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From After dark to Zero: a guide to London Fashion Week
With Britain's premier fashion event under way, here's our insiders' guide to the hottest looks, labels, models, celebrities, accessories and beauty products this year
Alice Olins and Nicola Copping
After dark: hours traipsing around London do nothing to dampen the party spirit. Expect drunken celebrity photos from House of Holland and culture vultures at Zaha Hadid's party in collaboration with the shoe label Melissa.
Bags: anyone who knows their Phoebe from their Roxy will already have started saving for Emma Hill's new collection for Mulberry, revealed this week. She has worked on accessories at Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein and Chloé, and it's an understatement to say there is excitement in the air.
Charles Anastase: being a new designer on the London schedule usually guarantees a high degree of unwearability. Not for the French designer Charles Anastase. His dreamy, loose dresses and shrunken blazers are already loved by young trendies such as Alexa Cheung, who sat on the front row. Her pretty geek-chic and his quirky designs slot together perfectly. His creations are inspired by the painter Degas. The washed silk dresses layered beneath crinolin tutus and tiered skirts that could have been pulled from a Victorian dressing-up box were reminiscent of ballerinas in rehearsal. What was nice about the overall look was that nothing felt too contrived. Even the hold-up sheer stockings were playful rather than sl*tty. And what with this being a label for the slim and youthful, there were drainpipe denims complete with Charles logos across the rear pockets and tiny leather jackets. The collection could have done with some editing but stand-out pieces included a ruffled shirt that frothed around the neck and leather Mary Janes with gigantic platforms. Expect to see tipsy celebrities having trouble walking.AO
Discounts: if you haven't got yourself on the front row, then how about some designer discounts to soothe the pain. London Fashion Weekend (September 24-28 at the Natural History Museum), offers reduced priced wares from Alexander McQueen, Juicy Couture, Amy Morris handbags (above) and about 147 others. Book tickets at
www.londonfashionweekend.co.uk
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Erin O'Connor's Model Sanctuary: if anyone knows the pressure models are under, it's Erin O'Connor. Her sanctuary is a place for models to crash, eat, relax and chat to nutritionists. O'Connor also hopes that it will help to curb Size Zero chatter.
Front row: so what if New York had the privilege of showcasing Posh's new crop, the front rows in London still offer plenty of celebrity fodder. We expect Sarah Brown (see below), Alexa Chung, Peaches Geldof (she's just started at NYU, but we're assuming that her lectures won't keep her away), Roisin Murphy and maybe even a Spice Girl of our own.
Get the look: trousers, trousers and more trousers. Peg leg, shiny (think oil slick), wide, high-waisted, 7/8th and skinny, mean that shoes are higher and legs look longer (no bad thing in our books).
High-street shows (Jaeger, Topshop, Man
this week isn't just about clothes that cost the earth; it will be Topshop's fifth season on the catwalk. Jaeger and Topman have become fixtures too, so cancel that bank loan.
Insider tips: want to get the model look? Head to Topshop Oxford Circus. Today, MAC sets up a make-up emporium, offering advice, mini-makeovers and insider tips. If that isn't enough, Kate Moss's best friend and hairdresser James Brown will be on hand for advice too.
Jeans: another Topshop fashion pit stop is the Radcliffe denim stand. Also in their Oxford Circus store, Suzy Radcliffe will host a week-long denim clinic. Have a personal jeans fit consultation and take advantage of the free alterations service.
Keep fit: a week of back-to-back shows means no Pilates for the fashion set. But they might be happy to know that on average a woman burns about 100 calories per mile just walking. And this doesn't factor in a pair of Louboutin heels.
Locations: if you thought every show took place in a marquee tent, think again. This season models will strut their stuff at an old theatre, a hydraulic power station, the Royal Opera House, a university lecture hall and the Korean Embassy. See what we mean about all that walking?
Models: Jourdan Dunn is the model we hope to see this season. A Londoner born and bred, she has brought black beauty to the foreground of fashion again and we couldn't be happier.
New Talent: this season keep your eyes peeled for the Australian designer Josh Goot, a pioneer of neo-minimalism and Peter Pilotto, two Belgians with an eye for a catchy print.
