London Fashion Week: In a nutshell

London Fashion Week, number two of the big four, is now over. It was long anticipated, and it did not disappoint one bit. Designers, celebrities and fashion lovers alike had been long waiting for this week, and what a week it was! 

Bora Aksu was one of the first collections to walk down the catwalk this year. There wasn't an obvious theme throughout, but there was a running fabric: netting. The majority of outfits had at least one panel of netting or lace in it, which uniquely pulled the pieces together. The colours used were white, baby pink, ice blue, navy, black and once appearance of bright purple. With the frequent use of lace, comes an almost overwhelming sense of heritage, even for new designer and brand. 

Julien Macdonald, long time designer and now a ex-strictly contestant, brought us absolutely flawless collection this year. It was intricate, sleek, and detailed. With many of the dresses screaming bridal, there was beading, lace, stitching and everything any one with a love of fine couture would want. 

I obviously could not go through this post and not mention the fabulous Margaret Howell and her ss15 collection. It was nothing particularly different to any other Howell collection, but if it's not broken, don't fix it. Neutral tones and strong tailoring made for a very British,  androgynous show, which was a refreshing change from the ever so detailed and sparkly couture as of late.

Topshop Unique, on Day 3 was another big show that many people were looking forward too, not just because of the clothes, but because of lead model Cara Delevingne 's walk. The collection was very contradictory: parts of it being beautiful and delicate, other parts preppy, and other areas sporty! It was a strong collection that stood out for me with its undeniable versatility. 

The wonderful Erdem gave us another brilliant collection, that has been widely covered by the media and blogs alike. The majority having aspects of nature and foliage in it; this collection was varied and very different from all the runway shows. Not to mention the amazing showmanship of the stage. Every aspect of Erdem ss15 was beautiful and perfectly executed.

 Chrisopher Kane's collection was by no means a typical S/S collection. Full of dark colours and heavy textures, this collection would have been far more suited to an A/W, but nonetheless suitable in a place like Scotland, where Christopher Kane is from. One repeating thing we saw was the use of rope, otherwise known as macramé. He used in a beautiful way which enhanced the pieces it was on to no end. With the uses of silk and satin, this was a luxurious collection, but no-one would expect anything less.

New York Fashion Week: in a nutshell

New York fashion week has only come to a final close today. Although fashion month as a whole is by no means over, the first leg of it is, and it went out with a boom. As I said in my previous post 'fashion week pre-thoughts', there were quite a few shows in which I was looking forward too. Also, quite a lot of collections that I wasn't so much looking forward too, that turned out to be my highlights. 

In chronological order, there was only one show that stood out for me on day one (Thursday 4th September)  of New York Fashion Week. That being Tadashi Shoji. I will openly admit that I had never heard of this designer before hand, but I am very glad I discovered him. His collection came across of that of a bigger, more famous designer. It was indeed very beautiful. If I had to choose one word that kept springing to mind throughout this collection, it would be elegant. Everything within the collection was perfectly placed, sewn and balanced: well tailored, and all together well executed. The colours, fabrics, seams, hems and all of which any of the garments included looked one hundred percent perfect. Considering I really didn't expect as marvellous things from this collection,  I was very impressed, and will be following Tadashi in his new collections in the years to come.

As day one flew past, with 13 shows, day two came along with big expectations. This time, two shows stood out for me. Both being extremely different, but equally as impressive. 

First show that I loved was Monique Lhuillier's. It was everything a feminine, 'girly' collection could be. Full of intricate design, netting, pastel colours, and strong silhouettes; the collection was simply flawless. I was looking forward to this collection, and it didn't disappoint. It was in some ways a 'typical' spring/summer collection, regarding the pastels, floral details, long hemlines, but I believe there is no problem with that, as long as it is well carried out, which I believe it was. Not only were the clothes brilliant, the whole show was. For example, the final walk was strong and powerful, with confetti and a great choice of music included. Also, the models hair and make up complimented the collection beautifully. 

The second 'show' which I loved that day was that of Charlotte Ronson. The reason for the averted commas was that it wasn't really a typical show or catwalk which you wouldn't expect from anything other than the top fashion houses. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, in actual fact, it contributed to the collection. The models were stood in a circle where they stood completely still for the duration of the show, surrounded by barriers. Not only is that a physical challenge, it made the collection stand out as a whole and gave it all a somewhat mysterious vibe. 

Obviously, I'm not going to sit here and rant about the great showmanship the whole time. The clothes themselves were beautiful. Block colours intertwined with complementary patterns made a force to be reckoned with. The lengths, layers and contrasting textures gave the collection versatility and togetherness. I don't want to over analyse this collection, so I will finish by saying it was one graceful and elegant show. 

Day 3 was started off with a bang as Lacoste, the biggest show of fashion week so far, started at 10 am that morning. It was good show, but generally Lacoste isn't one of my favourite brands, therefore was not totally my cup of tea. Sporty as usual with block colours, that were all very well presented. 

There is an obvious show that was on Day 3 that was highly anticipated, being one of the fore runners for the whole week. Of course I am talking about no other than Alexander Wang. I am most certainly a Alexander Wang fan, while he was at Balenciaga also, but I will admit this collection was not his best yet, or even close. It was still a good collection and was still of a ridiculously high standard, which I believe he reached, but being such a great and talented designer, I must admit there were some clothes I personally didn't like.

Being a monochrome lover, and comparing to his previous collections, I thought the designs that were for majority black, white and grey were great. The flippy skirts and collared jumpers were all very 'on point' and that section, which was around 2/3 was great and I loved it a lot. The segment I didn't like was the colourful, short, structured bodycon dresses. I thought they didn't fit in, and to be honest, I thought they looked cheap. In a sense, they lowered the whole collection in my eyes, but the rest of his work was tremendous, as per usual.

There wasn't anything 'wrong' with these few designs, but I just didn't think they improved the collection, or fit into the show as a whole.

Marc by Marc Jacobs' collection was definitely that of an art form. If you like clothes that are well made, wearable and beautiful, this collection won't be your cup of tea...in the slightest. It was extravagant, eccentric, and all together off the wall, but it was enjoyable and entertaining, and very Marc Jacobs.

I'm obviously not going to do a New York Fashion Week post and talk about Ralph Lauren's bizarre yet spectacular 4D show, something that has not yet been done.  There is not all that much I can say about it, so instead, here it is.

Ralph Lauren himself said ''I really wanted to do something big for the new Polo Women’s brand—something set in the city—that felt modern. We returned to Central Park, a place I love, and captured the spirit of Polo with a truly innovative mix of fashion and technology''




So to finish off this extremely long post, I will leave you with some of the best Street Style pictures of New York Fashion Week, Fall 2014. 

All from Vogue.com