Straight from the designer showrooms in Somerset House
6 designers that are seriously hot on our radar for SS15
Amidst the frantic fashion week madness of organising invites, snapping street style photos and running between shows (in stilettos, may we add), the designer showrooms always provide a welcome respite. Having time to catch our breath and calmly enjoy perusing designers’ collections in our own time is one of our favourite parts of every fashion week.
This season we discovered a number of designers at Somerset House who are now hot on our radar for SS15. All of them stood out for the way they’ve interpreted an existing trend and fashioned something fresh. This is style evolution at its best. New season, new rules.
Catherine Quin – the new black
So as it turns out, black is the new black. Designer Catherine Quin told us she only works with black because it always produces the cleanest lines; it’s the colour on which delicate pleats and other architectural design details will make the most impact. Catherine’s clothes epitomise effortless glamour, they’re blissfully comfy throw on pieces like jumpsuits and maxis that are so perfectly cut you’ll likely end up looking far more put together than others who actually spent hours putting their outfit together. For proof that ease of wear and high-octane glamour aren’t mutually exclusive, just check out Catherine’s silk-lined leather trousers – no more squirming in and out of sticky leather on a warm day!
Only Child – the new backlace
For a number of years jewellery has slowly gotten more and more adventurous. We’ve had chains that adorn the hand as they connect rings with bracelets, elaborate ear cuffs, and even witnessed the rise of the backlace (that’s a necklace for your back, obviously), but in LFW’s designer showrooms we think we discovered the most impressive body jewellery yet. Only Child London had on display what can only be described as shoulder pad jewellery. It’s huge, it sparkles, and we will definitely be finding any excuse to bejewel ourselves with it come summer 2015.
Atea Oceanie – the new sports luxe
Sports luxe has already been a pretty big trend this season, but we reckon the surface has only just been scratched. Around every corner in the Somerset House showrooms we were met with white mesh and varsity brights, but it was Atea Oceanie’s designs that particularly intrigued us. Atea Oceanie’s founder and creative director Laura Myers has designed trousers that, from afar, look traditionally tailored, all set with buttons and belt hooks. On closer inspection they’re in fact made from a soft sweatshirt material. Come next summer, will we be wearing these round the house as lounge pants or will the tailored style make them a boardroom staple?
Alessia Prekop – the new tie die
2014 saw a 90s revival, and that (unfortunately, some might say) included the return of tie die. Italian born designer Alessia Prekop has taken the fundamental tie die principals of a mesh of bright colours and turned something potentially childish in to something undeniably womanly. Her shimmering hues freely ooze and blend in to each other, creating sumptuously sophisticated designs that we can see working well for those who don’t quite think they can pull off a bold repetitive print but want to work with summer brights.
Deitas – the new dungarees
A more welcome 90s-comeback trend has been the humble dungaree. Thus far fairly traditional in faded denim boyfriend cuts, dungarees have been worn this season over cute crop tops for an off-duty model look. SS15 is going to see them get a seriously glam makeover if Swedish brand Deitas is anything to go by. Madeleine Engelbert and Josephine Dahlin have worked with high quality silk to create deliciously elegant dungaree dresses in powder pink.
Georgia Hardinge – the new cut out
Londoner Georgia Hardinge has been on our radar for a while, and we particularly love her new season collection for its innovative take on the cut out trend. Remember the paper origami you made at school? Well Georgia has translated the ancient art in to clothing designs that get an A* from us. There’s endless depth in the geometric cut outs hidden within box pleats on skirts, and there’s even a 2D print that echoes the 3D sculptural silhouettes on kaftans and dresses too.
