Fashion photos of the week: Feb. 18
Amy Verner shares highlights from London Fashion Week
Ubiquitous model-of-the-moment Cara Delevingne opened the Issa show on Saturday night in a gauzy printed full-length caftan that defined the collection’s desert bohemian theme.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters
Issa’s Daniella Helayel will forever be associated with Kate Middleton’s sapphire blue engagement dress – and its flattering body-skimming silhouette. This season, she presented elongated blanket coats and geometric poncho layers – bolder, graphic pieces that suggest she’s thinking beyond a duchess wardrobe.Joel Ryan/The Associated Press
The knit jacquard dress, an Issa signature, is updated with a gunmetal finish. Wear it to work styled as it appears on the runway and then remove the turtleneck in time for dinner; it’s the type of wearable, if not particularly ground-breaking, design that makes the label a retail darling.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters
Designer Alice Temperley made a muse out of Tippi Hedren, as shaped by Alfred Hitchcock. “A balance of allure, savviness, vulnerability and prowess,” according to the press notes. We see more turtleneck styling and easy, feminine separates.Joel Ryan/The Associated Press
Temperley continues to stay true to a timeless aesthetic; while she inevitably references previous decades – a design technique that risks being played out – her interpretations prove sleeker and her materials offer nice surface interest.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters
All of the prints were designed in-house and digitally “engineered,” which help propelled the line into newer territory.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters
Props to Val Garland for conceiving such a striking beauty look at Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label show. Models’ faces appeared like fauvist artworks with primary hues plus black and white used for highlighting, shadowing and outlining.SUZANNE PLUNKETT/Reuters
The only issue: the faces were so fantastic, they distracted from Westwood’s secondary collection (her Gold label shows in Paris). This iridescent (oil-slicked?) party dress managed to stand out, as did sweater sets accessorized with buttons that read “Climate Revolution.” Indeed, the impassioned designer includes her Climate Revolution Charter as part of her press notes.SUZANNE PLUNKETT/Reuters
By Sunday afternoon, roughly mid-way through London Fashion Week, Mary Katrantzou’s collection shook things up with poetic prints and extreme shapes. Taking the early 20 th century black and white landscape photography of Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, she added sunset-hued washes and then formed her silhouettes to accommodate the images.Joel Ryan/The Associated Press
Her artistic mood also played out against heavily detailed fabrics: needle punch felt, digitally printed reverse brocade, embossed leather and cotton embroidery. Occasionally, the diagonal movement of some designs seemed superfluous amid all these details; but mostly, she set the bar high for execution and inspired design.Joel Ryan/The Associated Press
By now, we know that Sir Paul Smith loves to put a woman in men’s wear – obviously tailored to the female shape. In a spacious stone hall of the Tate Museum, the saturated colour pairings – crimson, orchid and royal blue – proved the most novel element.Jonathan Short/The Associated Press
Evidently, London designers all received the memo on funnel and turtlenecks for fall. These ones, as sporty sheepskin tunics with side zips, bridged outerwear with all-around wear.Jonathan Short/The Associated Press
Smith shows off his unapologetically flirty side – but even his mini-dresses come with a graphic architectural print.Jonathan Short/The Associated Press