London Fashion Week: From warrior women to ‘Lover’s Lace’

Editor’s Note: Charlotte Moore is the Editor of InStyle UK

London CNN  — 

It’s not just the weather that’s thrown everything at us this weekend. London Fashion Week has had us zig-zagging across town and catapulted into the 80s New Wave (J.W. Anderson), the truly, madly, deeply 70s (Burberry) and then onto the freeway (Anya Hindmarch). This season creativity seemed to be back, back, back – with a confident mood amongst London’s designers.

Whereas some LFW’s there might be one or two killer shows, the big five (Christopher Kane, Roksanda, Mary Katrantzou, J.W. Anderson and Erdem) all had particularly strong collections for Autumn/Winter 2015. Not only that, Gareth Pugh – a more conceptual British designer who has showed in Paris for the past seven years – came back to London with a dark spectacle that reminded us that fashion as an art form can be incredibly provocative and thought provoking.

The front row at Burberry caused as much of a stir (if not more) than the clothes themselves. Sam Smith, Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Kate Moss, photographer Mario Testino and Naomi Campbell were all in attendance. (Dunn and Campbell are faces of the brand's Spring/Summer 2015 campaign.)

Set amongst the Renaissance paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Pugh’s show opened with an otherworldly film projection of a lone woman gradually hacking off her own hair before smearing her face and body with a red Saint George’s cross. Disturbingly beautiful, the models emerged from the darkness like warrior women, 21st century Boudicas if you like, in floor length black gowns with leather bodices and huge military inspired headpieces. Then as the show progressed the backing track was flooded with sound of Sunderland football chants. This was a comment on England right now – the hate, the love, the history – and all the complications that go with it.

Sunday however proved that fashion can be as fickle as it can be profound, when Kendall Jenner arrived at the Topshop Unique show at the Tate Britain gallery. What with her new best mate Cara Delevingne on her arm, it caused instantaneous Instagram meltdown as every show-goer (and we’re including even the more intellectual ones here) grappling to get a shot of the two newbie supers trotting out of the gallery.

Celebrities, and particularly US celebrities seemed to be out in force, despite the Oscars clash. As well as the usual Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe and Pixie Geldof contingent, Dianna Agron of Glee fame was spotted coming out of the Erdem show, while Kanye West showed his fashion chops by rocking up at the Thomas Tait show – a hot, but relatively under the radar ticket with Tait’s recently acquired LVMH Prize.

But it was Christopher Kane’s show – always a big hitter – that really had the fash pack in rapture. Perfectly tailored velvet suiting, slippery two-tone velvet dresses, and a series of delicate lace dresses that featured bodies intertwined with each other, which he dubbed “Lover’s Lace” in the show notes. This was the sexiest Kane has ever been, but sexy in a way that cool girls want, which is something only the greatest designers pull off.

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