LFW S/S 11 Best Of The Boys

Menswear Day 22nd September

\\\ The Name of the Rose ///

Tank Magazine Vol. 6 Iss. 4

Photographed by Ellen Rogers, styled by Pandora Lennard

This is my favourite editorial at the moment. The A/W Meadham Kirchoff collection sent my imagination wild the first day I set eyes on it and then the further offering of medieval knights and surly damsels from S/S 11 KTZ has me even more excited. I want a velvet houserobe with trailing sleeves, a veil and a headress of thorned dead roses.

Daddy, I want a castle...

LFW S/S 11 Menswear Roundup

Boys, The future's bright, the future's orange

Christopher Shannon catwalk shots from GQ style, all other photos my own

I enjoyed a full-on menswear day, flitting from show to show in my flats (it was day 6, come on) like a sprite,

with Michael in tow. I think in hindsight, it was actually my most exciting day of the entire week, and there was a very different atmosphere around Somerset House. Gone were the hoardes of amateur paparazzi and general liggers, instead the cobbles were polished by the clip-clop not of Acne wedges but of Church's polished brogues. Colour was all the rage throughout the women's collections, and the boys didn't miss out on that lead. Flashes of orange and pink against khaki greens and grey caught my eye at Lou Dalton and at Topman, inspired by nomadic lifestyles and British mod culture respectively. I'm determined to get my hands on one of those Topman knits for myself. Christopher Shannon's urban sportswear was not without ceremony either, with beautiful subtle lavender touches and flashes of bright yellow popping up against the sea of pale cloudy greys. James Long and J.W Anderson (hail! hail!) both had me on the floor of the BFC Showspace, craning to get a decent shot with the wrong lens whilst simultaneously wobbling over with excitement. (More on those collections later when I track down someone else's photographs which actually do the clothes justice.

LFW S/S 11: STYLE NOTES FROM SOMERSET HOUSE

LFW S/S 11: KTZ

Dark, moody, hooded; A very contrasting offering to the neon brights, florals and flowing silks that spoke the language of Spring/Summer 2011. With thin gold crowns and fleur de lis prints, the sultry models stormed the runway with warrior-like speed, and with thick leather dresses and opulent gold tones, there was more than hint of Medieval richness. I was lucky enough to preview some of the KTZ collection during the exhibition, and up close, the embossed leatherwork on the shoes and dresses revealed the attention to detail and handcrafted quality. The collection, which included a coat resembling an executioner's hood, didn't exactly scream 'summery' to me, but I can imagine pairing one of the Macedonian duo's tough leather minidresses with a bright flowing silky robe. And a crown of course.

LFW DAY V

Another hot day at Somerset House got off to a good start as I arrived just in time to miss the Amanda Wakely show, but not late enough to miss passing Alexa Chung in the street, who may I add was totally checking out my outfit. I spent the whole day trying to get hold of one of the Grazia dog balloons, but alas, I was foiled at every opportunity. However, bumping into the delightful Vic Riches again at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout and having her sketch me on the stairs more than made up for the lack of inflatable canine. See all her sketches from LFW here. Later on, a chance run-in with a die-hard Burberry fan led to being interviewed for an upcoming BBC documentary outside the Burberry Prorsum show. I think it was going to be called 'Rise of the Superlabels', or something similar, so look out for it. I hardly am qualified to comment on the business of the fashion industry, but it would be quite entertaining/mortifying if I make it onto the program.

Ps. What is it about fashion week that makes everyone look so goddamn miserable in photos? I'd like to think it was the heat, but I didn't even realise myself how surly I looked until I saw my own pictures. I promise I'm quite un-grumpy in real life!

Hours in heels cause us resort to squatting outside Burberry

Sister act : Homemade headresses make an impact outside the Ashish show.

LFW S/S 11 CLOSURE

FAREWELL TO SARTORIAL HAVOC

Another London Fashion Week gone. 6 days passed in a flash of vitamin waters, business cards and tote bags. A flash of paparazzi, amateur TV interviews and sweat under our A/W coats (bad move there.) This was my second season, and I felt I'm starting to find my feet in the fashion circus. I'm more than just a little excited by the S/S offering from London, and it seems everyone else is too; the press is just awash with praise for London's fashion 'coming of age', with even relatively new brands like Peter Pilotto and Louise Gray escalating forward from 'ones to watch' to established names in desirable design. Today's menswear shows brought the season to a stunning close, with J.W. Anderson and James Long's collections setting my heart on fire. I have so many great things to share with you over the next few days, weeks... who knows? My cup of inspired material doth runneth over.

Note: Having avoided shopping all week simply due to time constraints, sore feet and general exhaustion, I didn't begrudge myself a trip into Mint Vintage on Earlham St. earlier today in a break between shows. Whaddya know, I stumbled across the most insanely perfect biker jacket; thick black leather with elbow pads, a buckle belt and quilting, they just don't come finer than this. Turns out, admittedly to my horror, that bikers are the new 'Burberry' jacket for A/W. I portend millions of high street knock-offs and a sea of chunky bikers in my local Sainsbury's. I'd better get some wear out of it now, before it's too late.

The BBC may have picked me to comment on the Burberry show for an upcoming documentary, but my friend Scott managed to fit in a chinwag with a real fashion insider; Miss Kate Moss herself. See Scott's exclusive interview for Vogue TV with Kate below.

LFW S/S 11: ASHISH

Glamourmagazine.co.uk

Unfortunately I spent most of the Ashish show trying not to fall of the edge of the 2nd row, as people piled on irresponsibly in a desperate bid to be closer to the 'celeb aura' of Diana Vickers, Paloma Faith and Pixie Lott, who were in front of me, and being very hot. However, there was salvation inside for my late-afternoon fashion grump; the Über-fun, Über-jazzy (as always) offering from Ashish; The Sequinned Rodeo! Bandana-prints made their way onto sequinned mini dresses and trousers, while models stomped down the runway to a pounding M.I.A. soundtrack wearing cowboy boots handpainted with motifs including the logos of McDonalds and Heinz baked Beans (this particular reference seems not particularly 'rodeo' and somewhat puzzling, but appreciated nonetheless.) Fringing has reigned supreme this week in London, and there was no shortage of it here, hitting dramatic lengths on crop tops and trousers. The sight of the feather headdresses really perked up my mood; the 'Indians' wore more native styles while the 'Cowboys' had feathers sticking out from baseball caps, or hanging individually. A cross between the Wild West and Sunset Boulevard, the show was fun, kitsch and I'm sure went down a storm with the pop starlets. Yee-ha!