With London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2017 (aka LFW A/W 2017) well underway and the nation’s capital city awash with global fashion elite, we at Debut have summarised our favourite runway shows. From industry heavyweights to fresh new faces, these are the fashion shows that will dictate our A/W wardrobes. Get ready to start compiling that dream wardrobe wish list!
Shrimps Ready To Wear A/W 17
No, not the foodstuff, but the to-die-for faux fur label that has been seen on everyone who is anyone since bursting on to the scene in 2014. Shrimps designer Hannah Weiland’s signature patterned faux-fur coats made an appearance in her A/W 17 show, this time accompanied by pearl encrusted detailing and pearl necklaces, sheer, ruffled dresses and skirts with floral motifs, an abundance of tweed, PVC, and a repeated figurine iconography. The result is an eclectic mix of old lady chic and a devil-may-care charity shop trawling art student, and we at Debut are totally here for it. The cherry on top of this cruelty free cake? The shoes: matching faux-fur covered and lace trimmed trainers and fuzzy faux leopard print covered loafers.
Erdem Ready To Wear A/W 17
The outcome is a luscious mosaic of pattern and colour – English garden florals meet patterns derived from Ottoman illumination, colours are lush and jewel like (emerald, burnished saffron, sapphire, and amethyst), and the silhouette recalls both Sultans of past and a British militaristic coat (Moralioğlu’s great-grandfather was a member of the Royal Scots regiment) – all sharp shoulders, wide sleeves and elegantly curved cut-outs.
Roksanda Ready To Wear A/W 17
Playing with a colour palette of brick red, bright azure blue, salmon pink, electric orange, mustard yellow, warm browns and beiges, and white, Roksanda A/W 17 was an ode to quality and movement. The easy, flowing silhouette, earthy colour scheme and natural textures (wool, shearling and silk) unites East and West; calling on references to the Seventies, to Nordic dress, and to traditional Japanese dress (see: those Obi-esque leather belts and the origami-like structure of the patch work dresses).
The collection was also held in memory of the designer’s close friend and fellow designer Richard Nicoll who died last year; Pantone developed a completely new colour to remember Nicoll – called Nicoll Blue – which was used in the collection.
Christopher Kane Ready To Wear A/W 17
Wanting to depict a “tougher femininity” in his A/W 17 show, designer Christopher Kane presented a collection of opposites; angular, ‘mannish’, uniform-like shapes meeting beautiful fabrics and patterns like muted pastel florals, soft lace and iridescent silk. In the end he created a totally 2017 character, a character that is both factory worker and lady of luxury, both rigid and undone; a character of dichotomy, as is femininity and the female body in 2017, constantly torn from one extreme to another. She is almost a creation from a science-fiction novel, complete with dresses and skirts patterned with retro space ships and futuristic metallic space-man ensembles.
Sophie Webster Ready To Wear A/W 17
Sophie Webster’s woman of A/W 17 is a post-apocalyptic, bubble gum pop Ice Queen, the stuff of Debut’s candy coloured dreams. Models were resplendent in tiaras reminiscent of Russian Tsarinas, legs clad in sandals encrusted with ice crystal-like jewels, and holding pop art inspired clutches. Between the baby pink butterfly backpack, pearl coated trainers and thigh-high silver boots, one reading ‘Hot Like Fire’ and the other ‘Cold Like Ice’, we are finding it impossible to choose our favourite pieces!
Words by Esther Newman
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