BEN
LUlu kennedy
RIchard sloan
IRENE
kate brindley
In which our intrepid, in house, LFW Daily Dandy attends a gentleman’s show or three. Sir Hardy Amies famously advised gentlemen that they should chose clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then give the appearance, at least, of having forgotten all about them. No pressure felt by this gentleman then, on entering the dressing closet, prior to sauntering to number 14 Savile Row, where today a trio of stalwart tailors convened under the same roof to receive friends and admirers. I count myself as both.
The Fashionista was not for sallying forth today because menswear is simply not her thing. She likes tailoring but not formality, which is rich coming from someone who, even on weekends, insists on being addressed as Ma’am and wants her Guardian ironed before she’ll touch it.
Photography Marcus Dawes
Family and friends turned up to support Charlotte Olympia at her posh tea presentation yesterday [Tues], at the Langham Hotel. The sandwiches were good, but the heels were soooooo tasty.
Liberty’s launch for a fun collaboration with iconic Milanese store 10 Corso Como was graced with the presence of two extremely VIFPs [very important fashion people].
One of the reasons the store’s Ed Burstell was smiling! With an upcoming collab with US giant Target, there’s Liberty print product aplenty this year. Bring it on…
PHOTOGRAPHY SHANIQWA JARVIS
Report by Anna-marie Solowij
“Does it all sound a bit boring?” Sam McKnight’s description of just one day of his London Fashion Week schedule could hardly be that. Stratospherically challenging, perhaps. Boring? Never.
For the Sunday of London Fashion Week, McKnight’s alarm goes off at 5am at his West London home, signalling the start of a day of back to back shows, press calls, interviews and filming plus a celebrity hair session for the BAFTAs.
There’s a down side to the glamour of this job and years of lugging heavy kit around, constant flying and standing up to do hair for shoots and shows means that staying limber and healthy is a critical part of McKnight’s routine; hell, he even manages to fit 50 lengths of the pool in at his gym between appointments on this particular day. Having started practising yoga a few years ago in Ibiza (like many in the fashion industry, McKnight spends every August on the island) he stretches for 30 minutes every morning.
Breakfast of porridge with stewed rhubarb and ginger sets him up for a day when an erratic schedule means normal meals are out of the question. Lunch of a sandwich, snatched at 6pm (“ham on white bread, which I NEVER eat, but it was completely delicious”) is fairly typical fashion week sustenance. For a man who loves to cook, working such long hours can be frustrating. “I go to the market before the shows and get a load of vegetables to make soups and stews so I’ve always got something delicious to come home to.”
At quarter to six and wearing his signature ‘uniform’ from a wardrobe of Adidas trainers, 1955 Levi 501s, Fred Perry polo shirts and Lanvin v-necks, and with a 6am call time for Clements Ribeiro, his first show of the day, McKnight drives himself to Somerset House. When I question the sanity of this he laughs: “I always like to have my escape method and route planned. There’s nothing worse than being at someone else’s mercy when you’re busy.”
Report by Katie Greengrass
Knitwear label Sibling’s Sid Bryan has collaborated with the cream of British fashion talent from Giles to Jonathan Saunders, Jasper Conran, Gareth Pugh and many more over the years. The label he creates with Jo Bates and Cozette McCreery is one of the hot tickets at the MAN day. The LFW Daily grabbed him for a quick chat outside the Topshop ice cream van.
Who do you most enjoy collaborating with?
It’s hard to choose just one … Definitely Giles and I’ve also loved working with Jasper Conran this season.
What do you wear in bed?
Virgin Airlines Upper Class pyjamas, I have so many pairs.
What has been your greatest fashion disaster?
Aged thirteen I bought a bright pink jacket from my local market for a pound. I was like Doncaster’s version of a Pink Lady.
Snog, marry, avoid?
I’ve snogged Coz, I’d definitely marry Joe and I try and avoid both!
What your favourite tipple?
Well that’s easy, a hot chocolate from the Topshop van in Somerset House.
Twinset or game, set and match?
Sibling’s signature twinset all the way.
Sibling at Fashion East Presents Menswear Installations, Wednesday 24th, 12-4pm, Ground Floor, East Wing, Somerset House
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCUS DAWES
LADY RARA
LADY HAHA
LADY WHERE ARE YA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANIQWA JARVIS
MINE’S WOOLLY
MINE’S FURRY
MINE’S POSEY
MINE’S EXTREMELY SERIOUS AND APPROPRIATE FASHION GARB
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCUS DAWES
MOnsieur Poppins avec une babe
Mais ou est Brolly?
Meet me under the umbrella
Unidentified Flying Brolly
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCUS DAWES
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Report by Katie GreengassGrans and grandads, lock up your husky jackets, outerwear is having a moment. Our old friend the coat does, of course, make up the flavour of winter but this season London designers have played the cover up centre stage.
