London's Tops

Hello, I'm back, exams are over! Sorry for the three week gap.
So a semi-bumper post looking at my favourite shows from London. Ok so some of these collections are legit good, as in critically approved (Kane, for example), and there are others which I am just personally really fond of, without them being super amazing art or anything (ahem, Mulberry). So let the lowdown commence!

Meadham Kirchhoff

So Meadham Kirchoff this season? The t-shirt says it all:

I'm going to go out there and say that this was the best collection of Spring 2013. This collection actually made me emotional, and that doesn't happen very often. The last time my eyes got a bit moist and my heart quickened just from looking at clothes was Marc Jacobs Autumn 2010. And after viewing the collection I read this review, and it made everything even more emotional and somehow more real, like this collection was part of a story instead of masquerading commerce.

I find it funny that I should love this collection so much, yet last season's left me feeling relatively cold. I guess sometimes you cannot pin down exactly what makes something exceptional.

Mulberry

I'm not going to lie and say that Mulberry was cutting edge or anything, but damn it was fun and I want that hair and makeup and the florals and gold and mint was preeeeeeeeeeety. That is all.

Jonathan Saunders

Jonathan Saunders was way off kilter. Like off the kilter chart kilter. What strange mind puts beige and metallics together, or covering entire dresses in sequins (unless it's for a showgirl or drag queen). And the clothes were all set off by that wonderful/horrifying blow up sex doll lipstick. I swear it's the stuff of nightmares. So kudos to Saunders for achieving that!

One random look in venom green? Genius!

Christopher Kane

Good ol' Christopher. He always delivers. While designers usually supply show attendees with notes about the collection, their inspirations etc, Kane didn't this season. Apparently, it's not about anything at all.

Nothing? It just is? That is kind of... awesome. And for someone who loves the intellectual side of fashion, delving into the source and meaning of things, it's strangely exciting.

What I thought was also kinda remarkable about this collection is that it had not one but many "it" elements. Not only those plastic bows/ties, but also those large stiff folds, as well as that last dash of black censor-strips. This also translates to quite a diverse collection. From these glorious folded pastel dresses through to rubber bows and floating organza. I love that feeling of not quite knowing what will come down the runway next.

Erdem

The reason that Erdem is so often one of my favourites is that he continually surprises me. Obviously not surprise as in "flowers? what a surprise!", but as in he manages to do so much with florals, something different every six months, and something original. 

There is something poetic about the fact that the power went out during the show, yet the colour combinations of the dresses - orange, red, pink, subtle dashes of fluorescent yellow (above) - punch out incredibly bright. Via Tim Blanks' review at Style.com I discovered that Erdem called these brights, mixed with pastels, "uncomfortable colour combinations". It made for, once again, a wonderfully odd London collection. 

all images from vogue.com