Kingston MA Patricia Osbahr photo by Amelia Gregory
I rolled into Daks at the bright and early time of 9am on a Saturday morning – expecting to be one of the few who made in out of bed. But the crowd was bright eyed and bushy tailed – shame some of the models looked pale and in need of some shut-eye!
When the Daks press release proclaimed the collection was inspired by a “British traveller on a journey through India” I envisaged either a ‘gap yah’ nightmare or colonial outfits complete with G&T’s. Thankfully what ended up on the catwalk was far from it. Daks S/S 2011 was an easy, patient breezy collection of crisp designs in white, pilule pale grey, approved and stone.
Rather than going for swathes of layers, embroidery and hippy trippy designs, Daks decided to translate the ‘traveller’ theme in a much more sophisticated way – splashes of mustard yellow (my FAVOURITE colour) were meant to represent the spices of India, and the lightweight fabrics were chosen to be suitable for hot climates. I can’t see myself donning a drop waisted skirt and chic leather satchel to trek through the Himalayas, but Dak’s ‘grand tour’ was fun to watch – and felt oh-so English.
Referencing the 1930s, there were some gorgeous mid length pleated skirts, high-waisted trousers and a standout mustard yellow shirt dress. I was even convinced that I needed the knitted shorts and onesies in my life. But considering how great the accessories were in the rest of the collection – with little round sunglasses and convertible leather rucksacks – the shoes (cheap looking wedges and flip flops) seemed a bit of an afterthought.
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Yasmin Siddiqui opens the Kingston MA show. Illustration by Gaarte.
Sometimes it’s hard to be heard amongst all the chatter and noise of LFW so it’s either very foolish (who’s got time to come?) or very inspired (you’ve got a ready made captive audience) to hold your MA show at the same time. I suspect Kingston University leaned the latter way, physician thinking why not jump on the fashion week bandwagon? They’d even secured a slot in the hallowed Freemasons’ Hall.
Alison Firth by Katherine Tromans.
But it was late in the day, those of us who had been trogging around all day were pretty bloody knackered. Then the show was running behind and it was bloody hot in the hall… and we didn’t even have seated tickets. It seemed those had gone to the copious quantities of friends and relatives brought along by so many participants. Note to PRs – if you give us shit tickets you’ll probably get shit photos – I was hardly able to snap anything decent from my vantage point. And if you desperately want to be heard it really does pay to get the press on your side. With pretty pics.
Stacey Grant by Abby Wright.
Luckily we’ve got a crack team of illustrators who can make a proverbial silk purse out of a sow’s ear, or a beautiful image out of… well… not very much to look at, (which is just as well). But still, I like to have the option of good photos too. Pick ‘n’ mix and all that.
Yasmin Siddiqui by Gaarte.
Faraz Hussain by Gaarte.
And then the show went on… and on… Okay, so there’s a bonus to seeing several designers at once – when they’re of a very high calibre and you haven’t got a million other things to see and do. But I have to say, Kingston Uni, that this wasn’t up to the standard that London Fashion Week has become accustomed to. People were sneaking off all around me. Which leads me to my second piece of advice. Only go up against the best of what London design has to offer if you’re sure you can match it!
Victor Chan by Gemma Milly.
I’m sure many of the Kingston MA students are very talented, but I’m struggling to remember anything that stood out, and that is a bad thing. A lot of it was very similar in feel, nondescript in colouring with draping and protrusions everywhere (they seem to be very much du jour) And I’m sorry, but a load of polygonally moulded leathers do not a fashion designer make.
Raine Hodgson by Gemma Milly.
Stand outs, if I’m pushed? Obviously the first piece, courtesy of Yasmin Siddiqui, was a great piece of statement jewellery. There was some strong colouring combinations in the menswear from Faraz Hussain and Helen Taylor’s male jumpsuit was fun, as was her styling with wooden head frames. Generally I had a strong sense of shapelessness going on. But hey! I’ll let you make up your minds for yourselves, and in the meantime I think you’ll agree that my illustrators have done sterling work.
I rolled into Daks at the bright and early time of 9am on a Saturday morning – expecting to be one of the few who made in out of bed. But the crowd was bright eyed and bushy tailed – shame some of the models looked pale and in need of some shut-eye!
When the Daks press release proclaimed the collection was inspired by a “British traveller on a journey through India” I envisaged either a ‘gap yah’ nightmare or colonial outfits complete with G&T’s. Thankfully what ended up on the catwalk was far from it. Daks S/S 2011 was an easy, advice breezy collection of crisp designs in white, pale grey, and stone.
Rather than going for swathes of layers, embroidery and hippy trippy designs, Daks decided to translate the ‘traveller’ theme in a much more sophisticated way – splashes of mustard yellow (my FAVOURITE colour) were meant to represent the spices of India, and the lightweight fabrics were chosen to be suitable for hot climates. I can’t see myself donning a drop waisted skirt and chic leather satchel to trek through the Himalayas, but Dak’s ‘grand tour’ was fun to watch – and felt oh-so English.
Referencing the 1930s, there were some gorgeous mid length pleated skirts, high-waisted trousers and a standout mustard yellow shirt dress. I was even convinced that I needed the knitted shorts and onesies in my life. But considering how great the accessories were in the rest of the collection – with little round sunglasses and convertible leather rucksacks – the shoes (cheap looking wedges and flip flops) seemed a bit of an afterthought.
Illustration by Amy Martino
At the Bodyamr show, page the celebrities nearly outshone the clothes. Lily Allen, viagra Nick Grimshaw, Keisha from the Sugababes and the TV Chef Gizzi Erskine all waltzed in past us mere mortals crammed outside the Vauxhall Fashion Scout hall, (made more manic by the decision to cram two presentations into one catwalk show) cue much jostling and craning of necks by my fellow bloggers to get a good photo.
Once inside, the celeb fest continued – the press release reeled off a list of starlets who loved Bodyamr (Florence Welch, Beyonce, and Cheryl Cole dontcha know), and the crowd whispered about Daisy Lowe opening the show and Kanye West’s girlfriend Amber Rose closing. The scrum for goodie bags as everyone sat down added to the excitement – a recent collaboration with Rixos hotels meant a rather bizarre mix of hotel freebies and glossy brochures was under every seat.
As for the clothes – Bodyamr do a fine line in creating flattering, skin-tight looks for powerful women (hence the appeal for starlets). True to form, their inspiration for S/S 2011 was a cross between Josephine Baker wrapping jewels ‘seductively around her naked body’ and a 90s supermodel. It was a fun, glamorous collection, with pieces that wouldn’t look out of place in Studio 54 (sequins, kaftan style dresses, jersey, Grecian draping), a nice dose of body con and some sheer chiffon dresses printed with art deco jewels (there’s the naked Josephine Baker for you). There was even some slouchy, slinky daywear amongst the goddess dresses tailor-made for the red carpet. And yes, Daisy looked amazing – I just hope people weren’t too star-struck to notice her beautifully draped white jersey jumpsuit.
Categories ,Amber Rose, ,Bodyamr, ,daisy lowe, ,fashion, ,gizzi erskine, ,jersey, ,jumpsuit, ,london, ,London Fashion Week, ,review, ,Sequins, ,Vauxhall Fashion Scout, ,Womenswear
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