PPQ at London Fashion Week AW12 // Bike to the future

No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is indeed a bicycle being wheeled down the catwalk at the PPQ on day one of London Fashion Week. Very Dalston isn’t it?

Someone asked me right before the PPQ show which I preferred between the summer and winter fashion weeks. I answered that these days the boundary between the two, in terms of the seasonality of clothes on show, was so blurred that I couldn’t decide. But then I had to eat my words as minutes later PPQ sent out an array of resolutely cold weather-friendly clothing. It started (once the girl wheeling the bike had exited, more on that later) with a host of winter coats in black and grey raggedy mohair, cinched 80′s-style with wide belts. A hood embellished with gold and a slightly Amish head piece (that was way cuter than it should have been in theory) put a focus on the neck up. Next up were cosy, rouched black velvet dresses that had added sex appeal thanks to deep V-necks, cut out backs and off the shoulder detailing.  Typically for PPQ there were a few very out-there looks, like the cream, off the shoulder unitard that brought to mind two terrifying words: camel and toe. The black latex high-waisted knickers were equally zany, but the eveningwear was mostly very tasteful – a couple of flowing black and white dresses in particular. And then the bikes were back. For the final walk-through three of the models wheeled out a bike that matched their outfit. A collaboration with lifestyle brand RULE, 100 of the snappily titled Limited Edition PPQ Rule Supreme Style bikes will be available to order in March. It seemed like a slightly gimmicky end to the show but I’m a big bike fan so I don’t care. In fact, if I had £1500 spare (yep, that’s how much they’ll be) I would totally be placing an order.

Check out the rest of Style & Then Some’s LFW coverage here.

A La Disposition at London Fashion Week AW12 // Paying Fashionable Respects

What? A La Disposition salon show

Where? Vauxhall Fashion Scout, Freemason’s Hall

When? Friday 17th September, 4pm – 6pm

Who? Fashion bloggers taking pics of each other taking pics, the designers Daniel Kinne and Lynda Cohen

Helena Bonham Carter’s getting her plastic out as we speak. For the A La Disposition salon show today at Vauxhall Fashion Scout was full of enough eccentric checked tux jackets, voluminous quilted skirts and quirky hats to make any Victoriana fan shake with excitement.

The dimly lit space upstairs in the Freemason’s Hall suited the gothic mood perfectly and the A La Disposition invites “solemnly” requested our presence at the show. It is a shame we only got to see the looks on mannequins as I can imagine these outfits looking great with that huge, romantic poodle hair you sometimes see in fashion editorial. And the models striding down the catwalk, canes in hand.

But the clothes spoke for themselves – top hats, zig-zag patterned pencil skirts and coats with tails that drifted across the marble floor made this one individual collection indeed. The A La Disposition woman for AW12 is on a Tim Burton/ Dickens binge and looking to make a statement.

Check out the rest of Style & Then Some’s LFW coverage here.

Corrie Nielsen at London Fashion Week AW12 (VIDEO) // Great Scots

What? Corrie Nielsen at London Fashion Week AW2012

Where? BFC Showspace, Somerset House

When? Friday 17th February, 11am

Who? Stylists Rebekah Roy and Joel Dash, Hilary Alexander (yep, her again).

A tartan invitation. Bagpipes playing. The words ‘Destiarium Scotitum.’ Do you need any more clues as to where former Fashion Fringe winner Corrie Nielsen was headed this season? That’s right, this was a Highland affair from start to finish, inspired by Nielsen’s distant Scottish relatives apparently.

Tight tartan pencil skirts were paired with ruffled long sleeved blouses, while jackets with high necks and leg o’ mutton sleeves suggested a Victorian sternness. There was also something beautifully funereal about the black chiffon overlaid from waist to chin on an off-the-shoulder red tartan frock. Elsewhere, the corsetry and draping, particularly on a heavy navy asymmetrical dress, called to mind one of Nielsen’s former employers, Vivienne Westwood. Black court shoes with architectural block heels were provided by those makers of zany shoes, United Nude.

But the designer this collection owed most too was, of course, Alexander McQueen, or more precisely, his 1995 Highland Rape collection. That’s no bad thing though. Nielsen took the Scottish theme and deftly placed it in a historical context – and the results were grand but restrained.

Well, restrained with the exception of the final two looks, that is: a huge black and white tartan full skirt with a stiff white sleeveless chiffon blouse, and the piece de resistance, a ruffled billowing navy silk cape that the word ‘voluminous’ doesn’t even come close to describing. Again, it bore more than a passing resemblance to a red McQueen cape (one that Andre Leon Talley once wore to the Met Ball), but since this is only Nielsen’s third London Fashion Week solo show we can forgive her that.

Check out the rest of Style & Then Some’s LFW coverage here.

