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SHORT REVIEW: A sixties look with no surprises
LONG REVIEW:
What is the fashion world coming to when the most grabby thing about a collection is the hats? Stephen Jones provided some spiffing headwear to go atop John Galliano’s sixties retro fest for Dior, but the clothes, although beautifully done and rendered in full Technicolor, were too familiar to offer any real surprises. The collection was inspired by the Marc Bohan era at the house. He was the designer who took over after Yves Saint Laurent left to start his own label. The models, with eyes ringed with heavy eyeliner and hair teased into the kind of huge bouffants worn by Sixties sex symbols Raquel Welch and Baby Jane Holzer, stepped onto the catwalk to the strains of Simon and Garfunkel. They wore brightly coloured boxy suits - some in crocodile or ostrich leather others with bejewelled hem - snappy little printed shift dresses and bubble hemmed evening gowns. Galliano did pack a punch with his vibrant choice of colours, which do provide a shock to the modern palette - but the trouble with such a slavishly retro look is that unless a designer puts some kind of contemporary spin on it, then it just becomes an indulgent exercise in fashion history. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Sleek daywear and sculptural evening wear add up to a great looking collection
LONG REVIEW:
The house of Versace is well known for it’s eveningwear but Donatella put a new focus on daywear with a parade of short, sassy well-cut coats, and sleek dresses. For evening, there were sculptural gowns which oozed modern sophistication. This great-looking collection was pared down and controlled but not contrived. And even though she has embraced a sculpted silhouette, Donatella still knows how to have fun. She threw a hot pink fur coat into the mix to provide a seasoning of bad taste and a passage of dresses featuring garish collage prints done in collaboration with the artist he Dutch artist Tim Roeloffs served as an alternative to the traditional Versace bling. CLAUDIA CROFT
Far too many cyclists are cruisin' for a bruisin' - why? Because they're too vain to wear their desperately uncool cycling helmets. Two natty new solutions have materialised:
Firstly there's snowboard stylee from Japanese designer Sawako Furuno - a classic case of if-I-can't-find-it-in-shops-I'll-design-it-myself.  £60.
Then there's Stash for people who don't mind looking the business on the bike, but can't be done having to take a deeply uncool and cumbersome helmet into a pub or somesuch... So-called Stash because the helmet conveniently folds in on itself - like so! £50 including postage and packing. Far less painful than a hole in the head.
SHORT REVIEW: GLOSSY TRENDS BUT ARE THEY TOO EASY TO FOLLOW?
LONG REVIEW:
Gucci is becoming a weather vane for the most commercial of trends and this season Russsian peasant meets Jimmy Hendrix looks will probably fly and not just at Gucci stores. Frida Giannini’s work has plenty of glossy appeal and it can be easily understood beyond the realms of luxury fashion but it can be, and is, all too easily replicated. Thanks to Giannini, you can bet the UK high street will be full of little embroidered Cossack jackets and winter party dresses in those prints. Nobody could doubt the luxury and the finish at Gucci, but other design houses have responded to the problem of copyists by making things the high street could never rip off. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Dignified, feminine, luxurious. What’s not to like?
LONG REVIEW: Some designers think it’s all about sobriety, others think a frumpy hemline best reflects the times. Bottega Veneta’s Tomas Maier, however, gave such a strong endorsement of the womanly silhouette that it was hard to critique. These were clothes that kissed the body in an adoring, sensual way. Maier never strayed into fetish or played on cliché. He is a confident designer making clothes for confident women. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Where has the famous Cavalli mojo gone?
LONG REVIEW:
1950’S prom dresses and a finale full of pretty girls in tiaras? What’s happened at Roberto Cavalli? The man for whom raunch and luxury always went hand in hand has put away his famous mojo and turned to the Doris Day decade for inspiration. The results were a little deflating. The show opened with a series of dresses which lightly referenced Dior’s New Look and then moved on to some highly worked peasant chic coats and beaded evening dresses which showed off the signature Cavalli luxury. But the confident sexuality usually associated with the brand was missing. Afterwards the designer called for women to cover up and hunker down in something warm and sensible, to which one attractive thirty something buyer said; “I’m a single woman. There’s no way I’m covering up.” Women don’t look to Cavalli to reflect harsh economic times. They don’t expect him to be sensitive to the zeitgeist. They go to Cavalli to feel sexy, gorgeous and irresistible. Not his season though. CLAUDIA CROFT.
