London fashion week: anything goes? You must be kidding
When it all kicks off on Friday just make absolutely sure you're wearing a leather jacket, pencil skirt and ankle boots. By Jess Cartner-Morley
The standout quote in the new issue of British Vogue comes from American socialite Olivia Palermo, explaining to Alexa Chung why Manhattan women are prepared to spend great swaths of their time and money having their hair blow-dried. "Living in New York," says Palermo, "one wants to always present the best version of oneself, and I think this can be accomplished through one's hair."
Leaving aside the urgent questions this raises – foremost being, how long must we wait for Palermo's debut self-help tome, Boosting your Self-Esteem with Hot Tongs? – let us envy, for a moment, the simplicity of life stateside. Wowing New York
fashion week is easy: all you need is $500-worth of hair extensions, a professional blow-dry while eating a breakfast of two satsuma segments, a handbag that costs more than your apartment, and you're "done", as they say. Bankrupt, yes, but done.
At
London fashion week, the dress code is far less glamorous and expensive, but a great deal more sophisticated. A blow-dry will get you nowhere, if you haven't mastered this season's particular technique of rolling the hems of your trousers, or your vintage Blondie T-shirt is from the wrong tour, or you are spotted writing your show notes in the wrong shade of Biro. OK, so I made the last one up, but you get the idea.
The bad news is that the whole "anything goes – there are no rules" spiel that is often wheeled out about London is just a ruse to weed out the absolute no-hopers. What's more, when London
Fashion Week kicks off on Friday morning, the ante will be upped by this being the 25th-anniversary year. The good news, however, is that the excellence of the British high street means fewer worries about cost.
A shrunken black leather jacket, either too small to comfortably zip up or with waterfall lapels that are not intended to be fastened, will likely be a front-row staple – we notice Madonna was already working black leather and lace at Marc Jacobs in New York on Monday – and can be picked up at Topshop if the budget does not stretch to Rick Owens. Last season's shoe-boot hybrids are replaced by altogether more elegant ankle boots: an ankle boot, a pencil skirt, a T-shirt and a leather or faux-fur jacket is a look that ticks all this season's boxes. The drizzle that is forecast for Friday will be welcomed by those lucky enough to have got their hands on the Burberry trench coat (£650) in signature Liberty purple, which Christopher Bailey has designed for the store to celebrate the LFW anniversary. The Anya Hindmarch Three Pocket Shoulder bag (£595) flies the flag for British style in an understated way for day; for evening, it can be replaced by the Accessorize Union Jack sequin clutch, (£30).
As for this season's killer accessory, however, there is really no contest. Stella McCartney has taken the thigh-high boot trend 12 inches higher with her perforated faux-leather version, dubbed the "Vagina High Boot" on fashion blogs: worn with a long jacket, they look like leggings. (At £715 a pair, these have already almost sold out on net-a-porter.com.) If you thought Smart Casual was a tricky dress code, try Chic, Competitive yet Understated and Possibly Ironic Patriotism.
From The Guardian online