"London's On Fire": Fashion & Style Director Karen Binns Dissects London Fashion Week
This season’s London Fashion Week collections really demonstrated the power London has in the fashion global market. It was on fire. Everyday was filled with excitement and anticipation. From new young designers to the establishment, 10, 10, 10 across the board! Now we’ve been thrown into the Brexit nightmare, this is what the UK needs to prove more than ever— to show we can still hold it down in the global fashion market. In my view, here are some of the standout collections:
RICHARD MALONE
One of the new kids on the block, This season he turned it up 200 percent by showing his signature technique in drape and tailoring.
ROKSANDA ILINCIC
Love, love, love her! She of course is one of the established brands and consistency is her middle name. She has an impressive global client list including Mrs Obama herself. In the collection we saw her trademark volume x10 and beautiful technicolour throughout.
TOGA ARCHIVE
Never missing a beat, TOGA always delivers their aesthetic in the best way— wearable trends that last for seasons. Another young brand that shows stability coming out of the UK.
BURBERRY
Established ....and BADASS. All day, everyday dressing— taking you from the office to a dinner date. Riccardo has brought us back to sexy in the daytime and people are saying… is it British? What is British? For me, British is the arrogance of Power. It’s dressing with a new inner confidence. And as Riccardo would say, in a multi cultural UK society this represents London above all.
CHALAYAN
One of the most established and respected masters of new cuts and emotional ideas in fashion. He’s one of the UK’s treasures and every season he brings you to tears with the beauty and love in his work— which always speaks for itself.
ASHISH
ELECTRIC ECLECTIC... CULTURE ... BEYOND. His feeling for cultural, sexuality and freedom of expression. He has no boundaries but always with a sportive point of view. His work delivers the most old school glamour, also for the daytime . He portrays the youth in all of us that never leaves. This collection for me was very special— giving life to the celebration of his Indian roots and dipping into the modern global market in the best way possible. You go Ashish, never change!
RICHARD QUINN
What a show, what a collection for a young designer on the scene. He KILLED IT. The workmanship alone, seriously, I couldn’t breath. This is what dreams are made of. Brilliance, glamour and precision. His looks are screaming, we are beautiful and isn’t this what fashion is about? Huge shout out to Sarah Mower for bringing him out.
YUHAN WANG of Fashion East
Back to romance, printed draped silks— this is just gorgeous no frills beauty. For such a young designer to capture so much glamour and still keep it young and fresh… this girl is definitely going places. A very strong new designer to pay attention to.
CHRISTOPHER KANE
Bad boy— one of the dopest designers that the UK is giving. He brings it every single season. His dedication to designing a brand new flex but still keeping his signature is a feat of amazement. The word trendsetter belongs to him and we all know how important that is in this industry. In this collection he mastered the fabric combinations effortlessly with an added sport rhythm to keep us running and moving forward into another dimension.
DURO OLOWU
Chicness, colour and a strong presence of super tailoring— he’s more of a couturier than a ready to wear designer, but we love it because he exposes the london scene in a more intellectual way of buying.
HALPERN
Halpern’s sequinned creations lend themself perfectly to the red carpet. This season he holds it down as per usual ... gowns and dresses that demand attention, and also some fun and games at the same time.