On the Schedule: Temperley London strayed to New York for a couple of seasons, but Alice Temperley's as English as her brand name. Back to the capital, and welcomed with open arms, her pretty, playful aesthetic hits the catwalk today.
Prime Minister's wife: Sarah Brown will host a party at No 10 this evening for the city's key fashion players, while on Wednesday she will team up with Naomi Campbell (if anyone's going to take on the wrath, then let it be the PM's wife) to support the Fashion for Relief catwalk show. Yes, politics can be sexy.
Queues, queues, queues: we're meant to be good at it, but it doesn't mean we like it. Aching legs, trodden-upon toes, altercations with monosyllabic bouncers - it wouldn't be fashion week without a very, very long queue.
Read all about it: with all that queueing, how do you expect to keep people entertained? Cue The Daily, LFW's official newspaper and a bible for the converted.
Sinha-Stanic Competition: On|Off, the LFW forum for showcasing emerging and established designers under one roof (
www.thedoll.org/onoff), celebrates ten successful seasons. To mark the occasion, Sinha-Stanic has created an exclusive dress which you have the chance to win by answering this question: How many years has On|Off been showcasing design talent during London Fashion Week? a) 10 b) 1 c) 5. Send your answer and contact details to Sinha-Stanic Competition, Times2 Fashion, The Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TT. Entries must be received by October 1. The Editor's decision is final.
Topshop: the store has one huge advantage at London Fashion Week - it creates wearable clothes. This is not a label to succumb to the whims of the front row; it has the whole nation, nay the whole world now, to consider. So it stuck to what it does best: tongue-in-cheek “Brit fash”. Think kiss-me-quick slogans, pocket-sized heart prints and a hefty dose of Bananarama. Do you remember their hair bands - knotted scarves pushing back unashamedly frizzy hair? Well they were here aplenty, which sat perfectly in tune with the Eighties references - stonewashed denim, loads of miniskirts (get on the treadmill, they're back) and shoulder pads. Well kind of; sculpted shoulders on little black dresses at the very least. Topshop always plays up to its patron, the rebel teenager. Peaches Geldof was on the front row, and you can't get more rebellious than that. (No sign of the husband, I might add). What the audience couldn't help but notice were the few trends that simply won't let go: playsuits (in bubblegum pink), tuxedo jackets (in Johnny Cash style) and washed-out denim. It's not to the taste of anyone over 35, but that's OK for Topshop. It's the daughters they're targeting, not the mothers. NC
Unmissable: These designers don't miss a trick. When shall I open a store? Hmm, when all eyes are on the capital's fashion. Dunhill's luxurious Bourdon House, Dolce & Gabbana's first men's flagship store on Sloane Street (with the requisite fashion party on Tuesday night), fine jewellers Guy and Max's open the doors to their first shop in Shepherd Market (with free champagne for fashiongoers) and Liberty's new super deluxe shoe boutique will all be ready this week.
Versace: Donatella has landed. She's here to chair the judging panel for Fashion Fringe(London's search for new talent), and you can expect serious glamour (and a serious pout) when she hits the front row.
Women are doing it for themselves: It hasn't escaped us that this season's “big” names are members of the fairer sex - Dame Vivienne, Luella Bartley, Stella McCartney (for adidas) and Alice Temperley. Long live the London sisterhood.
Xtreme: Gareth Pugh and his PVC bunny have decamped to Paris, which means that there's an opening for most extreme designer. The contenders? Peter Jensen (one catwalk show was on ice, another featured blue bunny ears) or Antoni & Alison (surrealism at its best). Wacky but wonderful.
Your own London Fashion Week: House of Fraser will take LFW to the rest of the UK by hosting the longest catwalk, from Land's End to John o'Groats. The catwalk, which will be walked by a combination of professional models, volunteers and House of Fraser staff, will be a total distance of 1,193.6 miles and is to raise money for the London Fashion Council.
Zero: the size debate rages on, and no fashion week would be complete without the controversy. Models under 16 have been banned for the first time this season.
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