London Fashion Week 2011 at Somerset House has been introducing so many new and exciting designers over the past week as well as sharing the new ranges of the already well established brands.
Whilst there was an array of fresh talent on display some designers definitely stole the show, my personal favourite was the Nigeria born and bred designers collection, Tiffany Amber. Tiffany Amber is a new designer with many unique and different ideas. I particularly enjoyed the way that her designs, though extremely feminine can be toned down or up with the right accessories, I can see many of the floral and printed fitted dresses being worn with the very popular leather boots and jackets to give the outfit a certain feminine edge to it. There was use of metallic tones, lace in a variety of colours and vibrant summer shades that we will definitely see a lot of in summer 2012. I particularly like how many of the dresses are printed in floral and incorporate frills in a sexy yet classy way which makes them easily wearable for the everyday women who may want to disguise a few lumps and bumps on her figure.
The plunging necklines, daring patterns and very small skirts are setting the example that summer 2012 is going to be all about to feminine woman.
Carlotta Actis Barone was a very popular designer during London Fashion Week, her range appeals to different aspects of the personality, be that your glamorous instinct or your fetish. The use of materials which included leather has led to her creating a unique and spectacular range in daring colours and textures. Carlotta Actis Barone has carefully made use of daring and safe options within her range which makes her new season trends accessible for everyday occasions.
This year, minimalism and attention to tailoring is becoming the latest fashion phenomenon and the latest designers James Hillman, a menswear designer and Florian Jayet, a womenswear designer, are taking the fashion world by storm with their designs.
James Hillman captures the true essence of minimalized tailored looks. His menswear range and catwalk show was a masterpiece and sheer brilliance as it truly captures what the idea of the tailored look in the pastel colours is supposed to represent.
Whilst James Hillman and Florian Jayet bare no connection to one another their designs and ranges do follow the same basic rules, and I feel that in the future they may become closely compared. Florian Jayet designs a womenswear range and has made brilliant use of the body sculpting tailored image for the all-powerful woman. Florian Jayet has also introduced daring shoulder pad designs into his blazers and there is a true edge to this collection, which is not for the passive recipient.
Fashion is constantly changing, season upon season we find ourselves inundated with the new trends to follow and fill our wardrobes with, however this season appears to be all about the prints and adding an element of edginess to the softer styles, therefore I feel the thick and blocky designs of winter 2011 will be carried over into summer 2012.
Catwalk photos: Christopher Dadey