Matthew Williamson, at the Royal Opera House, celebrated 15 years of business, and showed a more cohesive collection. We loved the sheer blouses, floor-length chiffon dresses, and Williamson’s mixing of splatter prints and colour blocking.
Jasper Conran
We liked Jasper Conran’s autumn–winter 2012–13 collection, giving us a neatly edited collection of staple items, notably fitted dresses and coats. The colour palette was equally restrained, with nudes, blacks, browns and greys—and instead of a contrasting colour jumping out to catch attention, Conran used shiny silvers to give his collection a lift.
Issa London
Issa was particularly enjoyable. Think 1960s and 1970s, Asiatic Russia, paisley, bold prints, floral motifs, Chinese embroidery, kaftans and silk gowns, as Daniella Helayel took us on a trans-Siberian journey for autumn–winter 2012–13. It’s impossible to avoid mentioning the Duchess of Cambridge—Issa is one of her favourites—but this time, it’s a little less royal, unless you’re looking at the evening gowns. Helayel has pushed the envelope, and we’re thankful—the last thing we wanted to see her do was stagnate and fail to move on from the royal connection.
Berlin: bright and bold for winter
From patterns to bright colours, Lilith-Fynn Herrmann checks out the best of Berlin’s autumn–winter 2012–13 catwalk photographed by Maurice Luckett/Fashion Aviator, and Dan and Corina Lecca/Getty Images
Lisboa’s fashion transfusion Tiago Espirito Santo looks at Lisboa’s spring–summer 2012 catwalk, with its fashion week entitled Transfusion photographed by Rui Vasco