Five Trends from London Fashion Week AW17
London Fashion Week has wrapped up for another season, with its new home on the Strand showcasing everything we can expect to see from Britain’s designers for next Autumn/Winter. As ever the collections ranged from the experimental and eccentric to the classic and contemporary, with a lot of man-repelling in between. There were lots of looks (and ergo lots of trends) to come from London Fashion Week AW17 – a good sign that designers are following their own lead, rather than others’ – but these are the five that we’ll start adopting now.
Ever since street style stars starting wearing their shirt sleeves big, long and covering their manicured hands, the sleeve has been given a new kind of stardom that it hasn’t had for quite some time. This season it wasn't just about the shirt sleeves or long, stretched hoodies – they came big and puffy at Ashley Williams, fluffy and detachable at TOGA and sheer at Daks.
Embellishment is back, and this time it takes on an elaborate ‘arts and crafts’ form. At Christopher Kane, loose, elegant evening gowns were covered in either matte sequin panels or luxury corsages, while TOGA chose clusters of beads to go atop shoes, on brooches, on the sides of sheer panels and the front of boxy leather handbags.
Green has been around for a few seasons now (the continuous military trend has made sure of that) and while khaki is still a staple, olive green is starting to come up through the ranks. Eudon Choi did it best with his wrap-around tunic with D-ring belts and trench coats with gold buttons studded down the spine, while Joseph used the shade in extreme-length coats and head-to-toe woollen shirt and trouser combinations.
Another trend that has almost become a staple in the last few years, athleisure (the term has officially overtaken ‘sport luxe’) made no signs of leaving at London’s AW17 shows. At Versus Versace there were zip-up track tops worn with flatforms and matching skirts, while Ashley Williams gave it a decidedly western spin, with hoodies worn (hood up) with cowboy hats and checked skirts.
The tone that keeps on giving, camel has become a modern day classic, emanating chic from every pore. At London Fashion Week AW17, it was found in oversized coats and tailored trousers at Christopher Kane, and on everything from knitted midi dresses, culotte jumpsuits and button-sleeved shirts at J. JS Lee.