From the moment Peter Jensen’s salon show started on Sunday afternoon, with a pianist placed in the corner, you could see it was going to be a classy affair. The show notes advised us that this season, on his return to London Fashion Week, Peter Jensen would be showing a collection inspired by Nina Simone – and specifically her devil-may-care attitude.
All the stalwarts of summer were present, channelling early Simone, AKA the Sunday school girl of the South. Broderie anglaise featured heavily, in crisp summer white as well as in darker sandy hues, sometimes with appliquéd flowers thrown in for good measure. Then there were denim dresses, layered over long sleeves pinafore style, with extra ruffles of fabric giving them added interest. In much the same way dresses had draped shoulders and fronts, or peplums, adding a regal glamour to the otherwise classic shapes.
Then there were the more showy pieces of the infamous performer. There was a canary yellow shift dress with a black crochet cardigan and a red duchess satin mini dress layered over a Jacquard print shirt. There were gold lurex knits and floral tulle dresses, as well as numerous oversized accessories from chandelier earrings to straw turbans. The Seventies were present in safari and leopard prints, as well as kick flare trousers.
Despite the lofty muse this was a thoroughly wearable collection of great summer pieces. There were also some particularly cool ‘angry eye’ sunglasses thrown in with classic Jensen wit.
London Fashion Week 2011
The Front Row
London Fashion Week predictions