Bora Aksu at London Fashion Week AW12 // Poor Little Rich Girl

What? Bora Aksu

Where? BFC Showspace, Somerset House

When? Friday 17th February, 1pm

Who? Hilary Alexander, Brix Smith-Start and her Mulberry-clad pooch, possibly Cher Lloyd

You’d think even the most inventive of designers wouldn’t be able to find glamour in an Eastern European/Russian peasant but the Turkish designer Bora Aksu has found a way to make it chic for AW12.

I half expected the models to start skipping about and bending to their knees as the jaunty bell-ridden music kicked in and the lights of the BFC Showspace went out. But the mood of the clothes was quieter – embellished mauve and beige capes and pale pink linen skirt suits gave a loosely structured look that seemed to be at once romantic and utilitarian. Think practical peasant clothes seen through Bora Aksu’s rose-tinted fashion glasses.

Footwear came in the form of black shoe boots and the leggings were a sublime contrast to the billowing skirts – fierce, monochrome prints that gave the collection an edge. We loved the asymmetrical lace headbands that covered the models’ foreheads and also the Luella-style psychadelic orange that started to creep into the hems of some of the skirt lines.

Aksu kept everything fresh though – a mixture of details like the occasional metallic gold collar and a huge split right up the back of one dress stopped it being frumpy. Workwear got a shot towards the end too with clashing red, orange and pink separates.

This collection was a definite departure from the knitwear that Bora Aksu showed us last season and we have a feeling that the embellished shirts and subdued dresses will be a big hit in the boutiques.

We’ll get some official Bora Aksu AW12 photos up as soon as we can, as the bright lights of the BFC Showspace were too much for our back row position, but for now here’s a quick video of the finale. Don’t those models look intimidating when they march like that?

Check out the rest of Style & Then Some’s LFW coverage here.

Caroline Charles at London Fashion Week AW12 // A British Nostalgia

What? Caroline Charles

Where? The Caroline Charles studio, Brompton Road

When? Friday 17th February, 10am

Who? Voguettes, Telegraph Fashion Team, the cream of the King’s Road

Sitting in Caroline Charles’ Brompton Road studio, who’d have known that the mayhem of London Fashion Week had already begun? Greeted with a glass of bubbly and listening to the warm refrains of Ella Fitzgerald, we all got cosy in one of those rare salon presentations and were treated to Charles’ take on heritage wear, infused with a British wartime nostalgia.

As one of the original designers to back British Fashion Week over forty years ago, Charles’ is one of biggest proponents of classic British design principles. This season’s designs had a classic, wearable feel, featuring low-key skirt suits and crepe dresses covered with claret coloured velvet jackets. A decidedly feminine collection, this season’s featured all the classic moss and berry autumn tones, but refigured in sumptuous silks, satins and velvets.  I also spotted some rather snazzy accessories and jewellery (feathered tiara anyone?) designed by the Bijoux Heart.

Heritage may be a bit of a safe bet when it comes to autumn winter collections but it wasn’t all tweed and tartan. Charles re-spun the Bloomsbury aesthetic with touches of jewel embellishment on sleeves and collars, as well as a healthy dose of leopard print and silver lame in the mix - giving the uber-glam offerings a more youthful edge. All in all, a thoroughly polished start to the season indeed.

Check out the rest of Style & Then Some’s LFW coverage here.

Photos taken with Olympus PEN E-PM1 – for more information see here

Antoni and Alison at London Fashion Week AW12 // Going back to their art school roots

What? Antoni and Alison at London Fashion Week AW2012

Where? BFC Showspace, Somerset House

When? Friday 17th February, 9am

Who? LFW stalwarts (and fashion journalism royalty) Hilary Alexander and Colin McDowell were in the front row.

Kicking of the LFW action on Friday morning was Antoni and Alison, taking the early bird spot usually held by Paul Costelloe. While some of the fashion pack might still have been preping and preening (there were several empty back rows) those of us who made the effort to get to the first show of the day were rewarded with a fresh, lively collection that was worth getting up early for.

Opening with what sounded like a press release being read out, a booming voice told us about the history of the brand. Antoni Burakowski and Alison Roberts met at famed design college Central St Martins and have been designing together ever since. This year marks 25 years in the business, and a catwalk show was chosen for their latest work as ‘the vehicle for its one and only performance.’

Voiceover aside, the goods on show were far from pretentious, and consisted mainly of easy to wear dresses. Going back to their art school roots, the designers riffed on a trompe l’oeuil theme, with texture and embellishment added by way of print. Tweed, petals, buttons, ribbons, wet-look latex - all were rendered in 2D, with the dress acting as a blank canvas. Many dresses were spliced at the waist with a virtual ‘skirt’ in a contrasting print.

A lot of warm golden brown tones were interspersed with deep purple and the odd splash of deep purple and turquoise. A couple of evening looks took the ‘faux’ theme to its natural conclusion: blown up sequin print on a minidress and a printed cropped tux on a floorlength gown. It might not have been groundbreaking, but this kooky-luxe collection still felt fresh and appealing.

Check out the rest of Style & Then Some’s LFW coverage here.