Last weekend, I lost my fashion show virginity and was warmly welcomed to the delights of Vodafone’s London Fashion Weekend.
Based at the gorgeous Somerset House in Central London, LFW was the fashion hub of the weekend and packed to the brim with pure amazing-ness.
After collecting our Radley sponsored fashion weekend totebag (which was filled with all kinds of goodies) and our free Elle magazine, my best friend and I headed into the renowned designer shopping tent. Coffees in hand, tote bags on shoulders and arms ready to barge, it was a military operation type feel, mixed with all the Sex and the City glam. Endless stalls were filled with gorgeous jewels, endless sunglasses and racks of clothing, with Toni&Guy and Elizabeth Arden dominating the middle glamourising endless customers.
After much lusting (both at the clothes, and the beautiful hunk handing out free Diet Coke), shall I/shan’t I moments and resisting the temptation to max our overdrafts, we realised it was 3pm and time to head to the catwalk for the Spring Summer ’13 Trends Show.
Sat one behind the FROW, excited chatter was hushed by the arrival of our presenter, Zoe Hardman. She was dressed in a gorgeous cream Reiss jumpsuit with a statement necklace and orange platforms, and looked absolutely FAB. After handing out a free Elizabeth Arden goodie bag to a very lucky girl in the audience, Zoe chatted a bit more before the lights dimmed, the music started and the show well and truly began.
Styled by award winning fashion director, Hilary Alexander, we all knew the trends were going to be something to look forward to and they certainly delivered. The models were styled in British high street as well as classic designers, making most pieces affordable for the day to day girl.
The first trend to show was Graphic Art. This look was kick started by Marc Jacobs at the New York shows and everyone has followed suit as it has swept across the fashion world. Graphic Art is for sure a tribute to its title with crazy shots of colour over everything mixed with slogan tees, stand-out print dresses and elliptical madness. Crisp and sharp tailoring is seen on new mini-shift dresses, maxi’s with blousons and shorts. Bold spots and stripes are big news, and if the black and white mix is boring you then don’t worry! Mix up your patterns with red and white, yellow and white or beige and white to keep a fresh feel to this fantastically fun style.
The second trend was Urban Lifestyle; perfect for that office WOW look, and so easy to take from day to night. It’s a prim, grown up look with sharp tailoring and neat silhouettes, but with enough lenience to add your own twist to the style. Pencil skirts, fitted dresses and collared blouses are key with lipstick reds and cobalt’s shining through on a lot of the pieces. A sporty urban twist was added with a couple of the looks; as well as a model wheeling a Barclays bike down the catwalk, and the bomber was definitely named as the jacket of the season, so add it to your hotlist!
Next up was Eastern Promise. This trend had the oriental vibe present that we have seen in clothing for so many previous seasons. It had a fresh new feel, with emphasis on exciting exotic prints and tasselled gold statement jewellery. Flowing silk kimonos with delicate eastern floral prints combined with folded jackets splashed with tigers and dragons were strutted down the catwalk. Definitely a look for cocktails on the beach this summer, and can easily be toned down by selecting one key piece if you’re not ready for full body print (which I for one am definitely not!). Think anything with oriental prints, silky dresses and large jewellery to nail this trend.
Last up was Dolls House. Perfect for us girly-girls, the modern pretty trend is here to stay. The suspect bustier dresses, trench coats and blouses have been toughened up with hi-shine materials, metallic’s and fantastic statement prints. Dresses in conservative shades were paraded in front of us dashed with injections of rubber, lace and crystal to mix up the traditional girly vibe. Make sure to pick up metallic fronted shell tops and daring lace blouses to mix with the staple pencil skirt to really complete this look.
The models completed their final walk, and the show ended. Everyone let out the breath we’d somehow all seemed to be holding in and excited squeals and talks led the way out of the tent, sneakily via the courtesy kinder bueno stand!
Looking at our watches and a quick nod signalled that we would now head off to the nearest bar, for a large glass of wine, to test out our new freebie products and make a game plan of how we were going to afford all the fabulous clothes that had just been paraded before our eyes.