26.02.2016
Leading on from New York’s fur-filled collections, London’s designers prominently featured mink, fox and Finnraccoon from Saga Furs in what looks to be a strong fur season. Old-world romantic opulence, statement contrast, volume and eclectic graphics were some of the key themes, and fur underscored this beautifully.
Christopher Kane masters the art of twisting the normal into something different and unfamiliar and he approaches fur in the same way. In Kane’s hands, the voluminous, classic fox outerwear that popped up on the runways in New York was here a deconstructed Sapphire Frost Fox jacket-slash-gilet fused with Palomino Mink where the sleeves hung unzipped from the shoulders showing a glimpse of skin. A collarless, minimal Sapphire Mink coat was worn with a matching crossover bag, bringing a sense of youthful, tonal cool to the classic piece, and he also showed Sapphire Frost Fox as a wide stole.
Pussy bows and pretty ribbons are back in a major way, and at Roksanda Ilincic they came tied in plush velvet, showcased on an exquisite, lightweight long Gold Fox gilet in the Air Gallon technique and on a burnt caramel mink coat.
Mary Katranzou took her point of departure in vivid rodeo imagery and Baz Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic Romeo and Juliet, dreaming up striking, narrow Saga Furs Mink intarsia coats and ribbon-tied wraps in hyper-saturated colours where cartoonish Americana graphics clashed with leopard.
Little Lord Fauntleroy’s oversize collar was given new life at Osman, re-imagined in lavish fox that framed the model’s faces. The dandy aesthetic – Fauntleroy’s grown-up equivalent – was felt in a big, snowy white Shadow Fox coat.
Silver Fox brought a sense of wild glamour and luxe play on texture to Amanda Wakeley, who sent out a pared-back grey coat with slouchy, voluminous sleeves and a warrior-style stole slung across the body over a slinky silk dress.
The notion of fragility informed Huishan Zhang’s collection, where the Fox on Fabric technique resulted in a light-as-a-whisper coat. A supersized trapper hat in white fox accentuated the delicate winter mood.
Central Saint Martins graduate Mimi Wade made her London Fashion Week debut with Fashion East, showing 1960s film star cool via movie poster graphics dresses, gloves and coats trimmed with Finnraccoon and rosy mink. It was a playful, deliberately kitschy and fresh take on glamour.
White Finnraccoon also shone at Burberry, dyed a strong mossy green. The wild, animalistic look was contrasted with a studded belt and cuffs.
Returning to the London schedule after more than a decade, Sarah Burton showed a dreamy Alexander McQueen collection where big mink shawl collars were fastened at the ends with chunky chains adorned with fairytale charms.
Feb 26, 2016