A lighter touch in London

We give our picks from the first day of London Fashion Week’s spring–summer 2011 collections
photographed by Douglas Rimington/Detune Photography

Caroline Charles

Jena Theo

CAROLINE CHARLES’ spring–summer 2011 catwalk show took us back to 1950s’ chic, but with all the new-millennium styles around, retro actually looked chic. Nice cuts, hints of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and elegance marked out this collection.

Jena Theo, designed by Jenny Holmes and Dimitris Theocharidis, based their collection on an Indian inspiration, and the Indian influences on the UK. The duo had a very different form of elegance, with draping and an architectural structure, and largely muted shades.

Hannah Marshall went with rigid ruffles for several of her pieces, with her collection reminding us of origami. Colour-wise, Marshall, too, went lighter, with only a few items at the start of the collection in black. There was plenty of tulle, something which was highlighted at the beginning of the show in a film by Rankin, showing a woman revealed under layers of the material.

Felder Felder had a more rock music edge with its Born to Be Wild collection for spring, with blacks and greys complemented by blues, and frou frou dresses cut to mid-thigh and higher.

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Felder Felder

Hannah Marshall

Above Hannah Marshall’s collection kicked off with a film by Rankin, featuring layers of tulle coming off to reveal a woman beneath.

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Swimwear ’11: elegance and adventure
The trends at the Mercedes-Benz Swim collections at Miami Beach indicate either a more affluent period in 2011, or more of the same
photographed by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz