along with fervent Luella Utd supporters, including rock chicks Peaches Geldof, Alexa Chung and Fran Cutler, stare in wonderment as their future paraded before them on models wearing Minnie Mouse bows in their hair. Key pieces, including a structured dress with a sticky-out skirt (created with detachable hip pads, to be sold separately), worn with pretty shoes (by Michael Lewis) and frilly bags with swinging pompoms (Katie Hillier) were equally charming, directional and preposterously commercial.
“We used formed seams and tulle hip pads to get across the feeling of prettiness emanating from hips and shoulders,” explained the laid-back designer backstage.
“I loved it, especially the spotty trousers,” said Alexa Chung, who took photos throughout the show, “to remind me when I’m shopping”.
“I want the black dress with the cut-out heart,” gushed Mary McCartney backstage. “It’s so good to see real-life clothes that are fun, not boring. It made me want to rush out and shop!” Kerching! Surely Anna Wintour would approve?

Photography by Marcus Dawes

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Report by Isaac Lock

Let’s hope you’re not running off to Milan tonight – it’s the second ever London menswear day tomorrow, and it’s going to be dead good. After the success of Fashion East MAN, it became apparent that London was turning out too much menswear talent to contain in a single show, so an entire day was born…

Here are five things not to miss:
The first men’s shows to receive support from the BFC’s NEWGEN initiative, sponsored by Topshop, in it’s 16-year history. Carolyn Massey and an excited James Long will be showing back to back, first thing.
The Fashion East menswear installations featuring a baffling amount of new stuff, including a cool-dad-fun-son tailoring display from Casely-Hayford, an offering from hotly hyped Harrow boys Jaiden rVa James, shoes from Mr Hare (if you haven’t heard the buzz already, resign), and an odd but endearing collaboration with the Smiley face brand (the guys who own the trademark to acid smileys) from knitwear trio Sibling. PLUS a first-ever foray into menswear from Louise Gray. She says, “I’m just doing one look, inspired by the coal shed down my basement. It’s a kind of bin-man/coalman look. It involves bin bags. As you can imagine, it’s really chic.”
Lou Dalton at the Portico Rooms. Her knitwear brand has come into its own, offering contemporary, well-made, wearable menswear, with properly done tailoring, thanks to the million years she spent toiling away for a traditional country brand, and a real forward-focused aesthetic, thanks to her being pretty clever and all. “It’s quite dramatic this time,” she claims. “Looks that are classic at the front, but with Napoleonic bustles and trains from the back. Not that you’ll be wearing them on the streets of London. We’ve done nice cottons, classic knits and chambray for that.”
The MAN showcase’s phenomenal line-up. As well as Topman Design, there’s Katie Eary, whose recent work has been shot by Steven Klein and Mario Testino (the latter for the cover of British Vogue), Christopher Shannon, who has cornered the market for progressive sportswear collaborations, and JW Anderson, who has turned what started out as a little jewellery line into a fully fledged menswear brand. He’s pulled in all the favours he can (namely from Repetto and Winsor & Newton) to come up with something that is well made, young luxury, with not a glue gun in sight!
Super-tailor Patrick Grant’s animated presentation for his E Tautz brand. It’s on Savile Row. It’s posh but not guffy.
Photography by Marcus Dawes

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