District L

The relationship between fashion and the economy is a running motif of District L's in depth industry analyses - there are few correlations in our society with such a tangible and literally visible impact.

The last few seasons, we were all privy to the effect the downturn had on the industry - classic looks oozing with timeless wearability made an especially spectacular re-emergence. Particularly palpable after the decadent, angular 80's glamfest of F/W 2009 to be certain. With the timely rise of recessionista chic, color and concept quickly began to play second fiddle.

Which is why, this season, we were pleasantly surprised to see designers lose their poker faces and begin to go all in. Chances! Risks! Gambles! A touch of the dearly missed caprice and whim of the industry had returned. This attitude was manifested no better than by the escapist, nostalgic, and in some cases almost fairytale-ish surrealism that many labels embraced for Spring, seen everywhere from Monique Lhuillier's seductive Eden enchantress and Toni Francesc's woodland warriors in New York to Mary Katrantzou's digital dreamscapes in London and Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini's youthful, evocative collection for Fendi in Milan.

But the fun didn't stop there - check out some of these moments from Spring 2011's Great Escape.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva

Photos from Style.com and Jakandjil.com

A new form of life had been engineered in a London design studio and then sent to assimilate with the LFW culture. Todd Lynn synthesized a brood of model warriors, donning high python collars and triple-covered-platform booties. Evolving out of both luxury and intelligent design, Lynn created a wearable, avant-garde collection. Muted and functional, yet aggressive and forward - Todd Lynn's model army is one we'd like to join.

Post by Amanda LaMela

Images by Style.com

After my unfortunate feelings about his last collection, Mark Fast relieved my concerns with his comeback this season. The Central Saint Martin's grad was inspired by "a utopia destroyed by acid rain," which came through in his crescendo-like silhouettes and brightly dip-dyed garments. Sticking to his signature of body-con knitwear, Mark Fast invited the sorbet tones and dark wonderland theme that we saw back in New York.

Post by Amanda LaMela

Photos by Style.com

The advent of digital textile printing has opened up a whole new world of creative possibility and unprecendented flexibility for designers - we're finally beginning to see the line between conceptual design and pret-a-porter blur. No designer has embraced these new technologies with more enthusiasm than London's own textile illusionist Mary Katrantzou.

Long regarded as a master of trompe l'oeil, Katrantzou took inspiration for her S/S 2011 collection from seventies interior design photography, but turned inside-out - the room is now on the model, rather than the model in the room. Her S/S 2011 runway is enchanting on a variety of levels, as the prints are not only masterfully designed to have a stunningly three-dimensional depth but they simulataneously draw the viewer inward without distracting from the actual construction of the pieces, which is exquisite.

Furthermore, each look is a separate vignette unto itself within the greater narrative of the collection, adding a flair of enticingly unaddressed intrigue. It's a supremely relevant and ingenious interpretation of this spring's fairytale trend - London Fashion Week just took a long awaited turn for the better.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva

Henry Holland, one of a handful of designers now carrying London Fashion Week.

It is apparent that the fashion industry has been undergoing a deep reassessment. The economy, and the negative impact it has had on the consumer has galvanized the industry into re-evaluating its role and function. Like a multi-national forced into bankruptcy, the fashion world has taken an objective look at itself and decided that the only option is to scale back, trim the fat, and streamline operations. A corporation, however, is a singular, regimented entity with controlled flows of management; the fashion industry is a loose federation of designers, companies, and other individuals that collectively form the business of fashion. How does an entity so plural and so volatile begin to organize itself for change?

One of the more notable shifts in industry activity the past few years has been the slow decline of Milan and London as fashion centers. A decade ago, London Fashion Week was a full week-long event like all the others boasting a full repertoire of heavy-hitters like Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Preen, Hussein Chalayan, and Alice Temperley of Temperley London. Now, ten years later, McCartney and Chalayan have defected to Paris to reposition themselves among the traditionally higher end labels shown in that city; McQueen, Preen, and even Temperley London now show only in New York City for similar reasons. London Fashion Week is now more of a Fashion Long-Weekend where incumbent Burberry Prorsum and maverick House of Holland headline while supporting a rather rag-tag roster of lesser known independent labels.

