LONDON Calling: The British Fashion Council Presents Designer Showcase
West Coast buyers, stylists and press have had the opportunity to meet some of London’s brightest design talent this week. The British Fashion Council presented a designer showcase titled the LONDON show ROOMS at the ACE Gallery Oct. 17 to 19 in conjunction with Concept Fashion Week.
“LA is a significant market for our designers and we are delighted to be taking this initiative over to the West Coast,” said Caroline Rush, CEO of the BFC in a prepared statement.
There was an overwhelming amount of talent and creativity to view when the BFC unveiled the collections to the press on Monday. The designers lineup was stellar and included some of the country’s most innovative and celebrated designers - Marios Schwab, Mary Katrantzou, Richard Nicoll, Peter Pilotto, Nicholas Kirkwood, Todd Lynn, E. Tautz, Erdem, Roksanda Ilincic and Jonathan Saunders.
How do these designer’s factor into the international design scene? The showcase continues until 6 pm today at ACE Gallery and will culminate with a cocktail party held with the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA, Diane von Furstenberg, President of the CFDA, Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, and the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists will all be in attendance.
For those fortunate to attend the event, it was a great opportunity to meet the designers and preview their collections. The designers were happy to meet stylists and press and to visit their West Coast accounts. And in their off time take in the sights, shopping, nightlife and art scene in Los Angeles. Their collections seemed perfectly suited for the sunny weather on the West Coast as well as its many red carpet occasions.
Vibrant colors and innovative prints and fabrics characterized many of the collections. Chic ’60s couture shapes were Roksanda Ilincic’s ode to Spring in a vibrant color palette and graphic design lines. Mary Katrantzou is best known for her innovative prints and this season infused abstract art and florals into her “Man vs. Nature” themed-collection. Also focused on art and textile design, Peter Pilotto and design partner Christopher De Vos were inspired by a trip to Indonesia to create beautiful tropical prints that were custom designed for each of the pieces in the collection.
Film noir captured Marios Schwab’s imagination this season and he created a glamorous collection that infused his body conscious design lines with plenty of sparkle. Spring’s decidedly feminine aesthetic was illustrated perfectly by Richard Nicoll in a soft pastel palette and modern ’60s shapes and by Erdem’s pretty lace and floral print dresses. Nicholas Kirkwood, shoe designer extraordinaire and frequent Rodarte collaborator, also took a feminine turn with bows and flowers and all things feminine for Spring. (See below for photos)
LONDON show ROOMS is an ongoing international initiative created by the BFC. Building on the success of its launch in Paris in 2008 and New York in 2010 the BFC is expanding its outreach to develop business opportunities for its designers in international markets. Following Los Angeles, the LONDON show ROOMS will continue on to Hong Kong and New York before returning to England.
Roksanda Ilincic and model
Richard Nicoll Spring 2012
Richard Nicoll
Marios Schwab and model
Marios Schwab Spring 2012
Jonathan Saunders
Model wearing Peter Pilotto Spring 2012
Peter Pilotto
Erdem
Nicholas Kirkwood Spring 2012
Nicholas Kirkwood
Mary Katrantzou and model
Todd Lynn
