London Fashion Week SS17 Omer Asim by Evie Blackburn for fashiontent

All photos © Evie Blackburn for fashiontent

Omer Asim’s Spring/ Summer 2017 Collection

On the evening of the 17^th September and the second day of LFW, the streets surrounding Elms Lesters Painting Rooms bustled with the intrigue of what was to come during the building’s split presentations. On the ground floor, the audience weaved through partition walls creating an entrance to Omer Asim’s SS17 presentation. This was his third collection featured in LFW, and frankly London has become obsessed with his innovative sculptures.

The warm glow of the spotlights shone down upon the striking collection, as models held their stance on white plinths scattered across the stage, towering over each of us. The breakdown of gender values is mirrored within the designs, as a mixture of both male and female models embrace the couture with a cross-over of both historical and contemporary aesthetics.

During a short conversation with Omer, he described to me his unique vision in terms of design. His outlook rarely changes, which is clearly visible when comparing the architectural qualities of his previous collections shown at LFW. The work purely acts as a progression, and is seen to him as a continuous story of which he builds upon.

Copy and photos by Evie Blackburn for Fashiontent 
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London Fashion Week SS17 Manuel Facchini by Evie Blackburn

All photos © Evie Blackburn for fashiontent

Manuel Facchini

UNDERWATER COUTURE

Spring/ Summer 17

Fluidity and aquatic resemblance brought tranquility to the ICA, The Mall on the evening of day three LFW, as Manuel Facchini presented his newest collection of Underwater Couture. The low lighting and movement of the models as they swayed to the hypnotic soundtrack really emphasised Facchini’s influence from water and sea life.

http://www.manuelfacchini.com/en/

The contrast between structure brought forward by the daring designs and the calm portrayal of femininity and sea creatures was executed without fault, transporting any viewer to an enchanting environment. The designs were brought to life with the use of detailed embroidery, lace, and layering to suggest fins, and to enhance the movement on the stage.

In the center of the set stood a rotating table with a mirror dividing it in two. The models took turn to stand on each side of this partition and gaze into their reflection. Combining the white spotlights with the soft colours of black, green, pink, silver and blue created a psychedelic impression, as the models transformed before our eyes.

Copy and photos by Evie Blackburn for Fashiontent 
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London Fashion Week SS17 Day 2 Helter presentation

On the evening of day two London Fashion Week, Helter studios shared Elms Lesters Painting Rooms with Omer Asim, as he covered the ground floor, and the Helter duo showed their SS17 collection on the first floor.

To say that Jeraldine Ngs’s and Willis Tan’s second collection presentation was flawless would be an understatement. The womenswear design duo combined a minimalist and sculptural approach towards dress-making within an adventurous set of white lights and darkness to bring emphasis and a sense of mystery to the clothing.

In an interview held between Helter and I, Jeraldine expressed the influence from sea creatures when composing Collection II. This is recognisable in the structural elements of their daring designs, yet still encourages curiosity within the viewers mind.

From defined shoulder pads, to tailored trousers reaching out of the darkness of the beautifully constructed set, the minimalist environment rippled through the inspiring collection.

Copy and Photos by Evie Blackburn exclusively for Fashiontent

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London Fashion Week Day 1 Paul Costelloe SS16

Paul Costelloe's son Robert Costelloe, just back from 5 years working in China was here at
London Fashion Week for SS16. He has a Masters in Business planning and strategy so will be a real asset to the Costelloe brand. 

Paul Costelloe Collection 
Spring Summer 2017

With the lights lowered, the audience hushed and the music beginning, a spotlight hit the catwalk, Paul Costelloe’s white high collared dress stood bright and tall, lighting up the runway. It was a porcelain white linen dress, which was followed by a theme of white linen clothing in Costelloe’s Spring/Summer collection. His work was not just a combination of white themed clothing, he also presented bright metallic print dresses, pastel coloured chiffons and thick navy patterned dresses. Amongst long coats, shoulder pads and high collars, Costelloe uses a combination of ruffles, bishop sleeves, pleats, layered fabrics, bubble skirts and light and metallic linens, which gives the collection a diversity between each fabric and style, sewn with particular techniques.

