District L

We weren’t sure what to expect last evening as we returned to Lincoln Center for Falguni and Shane Peacock SS12. The show opened with an immediate and refreshing dose of color, artfully applied to inventive prints and mixed media pieces. It was at this point that we turned to each other and said, “Shit…this is amazing.”

The collection’s tone laid firmly at the intersection of art nouveau and rococo, with a tinge of imperialist bravado. A number of looks featured military-inspired adornments; however, not in the “marching band” motif we’ve witnessed on other runways in seasons past. Intermittently, cords, medals and sashes adorned suggestive, bodycon jersey dresses, as well as more unctuous, elegant chiffon and satin garments.

The style and combination of prints in Falguni and Shane Peacock’s collection was evocative of Mary Katrantzou’s trompe-l’oeil aesthetic; it was reassuring to see a fresh design duo embark on this experimental undertaking.

Finally, singer-songwriter, Porcelain Black, took an irreverently energizing lap down the runway, bringing what had become one of DL’s favorite SS12 collections to a close.

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

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