Saudi stylist reviews London Fashion Week

The London Fashion Week (LFW) is one of the most sought out shows of the year. LFW is an annual fashion event that is organized by the British Fashion Council, it takes place twice a year and provides a platform for top global fashion talents to exhibit their collections to international media, industry buyers, bloggers and photographers.
The LFW was held between Sept. 16-20. After being hosted at the Somerset House for six years, it was moved to Brewer Street Car Park in Soho in 2015.
This season, it was all about big changes in new trends and designs. Unlike New York Fashion Week where designers stuck to their classic designs, LFW was a melting pot of ideas with a splash of color. 
We met with Saudi stylist and image consultant Aram Kabbani who attended LFW shows and exhibitions to get the inside scoop and reviews of what happened on the LFW ramp and behind it. 
“I love going to London Fashion Week because I get to see many upcoming designers and a lot of new ideas and concepts. The street style is amazing in London where people are more edgy with their style and they are risk takers, especially in fashion. LFW showcases a huge variety of international designers, each season I find new designers and students who have beautiful and stylish presentations,” Kabbani said. 

Here’s what Kabbani thought about the LFW shows she attended:

Burberry: Elegant and distinctive 
This season was different from any other season. It had a bit of a Victorian style influence inspired by Virginia Woolf’s novel ‘Orlando’ because it’s ‘a love letter to the past and to English history’.
The colors this season were different from the usual Burberry colors such as red, blue, beige and pastels. The runway was filled with stunningly embroidered officer’s coats, decoratively tasseled capes and rustic shearling jackets.
The show even included a small exhibition about the Victorian era, the story behind the collection and the process of making the metal accessories and fringes. 

Charlotte Olympia’s happy collection
The whole idea of the show revolved around bananas. All shoes and bags had fruits on them. Bananas dominated everything from catering to décor, it felt like we were on a tropical island enjoying a festive fruity feast. The collection was natural and fun. The designer used bamboos for the bags and cute elements such as small pineapples, birds, strawberries and of course, bananas. 

Osman Yousefzada keeps it real
This year, Osman used a beautiful concept of casting regular women on the catwalk to display his collection. We got to see what his clothes would look like on bodies we see everyday, which is great. The collection combined beautiful colors and designs, for example, blue oversized jackets were paired with green pants. 
The collection featured cotton tops with doublet-style sleeves or tone-on-tone bondage details around the arms and denim jackets, one with red tulle ruffles and another with an insect patch planted on the back. The colors are not something you would normally wear and even the patterns did not match, and that is what made the collection beautiful. 

Effortless chic from Palmer Harding
The collection is easy to wear, real and perfect for everyday women. The colors focused on greys, navy, whites and pastels with a touch of muted red and neon. Arabs will adore the collection because the clothes are comfortable and oversized and can be worn by all body shapes, using different draping techniques. The cuts are experimental and inspiring, with use of a lot of cotton fabric, making it wearable here in Saudi Arabia. The collection featured a combination of loose shirts, belted sometimes, with asymmetric sleeves or an oversized cuff, cascading hems and wraparound details. 

Natasha Zinko hosts an unusual house party 
This collection was festive and joyful. The presentation was held on a roof terrace where the models laughed and danced around guests to reflect the concept of the show and the collection. The colors mainly focused on pink, neon green, white, dusty pastels and bright yellow. The line is playful and feminine, it featured dresses with cut-outs showing skin, culotte jeans, denim and slip-on dresses and romantic, oversized shirts, that were styled together with beautiful hats, midi box-like bags and mini shoulder bags and mink fur slippers.

Dramatic Alexander McQueen
This great ladylike collection used a lot of tulle, lace and leather. It was both feminine and elegant, a combination of gypsy with Victorian styles while some had elements of Arab style with oriental ornaments. There were long, sinuous dresses knitted from wool lace, handkerchief-point skirts and sheer, leg-of-mutton-sleeved dresses, wild flower embroideries, blue thistle prints on cotton, and pantsuits.

Source: Arab News