Dramatically draping hoods, there garter-style leggings and a super feminine version of the athletic, visit web back-crossing, shoulder pads are just a few of the key elements in Future Classics’ SS/10 catwalk on the breezy second floor of Somerset House. Brilliant draper that she is, designer Julie Wilkins channeled the freedom of movement that defines the comfort of our lazy summer days.
A grey slouchy playsuit with all its gathers and turned up hems made us want to spend the winter with the heat cranked up (just kidding). We were HUGE fans of the draped hoods that appeared in almost every look (imagine them with sunnies for a touch of poolside femme fatale) although they do beg the question…would they still work when they’re not protecting your coif and are puddling across your chest?
If the fluid draping of their various silks weren’t enough to turn up raise the mercury, their leggings were a virtual heat stroke! Manifesting in three forms, buttons running up the front and back, lycra garter style with angled stripes (may be for only the most brazen) and this girl’s favorite flavor the two-tone cream leggings with black zips at the front hips and calves.
When we could be excused for being stoic in the face of yet another rendition of the polka dot, we are presented with a luxurious shorts, jacket, top combo of various sized sheers in big and small polka dots and stripes.
Some of the fall’s 50′s silhouettes were reworked into full, gathered but super soft shoulders which remained far clear of the pointy tailoring of their last collection.
What you might not get from the catwalk images are the playful volumes of shirts-on-upside-down elements gaping at the back of simple white dress dress shirts.
Also not evident in the photos are athletic style football shoulder pads braced across the back of the shoulders. An edgy touch to the liquid femininity of the collection and a gentle nod to the all too common battle ready shoulders this season. Wonder if its removable?
They were best paired with the swimsuit which was a hand drawn electric print against a black background, begging to be worn as a top with cut off jeans!
Some of the jersey, full length pieces, with waistcoat were a bit belabored and looked like a bit too much fabric to carry off.
Least successful were the big-at-the-top, big-at-the-bottom plaid trousers. If they didn’t look good on that leggy model, I shudder to think…
In an absolutely stunning display of Wilkins’ talents she invokes all the glamour of a 50′s starlet in an ankle length silk dress with peekaboo shoulders and plunging neckline. Clever gathers at the hips hide pockets in this ballroom/boudoir gown. Martinis not included.
The 50′s hollywood glamour was absent from hair and make up styling of this collection which was practically nude. The clothes made all the necessary statements.
The flower power that Erdem radiated was more Diane von Furstenberg graduate than 60s revival. Maybe we should have guessed that the Erdem show would provide us with something a tad different. The front row crew were seated dangerously close to the models giving off the impression of an intimate gathering. Whilst the live Glockenspiel was a welcome departure from the boisterous bang-bang sound systems of previous shows.
This was a beautifully elegant but conservative collection with the long sleeves on a cream-lace frock almost, buy more about but not quite, verging on school-mistress style attire. Similarly the embroidered flower detailing embodied a prim summer-house chic, in fact it wouldn’t have surprised me if they’d laid out turf and started serving Pimms.
Or so it initially seemed. Then I looked a little closer…While many of the designs worked with very neat and modest necklines, making us assume the show was about a delicate prettiness, I think we underestimate. Amongst the classic floral were hidden signs of a flirtier agenda.
Not least were the hemlines a considerable cut above the knee, but the plunging Vs, playsuit and sheer lace proved that Erdem has the ability to project an almost subliminal image of femininity that yields a distinctly playful edge.
All Photographs by Francesca Weber-Newth
Categories ,Diane Von Furstenberg, ,Erdem, ,London Fashion Week, ,Somerset House 2009
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