Lately, Milan seems to have started down the catwalk to a similar fate. This past Fall 2010, the week-long event was truncated into four densely packed days due to Anna Wintour’s tight schedule; it’s hard to say whether Paris or New York would have ever buckled to same pressure. Although Milan has a hearty line-up every year with the likes of Gucci, Fendi, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana, they too support an otherwise unknown collection of independent Italian designers; the same couldn’t necessarily be said for London ten years ago.

With New York and Paris as the remaining true, unwavering juggernauts of this multi-billion dollar industry, will the focus shift away from London and Milan entirely? Will there be a mass exodus of designers from Milan to New York and Paris? It leaves one to wonder how the industry will evolve over the next decade, as it crafts itself into a more slender, more lithe incarnation more capable of negotiating a changing world.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva

Because I think I speak for everyone when I say- "we are, like, so not in the mood right now." Slouchy, thick-ribbed cardigans have become cornerstones of the grunge/primal backbone in many high profile collectons for fall.

As grunge and primal emerge as the season's trend juggernauts, these sumptuous pieces have played a two-fold role- a cozy, deconstructed go-to for the former and an enveloping, coccooning silhouette for the latter. On a more practical level, many designer's recent commitment to recession-friendly clothing has resulted in extra emphasis on wearable, more timeless basics that can keep a girl's wardrobe going for years to come.

Cardigans included.

Etro

Missoni

Iceberg

Clements Ribeiro

Anna Sui

Alexander Wang

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva

Photos from Style.com

During a birthday gathering for a friend in London, Kate's spacey, all-shoulders Balmain gown suffered some damage. The already snug-fitting silver-sequined number erupted with a huge tear on the side somewhere near the beginning of the evening.

Not one to let small obstacles get in her way, Kate partied on.

We still love you, even if you might be pregnant.

Photo courtesy of NY Daily News.

Which favorite street fashion photographer refused to take one of his famous candid shots of a girl in London because she was wearing a pair of Uggs?

Click here to find out!

Thank god, by the way- as if we didn't know already, this confirms that the official fashion industry stance on the Ugg boot is an emphatic, vehement "No".

"The fact that big-shouldered, bling-festooned dressing is now being shamelessly enjoyed by Christophe Decarnin at Balmain (and his many fans) doesn't make Macdonald an imitator—he was already there ten or so years ago."- Style.com

We've seen so much of the Balmain shoulder on the runways this season its already starting to feel like old hat- but that hasn't stopped yet another British talent, Julien Macdonald, from working it quite nicely into a collection that is finally his own.

Among the other current trends oozing from his Fall 2009 Collection, which showed at London Fashion Week this Tuesday past, there was an overwhelming sense that Macdonald had finally come into own. After a rocky period spent with Givenchy, which ended in 2004, he struck out on his own for awhile occupying himself with sundry projects- among them a redesign of the British Airways cabin crew uniform and a mass-produced (HA- there it is again!) line for British department store Debenhams.

"I thought I would grow to love it...I didn't. What Givenchy needs is time. It took Galliano six years to make Dior work. I just wasn't prepared to stay. In the end, I told LVMH, 'I'm miserable and I'm going home.' I don't find a black dress with three holes exciting. I don't find the black cashmere pencil-skirt suit fun. But I kept quiet and did my job."- Julien Macdonald, The Independent UK

His experience at Givenchy no longer a restriction on his career, Tuesday's showing was really a demonstration of muscle-flexing on the part of the designer. The whole package- Balmain shoulders, cutouts, Hi-Res opulence and shine, and sheer paneling on sleeves and bodices- was present, along with a refreshing shift away from the deep violet shades we saw in New York and a move towards greens and blues.

Photos from Style.com

Congratulations, Julien. It's good to have you back.

"With the research skills and portfolios these kids have, there will always be people who want them. In fact, I know there are already. I just can't say who."- Louise Wilson, Professor and Mentor to MA Students at Central Saint Martin's, on the fears of graduating into today's delightfully energetic and totally unperilous job market (she isn't worried...neither are her students I'm sure).

The Central Saint Martin's show is always a sight to behold, and you can expect a full report so, so, so soon here on District L. I hate to make you go without, but be brave and hold tight. We can get through this together.