So, London Fashion Week seemed to pass by in an instant. One minute The Closet’s staff are congregating in Brewer Street Car Park; the next, everyone’s exhausted and fully ready to return to the banality of day-to-day life. There are always some gems to be found at LFW – and we’re not talking Burberry, or even Christopher Kane (though his show was mind-blowingly good). No, we’re talking about the designers you may have missed – the designers who are on the rise and need to be on your radar – amidst the chaos, the glamour and everyone’s escalating stress levels.
Here at HTF, we love to champion fresh talent, which includes all of London’s weird, wonderful, quirky fashion graduates and up-and-coming designers. We’ve picked out three shows that we attended, loved, and wanted to share with you lovely lot. If you haven’t heard these names already, you should probably take note of them now. Trust us!
J.JS Lee
We’ve been mildly obsessed with J.JS Lee since brains-of-the-brand Jackie Lee served up a delicious selection of stiff polo necks, cocoon shapes and candy-coloured capes for AW13. Fast forward three years and the CSM graduate has become more polished in her design approach, but it’s clear she’s retained her taste for keeping things stripped back. For AW16, Lee’s minimalistic leaning – and eye for a good pop of colour – manifested in strong, simple-cut coats and separates in yellow, scarlet, white and grey. There was an ooze of 80s power dressing at play here, particularly evident in those padded shoulders and the bold, outsized tweed outfits that were even matched by coordinating shoes.
Manuel Facchini
The first thing we noticed about Manuel Facchni‘s AW16 presentation was that the dresses were to die for. The second thing we noticed was the models’ extremely heavy eye make-up, which was a funny combination of menacing and beautiful. Indeed, Facchini’s AW16 collection, in itself, was full of juxtapositions. Entitled Metamorphosis, the clothes seemed a mixture of gothic and sporty, with a bit of a folksy feel thrown in for good measure. Facchini’s craftsmanship was on point – there is much delight to be found in a collection of clothes that employs everything from edgy eyelets and laser-cut leather to luxurious-looking jacquard and devoré.
Tata Naka
The twin designers behind Tata Naka once cited Cluedo as a design inspiration, so it’s fair to say we expected to see something colourful and fun in their AW16 offerings. We weren’t wrong. Remember those 80s vibes we mentioned earlier? Well, they were also noticeable at Tata Naka for the new season, albeit translated differently via metallic, disco-ready laser-cut heels, cropped, boxy-cut jackets (also in metallic, natch), Diana Ross tributes and brilliantly bright prints. And it seemed that the Tata Naka team had yet another quirky source of inspiration, with UFOs and other spacey motifs appliquéd to various separates. Tata Naka’s designs are larger-than-life, and we love them.
Feature image via Tata Naka/Nick Chard
