SS Daley and Dilara Findikoglu Kickstart London Fashion Week
In the lead up to London Fashion Week, the mood surrounding the event was subdued, whispers about a slim schedule (No JW Anderson! No Nensi! No Molly!) forecasting a lacklustre season in the capital. The start to the week, though, was anything but — with some standout shows really reminding us what British fashion is all about: creativity, culture, resilience and, ultimately, exciting talent.
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Among them was Steven Stokey-Daley, who kicked off Friday’s itinerary; as the lights went down, we were transported back to nineteen-eighty-something London, when the Petshop Boys, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Smiths were hot on the British music scene. What stood out was Stokey-Daley’s aptitude for interpreting traditional notions of British heritage style in a way that’s both modern and desirable, without feeling too on the nose (see his take on the barn jacket, which he paired with voluminous bubble-hem skirts; or his twist on the British mac, which he recreated as a peplum jacket).
For the AW15 collection, he was inspired by the work of Scottish painter Francis Cadell, zeroing in on texture, colour and craft. ‘We took inspiration from his artworks, which are, like, smudgy and fibrous,’ he explained backstage. He also ‘went into the idea of reinvestigating archetypes and what that means to us.’ Marianne Faithfull was another key influence for the womenswear collection, he explained, which was his first after debuting it last season. (the giveaway was the “STAY FAITHFUL TO MARIANNE” slogan knit, but as models paraded along to The Ballad of Lucy Jordan for the finale, the reference shone).
Another highlight was Dilara Findikoglu, who showcased a feminist manifesto of sorts, envisioning Venus: Findikoglu described it as ‘a world of female liberation’ — a more apt description would be an otherworldly rave. Models looked ethereal as they swayed down the catwalk, almost as if in a trance, to intense techno music, skin shimmering under the dim lights of the dingy club setting.
Some wore second-skin python trousers teamed with shell-covered armour or a jacket made of hair; and sheer Victoriana-inspired looks that wavered between Romantic and macabre. Others were bejewelled with shells and pearls, or wore corsets embellished with feathers or saftey pins. One dress was etched by hand by tattoo artist Jonah Slater. The show was really an invitation to escape fully into Findikoglu’s eccentric universe.
Richard Quinn, too, lured guests into a dream world, creating a winter wonderland for his show set: it was almost like a life-sized snow globe, with models parading in Quinn’s couture-like gowns beneath the soft fall of snow, mega power shoulders, ruffles, mermaid silhouettes and frothy tiers. (Call it the Rivals effect, but the 80s seems to be a key reference this season.)
Quinn said the collection was a love letter to London, the set recreating a London street as the clock strikes midnight. His now-signature Cinderella evening gowns certainly were plentiful, but it’s bridal that’s clearly the big business these days for the designer, who showed a number of wedding dresses on the catwalk, complete with perfectly placed veils and white flower bouquets.
Increasingly, designers are finding creative ways to mix up the traditional show setup, leaning into other facets of culture to connect the dots between fashion theatre and art. Harris Reed’s show returned to its usual Tate Britain venue, adding to the theatre of his show by opening with a powerful monologue performed by Florence Pugh.
Completedworks’ founder Anna Jewsbury has developed her own take on the fashion show, enlisting actors (Joanna Lumley, Dianna Agron) to tell stories around her collections while wearing the pieces. ‘What’s the point of doing a fashion show? It’s to have some moment in the cultural discourse,’ she pointed out backstage.
This season, Debi Mazar was the brand’s guest star, playing a frazzled shopping channel host on the verge of a breakdown while on air. ‘Shopping channels [have these] real over the top descriptions, they create this urgency of something selling out, and it’s very layered; the collection itself has these elements to it somehow,’ Jewsbury said. Jewellry is often thought of as an embellishment, but the new collection ‘pieces themselves are also embellished, so it’s sort of become an embellished embellishment.’
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