The Stunning Resurrection of McQ

Like a phoenix from the ashes, McQ has been brilliantly resurrected. The diffusion line of the incomparable house of Alexander McQueen, has been reworked and relaunched under the direction of Sarah Burton. Where McQ was once a shadow of the house’s main line, it now offers a fully-fledged, iconic perspective of its own. 

London Fashion Week Favorites, Part III.

The final installment of London Fashion Week. These last two designers had stand out, mind blowing collections. A perfect snapshot of why London Fashion Week rocks.

Erdem

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Image via style.com

Erdem, a brand now known around the world for clothing Princess Kate in their exquisitely detailed lace, is swiftly ascending to fashion stardom. Instead of playing it safe and riding on royal coat tails, the brand is pushing boundaries by incorporating unexpected elements into their proper English garments. Rubber trimmings, oversized faux jewels, and lucite brought an improper edge to lady-like ensembles. The overall experience was impactful, perhaps shocking. But, Sometimes the most off-beat aesthetics are the most beautiful.

Mary Katrantzou

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Image via style.com

Just days after the release of her Topshop collaboration, Mary Katrantzou’s main line showed in London to spectacular success. Playing with both exaggerated form and print,Katrantzou’s Fall 2012 showing is an impressive display of the designer’s talent and potential for growth. It’s easy think that Katrantzou’s print-centric style will quickly become overwrought and tedious, but she continually overcomes expectations. This collection is by no means an exception. It seems that origami forms are a central trope of this season’s offerings on a global scale and Katrantzou has maximized their potential through her signature strategically mismatched prints. Katrantzou's evening offerings are especially impressive, taken her eccentric style and rendering it black-tie appropriate without sacrificing style or perspective.

London Fashion Week Favorites, Part II.

Burberry Prorsum

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Image via style.com

While it is incredibly difficult for Christopher Bailey to live up to last spring’s phenomenal Burberry Prorsum showing, he managed a strong, cohesive follow up for Fall 2012. Playing with shape and volume, Bailey used ruffles, quilting, and texture to reinvent the classic Burberry staples. Bow belts dominated the catwalk, emphasizing an enhanced womanly figure while, interestingly positioned, contrasting cargo pockets distorted the classicism of the hourglass silhouette. If there’s anything one can learn from Christopher Bailey, it is that you can reinvent the wheel and succeed. 

Christopher Kane

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Image via style.com

CHRISTOPHER KANE. This man is clearly a freakin’ genius. In a stunning collection that moved, much like a color wheel, from black to blue to purple to red, was as much as an emotional experience as it was an aesthetic one. Ingenious optically textured fabrics were the constant in this season’s Kane wardrobe. Much like the galaxy print before it and the mirror-spotted textiles before that, this is destined to become an international trend to be knocked off for seasons to come. Interspersed with leather accents, knits, and slick animal prints, this innovative textile created an image of the future. One in which conservative, business dressing is a relic of the past, and creativity reigns supreme. A++ for Kane.

Giles

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Image via style.com

Giles Fall 2012 embodies an “Eyes Wide Shut” meets English school marme aesthetic. It’s an unlikely combination, but ultimately a successful one. From a new take on Le Smoking to a deliciously perverse take on the school girl uniform, Giles is a collection that tests the limits of memory and shared reference. For fashion theorists, this is a collection to feast on for years to come. For fashion enthusiasts, its a collection that's at once familiar and subversive. One to be remembered.

Peter Pilotto

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Image via style.com

Peter Pilotto seems to have turned a mildly pleasant, if not overwhelming, acid trip into a fashion dream. Fall 2012 boasts bright, primary colors, mind-bending graphics, and thoroughly sexy shapes. This is not the collection for every woman, but it is a collection for the daring ones. Destined to be seen on street style star Taylor Tomasi Hill, this collection is a benchmark for London’s independent spirit. 

London Fashion Week, Part I

London Fashion Week has begun, I can already tell that things are about to get INSANE. Assuming that you care, here are my favorite shows so far.

Topshop Unique

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Image via Style.com

Drawing on decidedly feminist eras, this season’s Unique collection was obviously and ode to strong women. Styled by former British Vogue editor Kate Phelan, the collection favored silhouettes popularized during the second world war--wide leg pants, functional jackets, and belted shirt dresses in muted khaki, burgundy, and slate. The slouchy forms  were particularly pervasive and were reminiscent of the early Parisian garconnes who favored the ease of wear that men’s garments afforded them over Dior’s New Look. Ending the show with updated-flapper silhouettes was a stellar choice, bringing a sense of glamorous, functional nonchalance to an already strong outing. The garments’ conjure the historical relationship between fashion and women’s liberation. Unique’s intellectual and historically reverent turn is bound to be a retail success and is a sign of bigger and better things for the Topshop brand. 

Simone Rocha

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Image via Style.com

London is, if nothing else, an incubator for great talent and Simone Rocha’s first runway presentation is a stunning example of that. 25 consistently strong, meticulously crafted looks comprised her fall collection. While the silhouettes tended toward updated classics--the boyfriend blazer, peplum tops, and collared shift dresses--the unexpected fabrics elevated the collection’s successes. Tulle overlays, transparent, dream-like lace, and well-worked wools provided a new perspective on casual dressing and solidified Rocha’s place among London’s designers to watch. 

John Rocha

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Image via Style.com

In past seasons it was easy to perceive John Rocha’s work as a sort of McQueen-light alternative. This season, the Hong Kong-born designer (and father of Simone) came into his own, defining his surprisingly elegant, post-goth aesthetic. Models dressed in over sized belted furs read as graceful, brooding avian creatures, while open knits and sheer patchwork construction balanced the show’s serious tone. 

Johnathan Saunders

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Image via Style.com

A phenomenal season for Johnathan Saunders. Optical illusion prints, unexpected color, and slightly skewed takes on classic silhouettes make this collection particularly exciting. The collections outerwear is particularly successful, as it manages to reinvent the classic pea coat in a range of unexpected colors and textiles. I’m very much a fan of the almost-perverse take on the standard British plaid which promises to be a street style staple in the season to come.