Costelloe’s combines the use of traditional designs with contemporary fabrics which gives a new breadth to the Spring/Summer collection. He focuses on the use of light linens for the basis of his designs, by using a classic fabric for not just the its functionality but also its beauty. Focusing on the use of fabric in relation to the designs, the white linen, has dual purpose as it looks elegant and also naturally works well in warm weather, with the ability to breathe. Costelloe’s knowledge in fabric manufacturing adapts each fabric to his designs, for example, he uses the natural rigidity of linen to create a fitted navy blue dress, with a pleated skirt, with the knowledge that the pleats will hold their shape. Contrasting to the elegant white day wear, Costelloe also uses a metallic printed cotton for two dresses, as he gathers the fabric around the neck line and the skirt, which emphasises the vibrant colour differentiation with the natural light.

The techniques used in each design complements both plain and printed fabrics, for example, the use of pleats on the bodice of the white linen wear adds to the plainness of the fabric, to give both shape and detail whereas the ruffles on the front of the navy dresses is used as a feature, and gives an interesting angle to his collection. This collection jumps between the elegant and the bold, whether it is in the metallic printed dress, the navy dress with extravagant sheer puff sleeves or the white short dress with a plunge neckline.

www.paulcostelloe.com
www.paulcostelloeman.com

Copy and Photos Clara Walton and Schelay for fashiontent © fashiontent

London Fashion Week Caitlin Price SS17 'Sports Glam Daywear '

For spring/summer 17 Caitlin Price’s fascination with nightlife rituals moves on to 24/7 partying, exploring the relentless hedonism of young British women on group getaways. Set against the backdrop of a heady and hypnotic film by Benjamin Bowe-Carter that blends nightclub strobe lights with crashing waves,

rites of passage trips to Ibiza, Marbella and Ayia Napa are recalled. Here ‘holiday best’ style is amplified and abstracted, to create an image of artificial poolside opulence. 

Price’s deliberately OTT look this season is intended to play on the idea of aspirational hyper-reality. Initially inspired by the graphic shapes and saturated tones of the villa set piece in Jacques Tati’s 1958 film Mon Oncle, parallels were subsequently drawn with computer-generated noughties club flyers, and the contemporary obsession with Instagram filters. These Influences are seen most clearly in the collections palette, where candy pastels and punchy chemical brights feature heavily. As well as in a near-psychedelic distortion pattern that appears throughout looks in both panelled and cut-out form. Bold embroidered lettering by RART also emphasizes an idea of excess, with a largescale CP monogram logo, and head-to-toe white on white house music lyrics, that emerge more clearly under dance floor lights. 

Throughout the collection, Price’s signature mix of body-conscious club wear and relaxed sportswear has been used to chart a day through night transition. A juxtaposition that’s become more pronounced through the influence of scant but dynamic swimwear references, which have made signature hybrid garments appear more dramatic. Pushing further at the boundaries of genre definition, a stronger effort towards eveningwear is also offered through the slight streamlining of silhouette, and more delicate volumes of drapery. 

Completing outfits, a maximalist approach to accessorising has been taken. Pairing brightly tinted Rayban sunglasses with a range of chunky resin jewellery created in collaboration with Ellie Mercer. Each jewellery design is set with a selection of healing stones – chosen for their hyper-real appearance, and association with Ibiza’s long-established holistic movement.

Caitlin Price held her SS17 presentation and London Fashion Week After Party at Selfridges’ Forest Restaurant & Bar on The Roof in London. The event was the closing party of Selfridges’ Shakespeare reCITED programme - a series of electrifying music and art performances from today’s most compelling acts, held in collaboration with cult contemporary brands. Shakespeare reCITED pays homage to the master wordsmith in a brilliantly entertaining and unique fashion.

The night was a joint celebration, as Caitlin Price, with whom artist Little Simz created a highly collectible line of limited edition performance merchandise; marked London Fashion Week with a presentation on the Selfridges’ roof followed by a Simz-assisted after-party.

Inspired by the dramatic nature and intimate settings of classic Shakespeare plays such as Macbeth and Hamlet, Simz’ performance was an engagingly eerie experience. Performing many of her key tracks acoustically – including the metaphor laden Dead Body, Wings, God Bless Mary and Interlude, on which she worked with Rihanna writer Bibi Bourelly, the evening lent itself to Shakespeare in feel through interaction, engagement and conversation with the audience in an intimate and atmospheric setting.

Caitlin Price collections are available in store and online at Selfridges.com

WWW.CAITLIN-PRICE.CO.UK

Thank you to Blow PR for fashiontent's invitation to the show.