SHORT REVIEW: Strict, powerful, beautiful. If this is austerity dressing I’ll take every piece. LONG REVIEW: Designer’s are grappling and aesthetic response to gloomy economic prospects. Many have decided that a version of covered up sensible chic is what’s needed. Hemlines have dropped and sex has fallen off the agenda. But if we are in for a period of austerity chic, then you can trust Miuccia Prada to turn the whole concept on its head. For autumn/winter 08 her silhouettes were long and lean and the key item was a fitted black lace shift. It was sometimes worn with a crisp blue man’s shirt underneath, or sometimes accessorised with strange modular pieces like with a clip-on nylon peplum or nude, bandage like neck cuff. The models looked as strict as Mrs Danvers with their hair pulled back from pale faces into leaser cut leather snoods. There was nothing frivolous about the collection, which had an air of sombre grandeur – watching the models process, was as Marigay McKee, the flamboyant Harrods buyer said “like being at a mafia boss’s funeral in Sicily”. The only flare was in the winged shoes, which looked like they stepped straight out of a futurist manifesto. So Prada presented an austere restrained collection to suit the times, but here’s the twist. That lace is hand made in Switzerland and costs E 600 a metre, which makes Prada’s version of austerity chic a very expensive indeed. And all those sensual womanly shapes will serve to drive customers into the shops to buy, buy, buy. Who needs recession dressing when you have Prada? CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: It looked more like an ode to Ricardo Tisci’s gothic inclined Givenchy than Gianfranco Ferré
LONG REVIEW: The house of Ferré is in disarray. Lars Nilsson, The designer appointed to take over after the death of founder Gianfranco Ferré, was dramatically sacked just two weeks before the A/W 08 show – apparently for straying too far from the Ferre legacy. According to insiders, a large part of his collection was scrapped and the remaining design team were ordered to whip up something new from scratch. They came up with a edgy monochromatic look full of and sculpted cuts which referenced Ferré, but it looked very akin to Ricardo Tisci’s gothic inclined work at Givenchy than anything Ferré might have done (I’m blaming the bone white tights for that). Given the turmoil, it could have looked a whole lot worse than it did, but the decision makers at Ferré had better get their house in order next season CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Full of “I want it” pieces.
LONG REVIEW: As the first outfit came out a little voice in my head said “I want it! I want an oversized mannish coat!” The little voice didn't shut up. This season Christopher Bailey excelled at making the kind of clothes that inspire lust. I wanted those bell bottom flares (well I wanted to be skinny enough to wear them). I wanted the quilted version of the iconic mac. I wanted the slouchy, metal studded shopper and the even wanted the funny, grungy beanie hats that accompanied every look. Best of all were the coats. It wouldn’t be a Burberry show without a restyled mac. This time they came in quilt, gabardine and chinchilla and for evening Bailey provided macs made from ruched chiffon and petals of silk. It was all clever enough to make the heart beat a little faster but straightforward enough to slip into any modern wardrobe.CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Forget sex and sass. The Queen is the surprising new muse for D&G’S homage to HRH chic.
LONG REVIEW:
You imagine the D&G girl to be the first one to start the dancing and the last one to go home. The brand excels at making sassy, sexy youthful clothes. Well, for autumn winter 08 the D&G girl had a conversion of sorts. Gone are the short hemlines and bosomy tops of the good time girl. In are the midi-length kilts, corduroy skirts, twin sets and headscarves of Queen Elisabeth II. The D&G collection was based on the off duty, dog walking uniform of HRH. The Italian designer’s had enough respect for our head of state not to sex her up and put her in a tartan version of their signature bustier although they did send her on a psychedelic odyssey, fusing her traditional tartans with brightly coloured paisley prints for full skirts and must-have bell bottoms. The collection was all very tongue in cheek, but a midi length tartan kilt is still a midi-length tartan kilt whether it’s done by D&G or the Edinburgh Woollen Mill. You can’t be sexy every season and for Autumn/Winter 08, the legendary D&G sass has been replaced with humour. The question is, will the brand's young, gregarious fans get the joke? CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Gives his customers what they crave, but adds a little surprise. LONG REVIEW: ‘The thing about the Armani woman, is that she loves a jacket,” said an American buyer to a TV crew, right after the Giorgio Armani show. The thing about Armani, the man, is that he is always more attentive to his customers needs than prevailing fashion trends (it’s what has helped build his brand into the biggest in fashion). So if the Armani woman wants a jacket that’s what she gets. Out they came in huge variety - nipped in and short, longer and more mannish, in quilt tweed, velvet and matt wool. They were worn with bubble-hemmed skirts or Armani’s take on harem pants. For evening the mood changed. Jackets were replaced by fringed, floral shawls and fringed evening gowns which had a haute gypsy feel. The surprise here is that the gypsy look is set to be a big trend (Armani usually rises serenely above the trends). Other Italian houses including Roberto Cavalli and the much-copied Gucci have done versions of the look. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Full of fine woman-friendly dresses but where was the tailoring?
