A  sense of gothic, vintage Victoriana seemed to be the overlying theme for this London Fashion Week. Clearly there’s a touch of nostalgia in the air with so many of our young designers looking backwards to inspire the now, sometimes with beautiful results and others not so. The problem with a reoccurring theme is that so often the pieces become indistinguishable and with a packed schedule that’s dangerous territory to be in. Anna Wintour vocally lamented the lack of creativity at NYFW but being wildly creative has never been a problem for our capitals designers. What they do well, they do so very well and this season my constant favourites, Erdem and Simone Rocha continued to prove how deserving they are of the critical acclaim lauded to their young labels.
Simone Rocha
Victoriana is where Simone Rocha lives and breathes but each season she adds a new take on her romantic interpretations of yesteryear. This season was a little darker and a touch undone, with thick tweeds offset against the sheerest of gauzy organza dresses. A personal favourite was a saccharine pink coat that is undoubtedly going to become an Instagram star!
Erdem
Erdem’s garments are always the very definition of pretty but this season it was quite refreshing to see the designer go a little darker and bolder with his designs. The all evening wear collection allowed the designer to show his strengths, especially through his breathtakingly beautiful gowns, some with touches of lace, others with decadent devore velvet with a running floral theme weaving through the collection. Whilst the gowns stole the show the collections foray into separates added welcome touch of ease and wearabilty, the impeccably tailored trouser suits in particular.
Mary Katrantzou
Mary Katrantzou can always be depended on to add some feminine glamour to the proceedings! This season she went retro Americana – almost a touch on Prada from SS12 but still very much Mary. The colours were poppy and the patterns bold but there was an intricacy to the proceedings, keeping things just the luxury side of kitschy.
Pictures courtesy of vogue.co.uk