Post-Olympic prints at London Fashion Week

Post-Olympic prints at London Fashion Week

It’s been a big year for London. There was that large sporting display, which could have taken the focus away from the capital post-event, but instead of rolling over in fatigue, the city prepared for another round of global attention with London Fashion Week.

Surprisingly, the two events had something in common. The Olympics closing ceremony paid homage to British fashion, past and present, while the giant park built in east London provided inspiration for designers.

Scottish fashion designer and man of the moment, Christopher Kane, who had noticed the wing nuts poking out of a bridge in Victoria Park near the stadium, used 3D to great effect in his collection, applying crystals and other embellishments to soft, floaty fabrics.

Each season, designers and organisers experiment further with the technology available to them. This time we saw lots of computer-generated graphic prints in shows by Peter Pilotto – whose colour palette was inspired by a trip to Nepal and India – and Mary Katrantzou, who blew up images of postage stamps and banknotes to show two things which, with technology, are starting to disappear.

There were plenty of stripes at Jonathan Saunders while the prints at Erdem, favoured by Kate Middleton, were feminine and multifarious – there was snakeskin, elegant dresses with high necks and long sleeves, and gorgeous pastel florals pierced with flowered and jewelled embellishments.

Prior to the five-day event, Natalie Massenet, founder of online retailer Net-A-Porter, was appointed chairwoman of the British Fashion Council. In a nod towards the change technology is instilling on the industry, Massenet says she will bring to the role her experience in “merging extraordinary creative content with innovative global commerce”.

Burberry – which has just opened a technology-filled flagship store on Regent Street – opted once again for bright, shiny fabrics, presenting a series of sexy hot pants and glossy skirts, dresses and handbags, to a line-up of Olympic medallists seated front row. The Prorsum collection of plastic, reflective and laminated surfaces triumphed in a finale where models swished down the catwalk like fembots.

Burberry’s new store has caused quite a stir. Some garments will be implanted with radio-frequency identification technology, which has the ability to project runway images of a garment onto fitting room mirrors as someone is trying it on. Despite its technological leadership, Burberry last week announced its worst financial performance since 2008. It’s a reminder that fashion is as much about sales as the wow factor.

With that in mind, London, always the most gregarious of the big four, showed restraint in revealing wearable fabrics beside more outlandish pieces.

But there was still room for the wacky. Milliner Philip Treacy made a memorable return to the runway with a collection, introduced by Lady Gaga, which paid tribute, in part, to Michael Jackson. There was the famous “Thriller” jacket, and a hat featuring a bejewelled white glove.

But the notable designs were in his head pieces: giant Mickey Mouse ears, a large smiley face, jewel-adorned helmets and lightning-like sculptural pieces. London also showed experimentation in make-up; models sporting tattooed chins at Fyodor Golan, purple monobrows at threeASFOUR, and sickly painted faces in green and yellow at Vivienne Westwood. The Aussies in town put on highly sophisticated offerings that drew much admiration: sass & bide’s architectural collection of black and white pieces was edgy and elegant; Kit Willow, who marks 10 years of the Willow label next year, presented an inimitable blend of beautiful and daring pieces.