London Fashion Week AW19
For two months of each year, fashion dominates all. February and September play host to the international Fashion Weeks. For the 14th - 19th February 2019, London’s streets and most beautiful and exclusive venues are transformed into the stages, waiting wings, and backdrops for London Fashion Week.
DAY ONE
It is Friday evening, and time to get ready and head to Covent Garden’s Freemasons Hall for my first show of the weekend. First up is ‘C’est D.’ - a catwalk showcase of creations by designer Doyeon Yoni Yu. The show is bright, energetic, and fresh: filled with near-pastel colours, pale pvc, flowing linens, and lace. My favourite look of the show features a pale-tan pvc bra and flowing trousers of the same colour, accessorised with a ruched lace collar and matching sleeves, electric-aqua/mint in colour.
Next we walk into Holborn, for the Fashion Hong Kong presentation and cocktail reception. A long queue snakes around The College, the former home of Central Saint Martins, as people wait to be affirmed by the guest-list and welcomed through. We hate to queue, and my friend is quite the charming/persuasive talker, so we managed to join the front and get in quickly.
The venue is rammed full of people, sipping complimentary colourful cocktails of gin and vodka, and weaving through distinct sections devoted to differing designers at a pace totally unfamiliar to catwalk shows: slow and relaxed. The rooms are filled with the creations of Hong Kong designers Cynthia Mak, Doris Kath Chan, Polly Ho and Yeung Chin. And what an exciting and eclectic collection of rooms they are.
The first is a grand space, with one corner adorned with a hot pink podium and green wall garden, all overlooked by great red balloons. The podium is decorated with models dressed head-to-toe in rainbow creations. The stand-out look features a pink silk kimono, adorned with a fun animal print, paired with a black corset belt and pillbox hat from which a great birdcage veil emerges. It is beautiful.
Another room is filled with graffiti and empty metal bed-frames. Models walk through the abstract space smokey-eyed and dressed in hard, punk-meets-BDSM looks. My favourite consists of black fishnet tights complete with a leg harness, and a great structured blazer dress tightened at the waist by a thick leather corset. The venue is liked a maze, with another room filled with books accessorised with mirrors, and the hallways showcasing manikins draped with material art.
DAY TWO
A new day brings new shows, venues, and companionship in the form of a best friend, Diana. I head once again to the Freemasons Hall, where I meet Diana and head in for the Rocky Star show. And what a show it was! Rock n roll, punk, and gothic styles are beautifully combined to create both effortlessly-cool casual looks as well as high-glamour statement pieces. Bejewelled headpieces and veils with sequin trousers; leather gloves with great ruffled skirts and pvc newsboy hats; long scarves shimmering in gold with jet-black sunglasses and striped flares. The collection is a thing of beauty, with obvious nods to 70s fashion, but re-imagined with the extravagance and glamour of this decade’s red-carpet looks.
Next, me and Diana head to the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms - grand in name and SO grand in architectural nature. Awaiting us is the monumental ‘Stories from Arabia’ show - a collection of catwalk shows by Arabic designers. Having attended and experienced the unrivalled beauty and magnificence of their showcase last season, I was so excited for what we were about to be shown.
What followed did not disappoint. For a grand total of 30 minutes the palatial venue was transformed into a grand celebration of Middle Eastern style. Each collection was distinct, but all were extravagant and embellished with great patterns, textures, and materials. What I love about the Stories from Arabia shows is their imagination and commitment to really celebrating the wonder of material. I am far from a minimalist, and it is such a joy to see sequins and lace applied in such abundance and indulgence, whilst still evidencing a clear intelligence, consideration, and dedication to luxury. The designers included: Atelier Zuhra, Diana Battikha, Najwa Al Fadhli, Shereens, and EAU. My favourite collection had to be that of Najwa Al Fadhli - a collection filled with angelic pieces, all soft, regal, and the subject of dreams.
AN HONOURABLE MENTION… BETTER (FASHIONABLY) LATE THAN NEVER
Two weeks have passed since the official London Fashion Week weekend, but tonight marks the arrival of one more show: Nina Naustdal’s AW19 collection, taking place at Mayfair’s party-restaurant Bagatelle (and Natasha is walking in it!)
I’m running late, and - literally - running from Green Park tube station to get to Bagatelle just in time. A great crowd is gathered outside, I yell at the bouncer ‘my friend is in the show!’ as I run past him and his questioning. Bagatelle is one of Mayfair’s most flamboyant restaurants (my dinners there have featured waiters jumping on the sofas, performing champagne bottle showers as the venue breaks into club-like music and lighting), and the crowd gathered there tonight are vibrantly fitting. Never before have I been in a room filled with so many flamboyant people - both in their dress and in their physical displays of wealth. I take my seat in the second row, and enjoy looking around at such visually-exciting characters. I recognise Mark Francis and one of the dragons from Dragon’s Den, and wonder who all these other faces are and what stories accompanied them.
The show starts, and the collection that follows matches the tone of its settings and guests: extravagant. Feathers, lace appliques, and sequins embellished revealing dresses, paired with big backcombed hair and beautiful models. Natasha, another best friend of mine, looked majestic; walking the catwalk numerous times in numerous ensembles, each one even more feminine and adorned than the last. After a beautiful show, came the celebratory drinks and after-party at Hovarda. A wonderful finale to AW19.