Julien Macdonald took his inspiration from
Britain’s Crown Jewels for his London Fashion Week show on Saturday, mixing
intense colours with metallics on the signature sexy gowns that have made
him
a red carpet favorite.
In the spectacular surroundings of the Foreign Office, the British
designer
showed figure-hugging evening gowns and cocktail dresses in sapphire blue,
ruby red and emerald green, embellished with black embroidery, black lace
and
gun-metal crystals.
“I went to the Tower of London and I saw the Crown Jewels, and I loved
all
the colours,” said Macdonald, a former creative director of Givenchy and
ex-head of knitwear at Chanel, whose eponymous label is worn by A-listers
including Beyonce.
The Crown Jewels include crowns, sceptres, orbs, rings, swords, bracelets
and robes of monarchs dating back to the 12th century.
As well as using royal colours, Macdonald turned to modern forms the
satins
and velvet worn by the aristocracy of old, engineered for extra stretch and
lustre.
“It’s all about things that shine,” he told reporters backstage after the
show.
“It’s a modern interpretation of a very traditional theme… things that
traditionally would have been worn by the royal family.”
Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone was in the front row with her
11-month-old daughter Sophia to watch the show, which also included
shimmering
metallic gowns which seemed to melt over the models’ bodies.
“It’s hard to make things which are hard, like chain and metal, look soft
and feminine and sophisticated — but that’s what I’ve spent 20 years trying
to do!” Macdonald said.
Earlier at funky British label Sibling, bright colours and figure-hugging
dresses were also the name of the game, although the inspiration was more
rock
chick than royal.
The models wore fluffy black mohicans and spiky, backcombed wigs, and on
their bodies, knitted dresses in bright striped patterns and skirt suits and
frocks in vivid orange or candy coloured pinstripes.
“We’ve got every shade of orange and every shade of pink, and every
texture
— whether it’s the wool, the latex, the lurex or the sequins,” Sid Bryan,
one
of the three designers behind Sibling, told AFP backstage.
For all the punky attitude of the collection, the silhouettes were
elegant
and, for such bold colours and fabrics, the clothes seemed surprisingly
wearable.
“There was a move to make this show really chic,” Bryan acknowledged,
while
the show notes described the clothes as a “youthful reimagining of
sophisticated lady chic”. (AFP)
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