GROWN UP, POLISHED AND SEXY?

This seasons London Fashion Week has already been hailed as the busiest, the most successful and critically the most commercially viable in known memory with Anna Wintour going so far as to say  London had shed its quirky, eccentric image to finally become a “grown up, polished and sexy” affair.

And whilst grown up, polished and sexy doesn’t necessarily equal boring it does however seem a bit, well, ‘American’ for my liking. I fear that even with a team of stylists working around the clock I am never going to be able to pull off looking grown up, polished or sexy for that matter.  Alas I am not a member of Gossip Girl. I do not live on the Upper East Side. I live in Leeds.

So in typical style I’d like to ignore all that the wise Wintour has said and look at something completely bonkers now please!

Here is a run down of my favourite looks from the A/W 12 Catwalks (polish and sex not included) You can see our London Fashion Week review in full in our March issue.

Bora Aksu: Greys and blacks gave Bora Aksu’s collection a classic wintery tone, softened by dusty pinks and creams and shot through with an explosion of fuchsia, burnt orange and ruby reds. The optimistic colours give rise to playful tops and dresses in the shape of pleats, drapes and pussy bows. All in all this season marks a refreshing change of pace for the designer into something a bit more childish and innocent - Hurrah!

Bora Aksu

PPQ: Fantastically gothic, PPQ’s collection featured full length chiffon gowns with fabrics falling heavy at the hems and draped layers of melton wools, mohair and velvet. Animal prints and wet look fabrics on shorter lengths kept the look sexy whilst slashed backs and asymmetrical details showed just enough flesh to seduce without being overtly ‘sex on legs’.

PPQ

House of Holland: The House of Holland girl rides the Tour De France was the collection description with inspirations including 70’s Sci-Fi, the Tour de France and Futuristic Sportswear. With the focus on the Olympics this season the collection should go down well with buyers, especially the patriotic tones of pillar box red, navy and sky blue on offer.

House of Holland

Peter Jensen: Jensen’s collection included dresses in brown velvet, brightly coloured separates with collars added to everything and a gold tassel skirts reminiscent of a hula dancer. Models strutted down the catwalk wearing cropped grey wigs bunny ears. As per usual Jensen demonstrated a master class in taking something sensible and making it fantastic.

Peter Jensen

Leutton Postle: The AW12 collection from cult design duo Leutton Postle is both playful and intensely detailed. Patterns come in the form of facial features, both illustrative in knitwear and abstract in textiles; a motif which is echoed throughout the collection. A knitted face is enlivened with a three dimensional weft of hair that becomes a ponytail. How not grown up is that?

Leutton Postle