The elevated status of Jonathan Saunders, the young Scottish design recipient of this year’s £200,000 British Fashion Council/Vogue fund, was reflected in the location of his show at London Fashion Week: high up on the 19th floor of the Broadfort Tower in east London with spectacular views over the city.
His polished, subtly coloured collection lived up to all expectations.
The rich metallic green and burgundy brocade dresses with prim little Peter Pan collars and coats of embossed cotton looked exactly what a smart modern girl might wear in the city – sleek, shiny and strictly tailored. Peter Pilotto’s futuristic collection of Asian- inspired graphics on quilted bomber jackets and wavy hemmed skirts was a busy conglomeration of contrast prints.
Sporty touches extended to cutaway velvet dresses with racer backs, though multicoloured fox fur bibs and sequined embellishment felt forced rather than easy-going. Notable were the elegant border printed ribbon shoes.
Also inspired by Japan and its zany street fashion is Louise Gray, though it would need considerable sangfroid to sport the graffiti-spattered skinnies, patchworked tunics, printed wellingtons and tribal headgear that she sent down the catwalk.
A calmer note was struck at Nicole Farhi’s minimalist top-to-toe study in grey with the odd flash of yellow, and in Antonio Berardi’s elegant, couture-like collection with its precision pleating, shiny cocoon coats and swirling insets of colour.
The day ended on a high note with two strong shows from Erdem and Burberry. Erdem majored on black lace overlaid on inky blue prints for rather formal tailoring while Burberry’s live streamed show proved that Christopher Bailey remains a skilled master of reinvention. Trenchcoats in Donegal tweed, sheaths in William Morris prints and figured velvet coats looked youthful and well bred with signature details flared peplums and iPod-sized fishermen’s pouches tailor-made for modern cyber-aged metropolitans.