LONG REVIEW:
Alberta Ferreetti was in the mood for dresses. From the swirl printed loose silk smocks, to the sack-back satin shifts, soft velvet dresses gently gathered at the waist and the delicate ruched chiffon frocks that Ferretti excels at, it was a frock fest from start to finish. Ferretti can’t be faulted for focusing on what she does best. She stayed within her comfort zone but in doing so one couldn’t help thinking something was missing from this collection. Tailoring was all but absent which is a shame. In previous seasons Ferretti has shown that her label can be a go-to brand for fantastic winter coats a well as covetable dresses. CLAUDIA CROFT
Missoni
Missoni
Ferragamo
Ferragamo
Ferragamo
Burberry
Burberry
Jil Sander
Perez Hilton and Jodie Harsh
Fashion week is about a lot more than the frocks. There's always the hobnobbing, the parties, the guestlists and the taxi situation to be grappling with. And then there is the music. And at Burberry, it rocked. Chosen by Christopher Bailey himself, the models stalked down the catwalk to haunting sounds of Billy Bragg's The Man in the Iron Mask, James's Getting Away with it, Just for Tonight from One Night Only and finally The Proclaimers' Act of Rememberance. All of which scored as big a hit as the outfits.
We suggest you get downloading now - you may not be able to afford a Burberry dress, but you can afford a bit of their sound.
SHORT REVIEW: Any trend as long as it’s retro
LONG REVIEW:The seventies are back. The first day of the Milan shows saw several labels cluster around the trend for Seventies inspired shapes and patterns. Missoni had it’s hey day in the seventies, to the point where its signature zig zag knits evokes the decade without even trying, so it was no surprise to see seventies looks on its runway for a/w 2008. A maxi length patterned knit romper suit came in that very Seventies colour combo of cream and brown. Wide wool mustard trousers were worn with polo necks and hooded capes. Large metal pendants and oversized shades completed the retro look for a collection that never really got out of it’s comfort zone.
At Cheap and Chic flared purple check trousers were worn with a matching smock style jacket and for evening there were Night Fever tuxedos. At Just Cavalli it was all flared jeans, floppy hats and printed smock tops for day and leopard print kaftans for evening.
This seventies look is sure to be a commercial trend. Customers are already primed for it if the number of women who have abandoned their skinny jeans for high-wasited flares is anything to go by. They've already got the jeans. Now they can have the smock, the cape, the knit and accessories to go with the them. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Trashy meets timeless in a collection that was Westwood to the core.
LONG REVIEW: Only in Vivienne Westwood’s world could tiny hotpants in oversized dogtooth check, peaked military caps, studded belts and PVC gloves happily co-exist with voluptuous belted grey coats, pinstripe tailoring, and lean knit dresses. This marriage of the kinky and the corporate worked well. The saucy stuff lent a naughty edge and energy to a show full of great Westwood staples. There were plenty of the curvy cocktail frocks, draped jersey tops and hourglass jackets that Westwood does in such an idiosyncratic way. Her way of cutting and draping is so distinctive that each season, she doesn’t so much create brand new fashion statements, but explores her unique way of doing things a little further. If you want to know how to build a brand which has integrity, you could do worse than study Dame Viv. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Goth-meets-girly-meets-grunge, in this parade of Halloween cuties
LONG REVIEW: Was Luella’s latest muse a teenage prom queen out for a spot of trick or treating? What else should we assume from a show that opened with a model wearing a bell sleeved short coat, orange tights and a pointy witch hat? Into the mix Luella threw folksy elements. Cowbells hung off bags and rickrack trim (a favourite of the home dress maker of the 1970’s) garnished the yolks of high necked cotton blouses and decorated the waists and hems of the bell shaped skirts which featured on almost every look. There were hits of grunge too in the red and black checks used for dresses and tops. It all added up to a collection which was girly but not sickly sweet. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Giles ditches haute pastiche for a more aggressive kind of glamour.
LONG REVIEW: Last season’s haute couture homage is a distant memory. Giles has moved on to something a little more confrontational. His tailoring came pumped up and padded with quilted jackets and mini skirts. Knits were tattered and distressed and eveningwear was slashed across the body to reveal the skin. Models with sinister veiled faces added to the general disquiet. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Mini kilts rule OK!
