LFW A/W 13 Favourites

As we come to the end of London Fashion Week A/W 2013, I have once again chosen my favourite looks from the shows that impressed me the most. So without further ado, here are my top five...

Matthew Williamson

I'm always full of lust when I see Matthew Williamson's collections each season. He does colour like no other designer in my opinion. For example, below you can see the raspberry and lilac dip-dyed necklace compliments the mint and grey dress perfectly.

Erdem

You can easily tell by my own style that I'm an Erdem girl! All the florals and romanticism excite me to no end! This season, Erdem has taken florals to a darker side and I am crazy about the dress below, which is made from ostrich feathers covered with a layer of black chiffon. Genius!

Giles

This season, Giles took inspiration from the costumes in tv series Black Adder. It featured billowing sleeves and bodices, however my favourite pieces were the gold laser-cut leather dresses. Incredible!

Mary Katrantzou

Known for her photographic prints on uniquely structured garments, Mary Katrantzou focused her prints on moonlit landscapes this season. I love how the print of the waterfall ripples with the thin material of this dress.

Topshop Unique

Each season, Topshop Unique showcases a completely different collection to the last. This time round, there was lots of patent leather, sequins and shearling. It also confirmed that the revival of the nineties will still be going strong next winter.

What were your favourite shows at London Fashion Week?

Love from Lou Lou

The Evolution of Topshop Unique

On Monday, while in London, I went to a presentation by a Topshop Unique designer, who explained the process of creating a catwalk collection. I thought I would share with you what I learned as I found it really interesting. 

Step 1 - The design team must gather research for the collection. They get their inspiration by travelling to different countries and also go to music festivals where they observe how people are dressed.

Step 2 - There are meetings held to discuss everyone's inspiration.

Step 3 - A research pack is put together and they work from this pack.

Step 4 - Sketches are shown within the team.

Step 5 - Each designer works individually with an in-house pattern cutter. 

Step 6 - Models are chosen to wear each outfit as it looks different when hung on mannequins. The silhouettes are altered accordingly and Katie Grand (editor of Love magazine) helps the team at this stage.

Step 7 - A model casting is held and each model that is selected has an outfit which is to be worn for the catwalk show.

I am in love with Topshop Unique's Spring/Summer collection. It is a print driven collection and as you may know, I'm a bit of a print-fanatic! I think they look really original, varying from ink dropped in water to flying horses! Embellishment was the other main element which was created with Swarovski crystals. 

Below is a picture of me trying on a silk jacket from the collection which I was REALLY tempted to buy!

Love from Lou Lou