“I love the idea of both old and new simultaneously,” Burberry’s Creative Director, Christopher Bailey said this week. And that was evident in this collection, which was inspired by Jean Shrimpton and the “idea of matching your bag to your coat.” Bailey debuted bright knits in red, yellow, and blue, along with several structured jackets, military coats, and capes. And the big finale took the audience by (literal) storm: Snow blanketed the catwalk as models marched out in clear raincoats. The show, which was live streamed online, was also streamed to large monitors on London’s Piccadilly Circus.
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Daniella Issa Helayel, the designer behind Issa London, shot to fame this year when Kate Middleton wore her navy blue dress to announce her engagement to Prince William. At her show Saturday, Helyal celebrated her 10 years in fashion by bringing back her signature prints on wrap dresses and debuting figure-flattering drapes. Helyal credits the late duchess of Windsor as the inspiration for this year’s collection.
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Giles Deacon, who designed for Bottega Veneta before he was succeeded by Tomas Maier, began his eponymous line in 2004. In 2006, he won the prize for British Fashion Designer of the Year. He’s known for his avant-garde and playful designs, and this season debuted a collection that featured black and white tailoring, big furs, and full skirts cinched with black leather corsets. As he told WWD of the collection: “I thought about the 19th-century obsession with female hysteria—something buttoned up but at the same time with something completely wild lurking underneath.”
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Christopher Kane, who began his career working for Donatella Versace while still in college, has been a beloved fixture at London Fashion Week since 2006. This season, Kane used graphic patterns with insets of rubber on elegant silhouettes.
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Prints were big on the runway in London this week. And no one did it quite like Jonathan Saunders, who introduced several bright colors—blue, green, and orange—in bold prints at his show Saturday. And silhouettes were flowing, with long skirts and belted jackets. Saunders, who won the Fashion Enterprise Award in 2006 and the Elle Style Awards Designer of the Year in 2007, is known for using silk screening to create patterns.
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Roksanda Ilincic was born in Belgrade. She started her label in 2003, after winning funding from the British Fashion Council, TopShop New Generation, and talent incubator Fashion East. She has since been nominated for the Swarovski Fashion Enterprise award, and the British Fashion Council’s New Designer of the Year Award. In January, Michelle Obama wore a silk satin dress and navy wool coat from Ilincic’s fall 2010 collection to welcome President Hu Jintao. Ilincic’s fall/winter collection took inspiration from Russian artist Natalia Goncharova, and featured several floor-length satin gowns in rich hues.
Jonathan Short / AP Photo
Stars from Keira Knightly to Michelle Obama are fans of Erdem Moralioglu’s designs. The Canadian designer has won numerous awards, including Elle magazine’s Fashion Future Award, in 2009. At his show in London this week, Erdem presented a collection that showcased his signature lush prints that transformed bathrobe coats and easy sheaths into wearable homages to Impressionism.
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Christopher de Vos and Peter Pilotto, the design team behind Peter Pilotto, met at Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2000. Nine years later, they won the Best Emerging Talent Award at the British Fashion Awards. This season, the designers stayed true to their signature use of bold patterns and soft shapes with a collection that featured futuristic prints and wrapped silhouettes.
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