LONG REVIEW Yes, there is something of the market stall about the House of Holland look. Young Henry is not the type of designer to fret over technique or clever cutting. But he does have a genius for throwaway chic and right now, he’s in the mood for something punky. The fun started with Holland’s muse Agyness Deyn who opened the show in a purple tartan mini kilt with matching eye patch (created to cover her nasty case of conjunctivitis). Out came mohair mini kilts, cute tartan t-shirt dresses with cascades of ruffles on the bum, and jumbo chord drain pipes with kilt buckles cinching the ankle. There was even a blue mink romper suit to add to the entertainment. If it all sounds a little silly, then just you wait. Come September the high street will be awash with mini kilts and mohair. Holland’s clothes have real youth appeal and this collection was good enough to copy. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Fantastical and extreme, but with more breadth than usual.
LONG REVIEW Pugh’s vision is uncompromising. He never deviates from his signature scary futurism. His models with their faces painted deathly white with blue lips and eyebrows, looked like the Borg Collective on a big night out. In Pugh’s hands even humble haberdashery can be fashioned into something of wonder. He stitched strips of zippers into sculptural coats entirely from zippers and used shiny metal safety pins in the same way that other designer use sequins, to create a glittering surface for a dress. Sure using safety pins as upscale decoration has been done before but Pugh did it with real polish. A Pugh total look is a thing of wonder and this show had a great theatrical energy to it. But beyond the spectacle, many of the components - skinny black trousers, quilted coats and geometric jackets made from small triangles of leather are workable and wearable (if you like your clothes black and shiny). Pugh is slowly commercialising his vision and this collection proved that there’s more to him than Mad Max theatrics. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Bold vision and directional silhouettes - but are they wearable?
LONG REVIEW: It’s all about the floor length sheath dress, cut from stretch fabric for Marios Schwab, whose vision is so focused that he didn’t see the need to show much else. Instead he offered variations on his theme. Some dresses had strategically placed slits scissored into them and were worn over jeans, others looked as if their outer layer had been torn off in patches at the hips or bust to reveal prints done in collaboration with the artist Tom Gallant underneath. The quality of the workmanship was impressive. Some prints were then laser cut to give them the texture of peeling paint. There was plenty of glamour too. Oversized feather shrugs worn to great effect over his taught silhouettes and his finale dresses were encrusted with a crazy paving of tiny mirrors. Schwab’s cut is exacting. All his dresses were all ankle length and cut so tight that the models could only take tiny steps in them. The urge to hobble his women does seem odd from a designer who claimed to be inspired by the early feminist Victorian novella the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These weren’t practical clothes but they were beautiful and inspiring. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: Delivering fantastic piece after fantastic piece.
LONG REVIEW: Christopher Kane cemented his reputation as one of London’s top talents. His autumn/winter 08 collection had many strong elements, from the oversized knit dresses and gilded sweaters that opened the show (proving he can do convincing daywear) to the loose, light and layered chiffon evening dresses decorated with oversized paillettes (sequins by the way are a huge trend for winter 08). Kane has never been a minimalist and his dresses were made from several panels of pale coloured chiffon, which were layered like a veil over the large round paillettes. There was plenty going on but it never looked fussy or cluttered. Instead, the collection had a lightness and a femininity. It also provided a great take on modern decoration. CLAUDIA CROFT
Not all models are genetically superior when it comes to skin. If you've ever seen them backstage pre make-up you'll know they can be just as susceptible to spots and undereye bags as the rest of us (especially given all of that frantic dashing from one show to the next). The tip from the top on how to combat flagging skin? Frankly we'd rather keep it to ourselves but make-up artist Val Garland says the best cheat is YSL's Perfect Touch foundation, a version of the cult Touche Eclat highlighter that can be used all over your mug. Its what she used backstage at Aquascutum to give the girls an "outdoosy , English rose, equestrian" freshness. "It gives healthy, wealthy, baby soft perfect skin that stays put," she says.
SHORT REVIEW Competent but far from scintillating.
