LFW Highlights

Its been an incredibly busy week for the fashion world, transitioning perfectly from New York to London to show off what we will all be pining after for the coming winter and subseuently its been a busy week for myself! I wish I'd have more time to say something about every collection that has walked down the catwalk for the sake of the hard work put in by the designers however I just haven't had the time! So I'm gonna do a little roundup of my LFW highlights and the trends that stood out for me over the last few days.

Preen

Anyone keeping a keen eye on last weeks NYFW will remember the amazing Rodarte collection featuring some very obvious (and some not so much) nods to the franchis giant that is Star Wars. 

Rodarte at New York Fashion Week 2014

Being a big fan I obviously got quite excited by this, especially by some of the not so in your face looks (If you're a fan of either Rodarte or Star Wars and haven't already checked it out, do so, you wont regret it) so you can imagine the delight it was to find out that another fashion great had weighed right in on the trend. Its hardly surprising knowing that we are 'soon' to be expecting a new release for the Star Wars films so you can imagine the furor for it around winter this year, but I read earlier that Star Wars was actually the first film the husband and wife duo Preen ever watched so for romances sake I cant help but let them have this one. 

I think by a very slight margin if I were to do the obvious and compare the two 'Star Wars featured' collection this one would be my favourite. The imposing Darth Vader head on top of the most exquisite and feminine dresses is a stark clash that is right up my street. I also feel this will be closer to the high street's take on the theme to. 

Moving on from Star Wars I would like to talk about the rest of the elements of the collection. The colours of blood orange and olive green together make for a classic yet exciting autumn palette and personally I hope to see them teamed up all over next winters outfits. Something else that caught my eye was the use of layering in this collection. I think it can make or break a look during the cold weather, either making you look like a sack of potatoes or a well put together, style queen. Preen obviously embodying the latter. I did notice that the use of the skirts over the dresses look had been recycled from circa this time last year, a la Diane Kruger in Derek Lam and Karolina Kurkova in Alexander Wang, however again I feel that this time around its a lot more slickly executed and easier to wear. 

Diane Kruger and Karolina Kurkova 

That, with the casual laying of giant jumpers over long skirts and robust coat, over robust coat, over floaty evening dress, this collection makes for the perfect winter warmer that you can still knock out with a pair of killer heels.

Helen Lawrence

She's been pipped as the 'one to watch' for her last seasons s/s looks and this lady works her textiles wonders to create nothing short of walking works of art for her catwalk shows. I have always been drawn to collections having this type of raw artistry and Lawrence's work have just that and more. Using some of the highly popular trend giants from this year such as fluffy knits and PVC, I'm sure that these are looks that will refuse to die down throughout the year and personally I'm thrilled. I look forward to seeing them through right up until the end of the year.

The palette was refreshingly clean and it was so nice to see pale pastels back for the season. White on nude, beige on cream, made for a classy colour combination and one that fails to tire. However the stand out theme of  the collection was the altering hem lines and expert layering (also deffo pulling off the style queen type of  layering). The wonky waves of the hem brought something illustrative to the looks which worked really well on runway, with the use of line upon line in some. It's interesting and different. Is this what we can look forward to in the future; something a step above the scalloped hem? It would be nice to see this featuring as a new style of peplum, that is something I would buy into. 

The printed coats were a highlight, pale ombre shades and perfectly contrasting intense black made for the stand out pieces of the collection. They looked like something my dreams were made of. Ethereal, yet punchy and eye catching and perfectly cut, slouchy, yet structured and definitely ones you wouldn't want to take off even when you got indoors.

I am definitely one jumping on the bandwagon by saying, creeping up speedily on the outside of the 4 day fashion race, Helen Lawrence is one to watch. 

Mary Katrantzou

Since her emergence from CSM in 2008, I have kept an eye on Mary Katrantzou; each and every collection further inspiring me to follow her work and this collection has not been a let down. I've wondered before if her signature digital prints will ever grow slightly tired or not quite fresh anymore; but I was wrong to wonder. Mary had something else up her sleeve. Every season she finds a new way to capture wearable and beautiful trends so easily and make me yearn for just a piece of the action. This LFW was not an exception.

I was slightly surprised by this collection and at first a little nervous seeing the first looks as it was a small leap away from the Katrantzou collections we've seen before. However after seeing all the looks and letting the collection sink in it has since become my firm favourite of LFW and my favourite to look at (letting alone dreaming to wear!). Leaving the print in the past (for now) and making way for some awe inspiring embroidery, beading and lace work that would be hard to emulate commercially, Katrantzou manages to pull of the wow factor yet again with all new intricacies and incredibly feminine silhouettes married together with these royal, tapestry like colours. 

However hard to recreate, the overall 'baroque' style look and colour of the collection is something we've seen done well during a/w on the high street so I look forward to this coming around again. Its a great winter look, lux enough to take you straight into party season. Up close, the embroidery is a different story, actually made up from 'scout badge' style patches and sign imagery. 

 I feel this is something wearable we could be seeing next winter and personally I love the touch of badge embroidery. Overloading them onto jackets or jeans? I'm already planning outfits for next winter!

Hope you all enjoyed them all as much as me! What were your highlights?