“Designers are especially concerned with jackets and coats this season,” Harrods’ Fashion and Beauty Director Marigay Mckee told The LFW Daily. “Bombers are the particular favourite along with the military style jackets,” she said.
Burberry based an entire collection around aviator jackets while Charles Anastase layered knitwear on top of overcoats. Daks took the husky and gave it an up to date, eccentric spin via leggings, capes and bonnets from the traditional fabric. Design duo Basso & Brooke weaved Trompe-l’œil goretex anoraks into their ensemble and at Aquascutum Michael Herz transformed tailored jackets into full-length dresses. Meanwhile, at Mens day today [Wed], E Tautz featured the ultimate in deluxe outerwear courtesy a cashmere fit for a prince. Luckily one [HRH Prince Michael] was sitting front row and was seemingly rather taken by it.
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Charlotte's Web
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The Statue of Liberty
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Scents and Sensibility
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Fred Butler: Craig Lawrence
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Anna Bauer's Edit
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Being Sam McKnight
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Burberry Prorsum
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Anna-Marie in that M&S hunting jacket
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANIQWA JARVIS
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Anna's handbag
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Nathan Jenden
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The Beauty of Fashion
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I Should Coco
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Fictionalised Furs
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That's Showbiz
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Top Gear
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Knitwits Rule OK
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On the Nail
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Beauty Mole: Pablo Rodriguez
The make-up inspiration for Ashish was Eastern European girls from an imaginary country called Ashishistan.
The models had to look very natural, with bare skin, just using M.A.C Face and Body Foundation.
The only feature of the face that was enhanced was the eyebrows, using M.A.C Impeccable Brow Pencil in a mix of Taupe and Dirty Blonde, to make them look dramatically unkept.
Lashed were just curled. And on the lips Prep + Prime Lip was applied to condition them without any glossy finish.
The final look was innocent raw beauty with a tough look in the eyes.
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Who’s That Girl?
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Pyfashorous theorem
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CHRISTOPHER KANE
Christopher Kane has become masterful at delivering a clear, concise message, season in, season out. This time around, it was all about tailoring. In wool, or black matte or patent leather – much of it decorated with vibrant embroidery – it was contrasted with lace blouses or lace panels that were spliced across skirts and dresses. There was a folkloric feel to the colourfully embroidered pansies and wild flowers that started out gently running up the sleeve of a chiffon blouse or a black cashmere cardigan with artfully slashed sleeves, or across the hemline of a skirt, and ended up dancing all over short leather dresses. Later in the show, Kane traded the flowers for crystals with glittering starbursts appearing on matte leather mini-dresses or shell tops, or circling a deep black patent cummerbund that cinched a black wool jacket with crisp patent collar. There was a nod to his homeland in the neat (and super-short) black wool kilts and a gorgeous black patent biker jacket with lambskin collar that was embroidered with a cluster of Scottish thistles.
Report by CLARE COULSON
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MARIOS SCHWAB
If his first season at Halston was a distraction for Marios Schwab, he definitely didn’t show it in the strong, polished collection he sent out yesterday. He kicked off with a flesh-toned dress that was cut away at the bodice and edged with a waffly trimming. A series of pinafore dresses followed, all of which had a strict schoolgirl feeling (a nod, Schwab said, to being “the only boy at fashion school”), but were cut with curvilinear collars that dipped away to reveal crisp white shirting. Other jersey dresses were topped with beautifully cut, sculptural little jackets or pulled in at the waist with decorative corsetry. Schwab reinterpreted the dirndl, but there was nothing school-marmish about his full, short skirts and dresses that came out in loden wool, duchesse satin or richly coloured brocades. Later, he continued with the week’s yearning for embellishment, as crystals outlined the bodices of dresses, while textural coats in smoke grey or forest green, neatly belted at the waist, added to the plush, tactile feeling of this collection.
Report by CLARE COULSON
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ROKSANDA ILINCIC
From the voluminous crimped hair and glossy Seventies make up to the upbeat disco tunes, Roksanda Ilincic was in a New York state of mind for autumn, giving us a super-polished collection that was, she said, “all about the beauty of winter fabrics, their textures and the way they can be sculpted around the body.” There was plenty of Ilincic’s signature cocktailwear, including a parade of killer charmeuse dresses in deep olive green, raspberry and smoke blue. A highlight was a pale pink charmeuse tunic that fanned into an air-filled cape at the back to a stunning strapless oyster silk column with a sculptural asymmetric peplum. But she developed her day wear, too, showing a beautiful charcoal jersey dress draped elegantly across the body, and a series of clean-cut shift dresses in black bouclé and charcoal wool. Some tailoring came heavily embellished with crystals and beading. On a lighter note were the sheer flesh-toned voile blouses and fluid pants, all of which were topped off with sumptuous fur stoles and gilets – perfect for a well-heeled New York city girl.
Report by CLARE COULSON
