The second day of London Collections saw no sign of the city's creativity subsiding, nor of its talent dimming, with much-anticipated shows from the likes of Aitor Throup and Alexander McQueen.
The latter's show was its first for Sarah Burton in London. It opened with a young model sporting a plastic mask, immaculate hair and donning a pinstripe suit- combining McQueen's troubled legacy with his trainings at the prestigious Savile Row. Pinstripes continued as a feature of the collection, exaggerated in contrasting panels, with lines converging along lapels and pointed collars. The technical abilities involved in the tailoring was undeniable, however I was left wondering as to who would wear these more-than-slightly naff suits in reality? Questionable taste was often part of Lee McQueen's draw but I'm not sure it's so intriguing when imitated by Burton.
Margaret Howell, another British heavy weight, brought her usual classics with a Gallic twist to the A/W runway with a show of 23 looks. Howell's mainstay of beautiful fabrics in unisex cuts was the foundation of the collection, with leather-rimmed berets adding some attitude to the looks of greys, blues and browns. There was nothing ground-breaking on offer here, but it takes clothes like this to remind us that despite the trends of neon sneakers and statement sportswear, there's nothing cooler than clothes you can just throw on without a second thought.
My favourite collection so far is that of Jonathan Saunders who served up seventeen strong looks inspired by the art of Olafur Eliasson. The artist's use of both the natural and manmade in his installation works could be compared to Saunders' use of materials such as patented wool, cotton sateens alongside more textured alpacas and colourful knits. Tailoring was kept casual with layers of bomber jackets underneath blanket coats and hoodies beneath trench coats, while neon-soled Louboutins gave the collection an urban edge. Saunders' beginnings in print were evident in dip-dyes, knits of painterly patterns and a varied yet concise colour palette throughout.
Aitor Throup's creative offerings to fashion have been quite sporadic since he made his mark on the scene with Fashion East in 2007. This was his first showing at London Collections, and a welcomed chance to display his love of complicate constructions and concepts once more. Blank, dark figures sat atop horses, bent over corpses and hung in suspense mid-air to give the installation an eerie feel, suited to the collection of black and dark greys. The construction of the garments was multi-faceted, the sort that made you think it was more complicated than you could comprehend, yet cleverly done as to still be wearable. Be sure to follow the studio on Twitter to get a sneak peek into their inner workings, with sketches from the archive uploaded daily.
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