London Fashion Week: Ashish and JW Anderson
Look At Me asked Italian journalist Anna Battista to write about the most interesting shows of London Fashion Week - from Ashish to Burberry. Anna's reviews will appear on the London Week’s blog the day after the show. Today, Anna talks about the two most notable shows of the second day of LFW: the show of the sequin king Ashish Gupta and the presentation of the promising young designer Jonathan William Anderson.
Ashish SS 2012
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In New York, there was definitely a rather wild abundance of flowers - in the form of prints, embroideries, applications. Now the flower theme seems to have come to London. Ashish Gupta, one of the most desirable designers of the London Week, turned flowers into something sporty on the one hand, and luxurious on the other hand, considering the main distinguishing feature of the designer, the sequins.
At first, Ashish scattered Wangogow sunflowers in horizontal blue and white stripes, then roses, peonies, daisies, tulips, and poppies went into the business - they bloomed on sweatshirts, jackets, dresses and trousers in a relaxed silhouette. Best of all, the trick worked on tops with a vase print with flowers standing on a polka dot tablecloth - here Van Gogh was married with pop art and rich costumes of Bob Maki.
Flowers (real, not from sequins) even protruded from the shoes of models. This was supposed to show that the main theme of the collection was a return to nature, well, or the need for it. The craving for nature was felt even when the checkered background on tops and jackets most likely referred to ska, or when the design was finally turned into kitsch - by analogy with some leopard or zebra motifs that are capable of spreading like viruses.
But still, of course, it was a real country-chic: flower tops, covered with sequins, even approached those skirts and leather jackets, on which the sequins were sewn in the form of brick walls: this mixture of urban and rural in one bow was obtained. Of course, it was not without repetitions, but we still have to admit: urban chic is always in demand, especially in our economically difficult times.
JW Anderson SS 2012
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A few weeks before the start of London fashion week, Jonathan William Anderson was already secretly appointed the one to watch this season. Especially after many New York editors began to respond favorably to his previous collections, and Anna Wintour stayed behind his rail in the showroom of British designers in Paris. Born in 1984 in Northern Ireland, Anderson now lives in East London and, until today, has produced quite successful men's collections based on the interpretation of classic pieces of clothing. There was one women's capsule collection - in the autumn-winter 2010 season.
In the spring of 2012, Anderson developed a dual female collection - in it he managed to combine men's and women's clothing. Pajamas, striped or paisley-inspired suits, with narrow pants and well-tailored jackets with leather details, clearly evolved from classic men's shirts. Want even more connections with men's things? Pay attention to the folds on the pants. Dresses carried the element of deconstruction. Some of them - especially the super-complex ones that looked like cardigans with sleeves hanging from the hips - were not particularly impressed. Others were more interesting. For example, those that looked like two elements in one. Or dresses, camisoles and tops, clearly inspired by Georges Braque collages and experiments with papier-colle in the spirit of Robert Rauschenberg. Or knitted dresses in the style of "zigzag modern".
Sometimes Anderson stuffed one design with too many items. For example, to asymmetric dresses with leather inserts imitating medieval chain mail, he added pieces of cardigans that dragged behind the models. This, of course, could simply be a consequence of the fact that the designer is an ardent admirer of the stylist, fashion editor and fashion coordinator of the Prada Manuela Pavese (Anderson at one time designed windows and mannequins in Prada), and Manuela, in turn, is a woman with peculiar and complex style, not alien to the artistic principles of Rauschenberg.
Time will tell whether Anderson will become the new Christopher Caine, but so far his things have already penetrated into several very prestigious stores around the world, from London's Liberty, Browns and Harrods to Milan's 10 Corso Como and the iconic Colette of Paris.
View all the shows of the second day.
The editors thank the Trends Brands store for assistance in preparing the material.
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- What year was the first London Fashion Week?
- What are the other fashion weeks that are included in the “Big Four Fashion Weeks” and which cities they are in?
- Main venue London Fashion Week.
- Name the designer whose show opened the London Fashion Week S / S 2012.
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