London Fashion Week: Topshop Unique, Acne and Marios Shwab

Look At Me asked Italian journalist Anna Battista to write about the 12 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 third day LFW show: the show of the only democratic brand at London Fashion Week - Topshop Unique, the exquisite works of Marios Schwab and the final show of the day - the show of the popular Swedish brand Acne.

Topshop Unique SS 2012

Watch the show in full

Instead of occupying the inactive Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station (the usual location for Topshop shows), the brand should think about the Egyptian section of the British Museum. The fact is that the main theme of the Unique collection was Egypt - skipped through a hip-hop culture filter. Pyramids and the All-Seeing Eye appeared in the form of prints on skirts and tops, the dress-bandage, apparently, should have been sent to the mummies, and Tutankhamun’s mask, scarabs and images of Bastet, the cat-goddess, became stylized alien figures.

The most obvious link — Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra — also appeared here and there. Elizabeth was on the invitation to the show, and on sweatshirts - I wonder, by the way, how much did the image cost? But the most convincing idea was in its least obvious incarnations - for example, in dresses with prints, as it were, of liquid gold, which caused associations with Tutankhamun’s tomb. But dresses and overalls with images of ordinary domestic cats, with a complex optical effect, looked naive and inappropriate.

In the course of the show, it was becoming increasingly clear that Egypt was in fact not very well combined with baseball caps, mini shorts, hoodies, and jersey tracksuits. Of course, from time to time there appeared more elegant images, in which only some details were gold. But in general, it must be admitted that the pharaohs did not usually go in for sports walking. I would like the design team to think about some less obvious benchmarks. For example, it was possible to draw more from the works of fashion illustrator, and later - costume designer Irene Sharaff, who dressed Taylor in Cleopatra. Or it could be the story of San Ra in Egypt. Then, perhaps, the collection would reach a new level - both ideologically and stylistically.

Marios Shwab SS 2012

Watch the show in full

Chiaroscuro - a term of Italian origin - literally means “light-darkness” and means the separation of a single object into light and shadow and the composition they make up. The main power of chiaroscuro is that it gives the form content and creates an object in space. Applicable to fashion, this term can serve different purposes - depending on the change, separation and distribution of dark and light masses.

Designer Marios Schwab used both the term and the theme to play hide-and-seek with the female body, achieving an effect that can be called "Carlo Mollyn's balance." An eclectic Italian architect and designer, Mollino became known for his clear design principles - but not only. He also became famous for his magical, surrealistic erotic images, into which he transformed photographs with the help of a microscopic brush in order to achieve the ideal, in his opinion, type of female forms. Schwab did roughly the same thing: his designs were balanced between strict forms and unsteady sensuality.

Perforated black, white and fleshless body dresses were shown in the minimalist space of the main platform of London Fashion Week in Somerset House. Inserts of fabric and lace changed, but the silhouettes remained the same, which made very clear geometric motifs in the collection: thanks to this effect, pieces of naked skin became a design element. In the course of the show, the chiaroscuro theme found expression in transparent blouses and dresses, with the transparent fabric forming the thinnest veil thrown over a solid white or orange. But the final exits - wavy black evening dresses made of transparent black fabric, with a bustier covered with sparkling Swarovski crystals, added the necessary degree of sensuality to the collections.

Acne SS 2012

Watch the show in full

If your show is scheduled for the very evening, it will not be easy to arouse interest in the public, especially when the public is well-worn fashion journalists. But Acne designer Johnny Johansson succeeded in doing this - thanks in large part to the coherent, solid collection shown in the former postal triage in New Oxford Street.

The starting point was Marrakesh, which in itself is not easy, since in the late 60s Yves Saint-Laurent reached the perfect balance between Morocco and modern fashion. True, the story of Johansson was different, he did not try, following the example of Saint-Laurent, "to integrate, transform and adapt the heritage of Morocco." His vision of Marrakesh passed through the filter of experience, taste and style of a modern Swedish woman.

Cotton caftan dresses, black, green and pink, were combined with leather trousers with silvery ribbons that looked like scotch. Black dresses, tops and skirts with perforations in the form of stars, inserts in the color of an electrician or from sparkling beige plastic in skirts and trousers symbolized the night starry sky in the desert. The silhouettes were dominated by fluffy skirts and spacious sweaters, but there were also contrasting images - for example, strict coats of experimental fabrics like knitted cotton.

And finally - if the main shoe of the last season was Prada multicolored boots with thick soles, I bet that this spring will be shiny Acne loafers in bright blue.

The editors thank the store Ready-to-Wear.ru for help in preparing the material.

Ahmad Tea gives English tradition lovers the opportunity to receive a gift for their knowledge. Answer the questions, be one of the 5 first to send the correct answers and get a selection of the best teas from the Ahmad Tea collection.Contemporary.

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?
The main venue of London Fashion Week.
Name the designer whose show opened the London Fashion Week S / S 2012.

Answers send to [email protected] with the theme "London Fashion Week"

Contest Rules