REPORT BY EILIDH MACASKILL, EDITOR, INSTYLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CATWALKING.COM
Some shows leave you weary, wishing someone strict had forced an edit on an over-enthusiastic designer. Others are rigorously slim enough to leave you satisfied but wanting more. Nicole Farhi was one of the latter. Farhi excels at autumn/winter collections, and this was no exception, as lean in colourway as it was in silhouette. Recurrent themes were snowy cable knits fused with wool panelling (gorgeous as a cardigan/dress/coat), glossy ponyskin panels on oblong shift dresses, and patent/sequin embellishment in black and scarlet, lifting what were often beautifully sombre pieces. Like many this season, Farhi favoured navy and black, adding a dab of soft damson and punching through to startling white and tomato red: true, clean hues to match the straightforwardly desirable collection. The audience will have mentally earmarked a tweed shell over a white long-sleeve top, a black evening dress that subtly reveals shorts, and a skinny gilet belted over a vivid pleated skirt as easy ways to feel fresh for autumn. And they’d be right.