LONG REVIEW: A friend of mine once told me that she felt betrayed by her mother’s facelift “I don’t recognise her anymore,” she said. I feel the same about the new look Jaeger. This old lady of the high street might boast of feeling younger and fresher but she still looks a little weird to me. Jaeger is using its new slot on the London Fashion Week schedule as a repositioning device. “We’re not a middle aged high street brand producing polite separates anymore. We can do edgy high fashion too,” is the message. The reality is that whilst the show put on a much more youthful, fashion forward face than Jaeger has worn in years, the brand still has a some way to go before this new look becomes convincing. The rock-and-roll yeti coats and floor length fringed scarves seemed to hint at decadence but not danger. The curvy flares and neat tailored capes were competent although not thrilling and the snakeskin print blouses and matching bell-bottoms looked try-hard. I couldn’t work out who the new Jaeger is for - a racy fifty-something with a Hendrix fixation or a frumpy twenty something who likes pussy bow blouses? CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW: UK favourite serves up a feast of Balenciaga-esque silhouettes and French Vogue attitude
LONG REVIEW: It’s safe to associate TopShop with teen chic and a youthful approach to fashion and trends but the Unique collection is an opportunity for the brand’s in-house design team to show that it can do more than just re-interpret Kate Moss’s cast offs. The look was urban and sophisticated and didn’t feel teenage at all. It was dominated by skinny leather trousers, worn with teetering platform boots. These formed the base element of many outfits. They were worn under roomy patterned knits, and great oversized coats. I couldn’t help thinking that many of the proportions could have been inspired by that most fashion forward of French houses Balenciaga and many of the looks reminded me of the way fashion’s most extreme purveyors of edgy chic – the girls from French Vogue wear their clothes. It is unusual inspiration for a UK brand but then again those particular Parisian girls really know how to do modern high fashion. TopShop is not so slouchy in that respect either. There were plenty of trends. The hipster midi skirt should appeal to those who like to play with a new proportion every season, the shaggy jerkin is emerging as a key piece and super faded pale blue jeans made for a new the denim statement. CLAUDIA CROFT
SHORT REVIEW Chic but too chic?
LONG REVIEW: Biba under the direction of stylist Hector Castro has gone beyond the slavishly retro. The new Biba is more interested in creating modern fashion statements than re-issuing archive pieces. To that end, the collection focused on brief dresses, cocoon shaped coats and volumous mini skirts which pouffed out from the hips. The youthfulness of these leggy silhouettes was countered by the richness of the collection. It came from the shimmering colours, generous cascades of fabric that tumbled down dresses and the dense floral embroidery, which degraded, into thick fringes of thread. It looked good but the worry is this collection is too sophisticated for the women who might look good in it. CLAUDIA CROFT
After enduring a critical mauling for starting his last New York show two hours late, Marc Jacobs was determined to have the last laugh. His show was due to start at 7p so at 7.10 sharp the designer emerged onto the catwalk and personally urged the crowd who included Kevin Federline and star of his current ad campaign Victoria Beckham to take their seats as he wanted to start the show. Five minutes later the first model hit the catwalk. Never in his entire career has a Marc Jacobs show been so prompt and many fashion insiders, accustomed to his usually extreme tardiness, arrived after the show had started and were denied entry. A fuming Rachel Zoe, the celebrity stylist was one of those left outside. What she missed was a “moment” – although it was more of a musical one than a fashion one. The models walked the runway to the sounds of Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth thrashing and twirling and bashing their way thorough a riotous live set. In contrast, the clothes were serene and elegant. The soft, elongated silhouettes came in pale neutrals – a refreshing look for winter. And if last season’s collection expressed Jacobs appreciation for Comme des Garcons, then this one brought to mind some of Yohji Yamamoto’s more graceful creations. CLAUDIA CROFT
Karan is known for her sensual, flattering and womanly clothes, but her autumn/winter 2008 collection looked more droopy than drapey. The show majored on soft, silky fabrics and unstructured shapes but Instead of looking elegant and easy, the clothes appeared to drown the very young models on Karan’s catwalk. Womanly chic simply doesn’t look good on skinny girls. CLAUDIA CROFT
The Ralph Lauren presented one show with three distinct moods. It opened with chic, city tailoring, neat shifts and fitted suits all accessorised with feathered hats by Philip Treacy. This formal daywear was followed by good-looking casualwear, in the shape of rugged but chic lumberjack check coats and jackets, which could have been inspired by life on Ralph’s Double RL Ranch in Colorado. The checks continued into the finale, which focused on Lauren's idea of modern grandeur. He took hourglass belle époque silhouettes, decluttered them and rendered in ultra light tulle and chiffon. The collection covered many bases but it showed the breadth of Lauren’s world. CLAUDIA CROFT
Francisco Costa’s collection was all about shape. Fitted shirts and coats came in felted wool, which was moulded into sculptural shape – a technique which allowed him to smooth sharp tailored lines and angles into curvaceous silhouettes. The best pieces came at the end with a trio of floor length gowns made from supple knife pleated fabric in lustrous metallic hues. They looked gorgeous in motion as the pleats, rolled and flowed like liquid. Costa’s collection was architectural, but not linear and masterfully done. CLAUDIA CROFT
Jonathan Saunders
Rodarte
Halston
Liza Minelli at Halston
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