Maybe it’s these perpetually grey skies hanging over London, but it does the eyes and heart good to see color: hot pinks, ruby reds, rich burgundies, and oh-so-cool blue tones. It’s London Fashion week!
London Fashion Week is the first stop on the European leg of the international fashion circuit following New York and just prior to Milan and Paris. Alongside this high profile event runs The Exhibition at London Fashion Week: the British Fashion Council’s official static exhibition of fashion design talent. Over 210 designers display their wares here; it’s really a trade show for accessories and ready-to-wear and the selection is incredibly eclectic. Think tartan hunting caps, sequined clutches, tie-dyed velvet pants, and chiffon shift dresses liberally embellished with plastic telephone cords—I feel like Alice in Wonderland here as I find whimsical eye candy at every turn.
My favorite booth has got to be the one occupied by a group called Scottish Textiles. They represent a selection of Scottish designers (who use home-grown textiles, naturally). The clothing is certainly suggestive of traditional highland looks. It’s bold and colorful, some with jagged edges, some with artful gathering, and some with serious detail-attitude like eight different belts wrapped around the waist. Oh, how I would love to hit the town looking like a modern day Braveheart princess!
Another must stop at The Exhibition is Esthetica. Known as “London’s sustainable fashion initiative,” Esthetica is a group of designers whose clothing is both eco- and ethically-friendly. Ladies, let me tell you, gone are the “crunchy,” “granola,” and hemp potato sack days of environmentally responsible dressing. Esthetica
features booth after booth of beautiful, funky, and sophisticated clothing and accessories from established eco-labels like From Somewhere, Noir, Katharine Hamnett, and fresh newcomers like Mark Liu, Pibiones, and Green Knickers.
GreenKnickers’ hemp/silk underwear is seriously adorable and at £20, this is something that more than just the select few can actually afford and feel good about. I fell hard for Nahui Ollin’s amazing handbags—they’re handwoven from candy wrappers and soda bottle labels. It’s so inspiring to learn all about these new ethical policies and ecological techniques and especially to see something really beautiful created from something that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill.
