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London Fashion Week autumn–winter 2012–13: day 3 catwalk


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February 20, 2012/0.08


If you haven’t been catching Lucire’s London Fashion Week coverage on our streaming live player, here’s a run-down of day three, with videos from Mulberry, Craig Lawrence, Nicole Farhi, Twenty8Twelve, Marios Schwab, Vivienne Westwood Red Label, Topshop Unique, Paul Smith, Louise Gray, Matthew Williamson, Jonathan Saunders, J. W. Anderson and Acne.
   Mulberry was, as with previous seasons, wonderful for celebrity-watching: Lana Del Rey, Michelle Williams, Elizabeth Olsen, Bill Nighy, Olivia Palermo, Lou Lesage, Tinie Tempah, Tom Hiddleston, Michelle Dockery, Leigh Lezark and Azealia Benks were there. But its collection, inspired by Where the Wild Things Are, was the true focus, being one of the label’s strongest under creative director Emma Hill.
   Del Rey got a Mulberry bag named after her, launching this May, but it was the jackets, coats and bags, with plenty of knits, fur and the odd tiger print, that made the collection sing. Del Rey, meanwhile, is one of those rare celebrities who Mulberry has worked with, and her bag mixes retro with classic proportions and textures. We predict it’ll be a hit.
   Suffolk-born Craig Lawrence took a very different inspiration: the contrast between modern budget travel and the jet-set glamour of old. Models came out with hair inspired by Pan Am: the triangle created by the parting of the hair was meant to ape an old stewardess’s cap. Lawrence’s earthy colours of copper and brown worked well with the jumpers and pencil skirts, reaffirming his eye for elegance and expertise in knitwear.
   Nicole Farhi’s collection at the Royal Courts of Justice suited the venue: greys and blacks for the most part, with the odd mustard and plum as highlights. Farhi’s understated elegance for autumn–winter was beautiful, with sequins and metallic fabrics lifting the designs.
   Twenty8Twelve, sans Sienna and Savannah Miller, was arguably more on form with a 1960s’ London-inspired collection, under creative director Elsa Elphick. The autumn–winter collection, Faceless Featured Future, had beautifully tailored trousers and, our favourite, a magenta babydoll dress that was right on trend.
   Music featuring romantic strings with a touch of modernity was particularly suited to Marios Schwab, who brought an elegance to autumn–winter 2012–13 proceedings. Hats, well cut and sleek day dresses that accentuated the figure, and full-length, jewelled evening gowns showed that Schwab covered the society woman’s needs well—and thanks to his use of jewellery and embroidery, he avoided his collection becoming firmly retro. The best of classicism and modernity.
   The Vivienne Westwood Red Label collection had a simpler silhouette this season, as well as a more subdued range of colours—think plum, teal and brown—but there was still enough tweed and pinstripe for Westwood fans. The Britishness she promised was there—at least the punk Britain that Westwood is known for—and she managed to tread that fine line between classic tailoring and having fun through questioning authority and outright rebellion.
   Topshop Unique’s front row featured the usual suspects—Alexa Chung, Anna Wintour, Olivia Palermo, Pixie Geldof and Poppy Delevingne—and was creative director Kate Phelan’s first show. This was a collection of practical yet stylish staples. Inspired by uniforms, we saw leather, velvet and wool used to good effect on coats, pants and dresses. We liked the oversized features on Unique’s coats, showing that for 2012–13, volume still works. It shows that having a fashion editor as creative director can work—Phelan was formerly at Vogue—especially if you want to be on the stylistic pulse.
   Paul Smith’s androgynous collection saw sharp coats, tight polo shirts and trousers, and made us take note thanks to a clever use of colour blends—while grey formed the foundation, mustards and reds brightened up his vision for autumn–winter. Again, great fashion is in the details, and Sir Paul manipulated them brilliantly.
   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.

Mulberry

Mulberry celebrities: Michelle Williams, Lana del Ray, Anna Wintour, Downton Abbey stars

Lana del Ray

Craig Lawrence

Nicole Farhi

Twenty8Twelve

Marios Schwab

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

Topshop Unique

Olivia Palermo, Nicola Roberts and Anna Wintour at Topshop Unique

Paul Smith

Louise Gray

Matthew Williamson

Jonathan Saunders

J. W. Anderson

Acne

Day 3 highlights


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Filed by Lucire staff

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