While we’ve reported some of the best fall 2012 / winter 2013 shows that we’ve seen so far this season with runway reviews, fashion show coverage, backstage beauty, and home style inspiration too, we wanted to take a moment and look back at highlights from London’s top shows.
As per usual, there was no shortage of statement making, thought-provoking, completely modern & individual outings from some of the city’s most talented -here’s some favorites to take note of.
>> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS
Acne-
Swedish phenom Acne has been on top of its game in the streetwear arena for over a decade now so it works as a rather pleasant surprise to see the label up the ante with designs so major league that they tend to have you looking at the label as a full-forced contender in the high-design luxury market.
Fall’s outing had a strict, directional look about it that dared with proportions that kept all eyes on the waist thanks to wide elastic belts that had a kooky surgical aspect to them and faux layered waistbands that are destined to change silhouettes come fall.
Glossy sculptural leather coats whose shape stood away from the body and a variety of smart separates in dreamy shades of burgundy and mustard made the collection’s exaggerated waists seem like a shape shifting ideal worth taking up for consideration and made for one of Acne’s finest collections to date. SHOP: ACNE at Shopbop
J.W Anderson-
As he’s quickly risen amongst our top ranking designers to watch, J.W Anderson’s latest effort once again delivered the designer’s covetable, bizarrely contemporary creations and is certain to elevate his following outside of the fashion flock.
While the silhouettes boasted a particularly droll, almost flat effect that riffed on the minimal, they worked to serve as a strict foundation for the designer’s characteristic play on mixing fabrications with a gloriously sci-fi bent.
Quilting, padding and pvc fabrications gave the collection a jolt of fresh energy while pure shapes lent it a clean, grounded vibe, offering a range that felt as intrinsically protective as it did provocative.
McQ-
Those in the know have come to look at the secondary McQ label from Alexander McQueen as a go-to for streetsmart pieces full of attitude and a cool edge that is otherwise lacking in the more affordable market that’s often burdened with too many pretty dresses and basic workwear.
As if to turn a new page for the line, Sarah Burton sent the collection out on the runway for the first time in London.
And this collection brought with it the kind of merriment filled impact that it was intended to with an assortment of brilliantly color blocked wool military coats and skirt -suits, decadently beaded and festooned party dresses and kicky a-line dresses in tartan. Together they brought a re-imagined appeal to the label while inserting McQueen’s codes of dark, aggressive glamor met with exquisite tailoring front & center. SHOP: McQ BY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN at Shopbop
Marios Schwab-
Of our favorite efforts from the London shows, Marios Schwab’s ultra-femme body-con dresses beautifully merged his ardent sci-fi inclinations with a delicious dose of femininity with a slight retro silver screen sex appeal to it.
That combination made for an eye-catching union of two elements that although disparate, continue to capture fashion’s gaze on their own, and that made for a killer range of unique party frocks with a jazzy come-hither verve to them.
Perfectly pretty and with a signature wicked streak, it made for a remarkable proposition with pieces as easy on the wear as they were on the eyes.