Kickstarting the morning, Greek-born, London-based designer opened with a trip down memory lane that compiled all her favourite childhood pastimes into clothes you can actually wear as a grown-up.
The woman that’s made pattern part of her fashion identity: this time, the Queen of print was inspired by paint-by-numbers, lego bricks and friendship bracelets, to create a series of high-fashion looks through a child’s eye.
There was a kaleidoscopic sweep of colour with the return of her signature Trompe L’oeil prints, which made reference to everything from Hama beads to Spirograph, while soft-touch plastic overcoats and toggled waistbands prompted memoirs of childhood camping trips.
Katrantzou also presented her latest Atelier Swarovski jewellery collaboration, which featured loose coloured crystals and pearls encased in geometric frames.
A lucid take on British subcultures, this season’s collection – known as Topshop September 2017 – was inspired by the dazzling streets of Soho.
To the sound of Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls”, an army of tenacious women – including Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls and Adwoa Aboah – stormed the runway wearing a series of pieces that reflect Britain’s style heritage, from the mini-skirts of the swinging Sixties, to Bowie glam-rock and even 1980s casuals.
In a nod to the party season, there were vintage-feel fur-trimmed coats, crystal accents and space-age silver trousers, while silky emerald green tracksuit tops, short shorts and boudoir-ready babydoll capes injected a fearless spirit.
A room erected with plastic boxes encasing flowers set the scene for Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton’s spring / summer offering – a move which immediately illustrated the empowering message of the collection.
This time round, the duo wanted to talk about feminism and how, in spite of its associations, women should be able to embrace their femininity and not feel pigeon-holed.
Partners in real life as well as business, Thornton said they had their two young girls' future and the world they will grow up in on their minds, and elected a reading list of feminist works including The Scarlet Letter, The Second Sex and Growing Strong Daughters as their inspiration.
As such, the first couple of looks included youthful white dresses, matched with a blood red capital A embroidered on the chest and pilgrim hats that had an air of The Handmaids’ Tale about them.
A collection packed with important influences and fabulous clothes, the best pieces were those that you could imagine real women taking joy in wearing, from deconstructed ruffle-heavy dresses, to silver pleats and embellished slips.
The diffusion line of Italian luxury brand Versace, Versus is best known for its younger, cooler-than-cool approach to fashion and this season was no different.
Bound by youth, sexiness, defiance and fun, artistic director Donatella Versace said that this season was all about bravery and pleasure. “This is for everyone who dares to express themselves in everything they do,” she said.
A celebration of Nineties New York under the summer sun, the womenswear was made up of bikinis worn as streetwear, belted polo dresses with Versus lion head buttons and mini-dresses in bright, vivid colours. But, perhaps the most Versace of them all was an oversized mesh string vest worn by It girl and model of the moment, Adwoa Aboah.
In true style, every piece made a statement, imbuing the brand’s exuberant and glamorous aesthetic into everything from fringed accessories and glitter logos to studded cowboy panels.
hua.tien@msa.hinet.net
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