LONDON FASHION WEEK:IN FIGHTING spirit yesterday at London Fashion Week, the Burberry show, held in the Chelsea College of Art and streamed live on the internet, revisited its historic roots in British military uniforms.
The decision by creative director Christopher Bailey to show in London rather than Milan was a significant coup for the city and had all the trappings of a major fashion event with a rake of front-row celebrities including Anna Wintour of US Vogue.
Like the refashioning of their iconic trenchcoat, the collection, using a lot of sheepskin and leather, centred on new interpretations of army jackets.
Combats and bombers, brass-buttoned blazers or army khakis were paraded over skintight lace dresses, skinny trousers and thigh-high boots. For a company that means business, the look suited the mood.
The wave of digital print that has swept over the global catwalks was felt strongly yesterday in the collections of Peter Pilotto and Basso Brooke. Graphic designer Bruno Basso and former costume designer Christopher Brooke, who set up their label five years ago, are past masters of the technique that’s been hailed as fashion’s new visual language. For their winter collection they applied their aesthetic to familiar street shapes such as parkas, hoodies and leggings to great effect – even down to zany conical-heeled ankle boots with print-knit trims. A slim, brown and cream herringbone dress that looked like tweed with matching leggings had real modern elegance.
Peter Pilotto, one of London’s top emerging talents, incorporated strips of silver leather on to snake or tweed print dresses with fabrics twisted, pleated and bunched to create unusual shaping. The collection was at its best when not threatened by excessive and unnecessary detail, when simple shapes and modern patterns spoke for themselves.
At Paul Smith, the patterns were trompe l’oeil rather than digital. His show in Claridges tackled an equestrian theme with his usual panache and witty irreverence. There was a Jilly Cooperish mischief in his upending of traditional English country dress, such as a tweed jacket worn with orange corset laced jodhpurs, camouflage knee-highs and cropped high-heeled Wellingtons. It was madcap at times, but the tailoring was serious, the jackets were stylish and plus-fours given a new life in see through silk.