Christopher Kane is one of London Fashion Week’s hottest tickets and his clothes have a powerful influence over the trends for the forthcoming season so we were curious to see what the design wunderkind would pull out of the bag for Spring/Summer 2012. The Frow was packed with V.I.Ps, from Anna Wintour to Samantha Cameron, and the show took place in a vast space at the top of the One New Change mall in the heart of the City.
The first looks on the catwalk were sporty, suggesting that this is going to be one of next season’s strongest trends, as we saw plenty of luxe sportswear in New York too. Sleeveless cable knit cricket jumpers were teamed with crisp gym skirts and neat little shell tops in soft metallic shades of pink and pale blue.
A candy-coloured brocade motif started to appear in shift dresses and skirt suits, which were succeeded by stiff ‘60s-style house coats and shimmering iridescent floral chiffon dresses. In between the floral pieces were some clean and elegant plain metallic shifts with stiffly folded origami-style panels. But the looks that got the audience snapping, scribbling and sighing were the show-stopping jewel-encrusted dresses, tops and skirts that looked heavy and luxurious – the sort of thing Elizabeth Taylor would choose. The kitsch element was toned down by the jewelled skirt being teamed with a plain crisp white shirt.
The only odd note in the collection was the footwear – strange sporty-looking flip flops with corrugated soles that looked like the sort you’d wear in a leisure centre - but at least the models could walk down the incredibly long catwalk in them.
Fashion Week 2011Peter Pilotto catwalk show
Mulberry catwalk show
