Following New York in the fashion week cycle is London. At Soho’s Brewer Street Car Park, the crowd was again buzzing with photographers, editors and throngs of Snapchat-wielding fashion fiends ready to catch a glimpse of what’s in store for the Spring/Summer 2017 season.
On the first day of London Fashion Week, we saw our young favorites Ryan Lo and Ashley Williams explore multi-cultural eccentricities and the spirit of teenage angst, while throughout the rest of the week, there were presentations by the ethereal label Roberts-Wood, the contemplative-conceptual Phoebe English and the botanically inspired Peter Jensen. Nothing, however, could take away from the excitement surrounded Molly Goddard’s runway debut and the now highly praised sophomore appearance by Canadian designer Sid Neigum.
Ryan Lo
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Ryan Lo’s unique talent for sending out collection after collection of sugarcoated confections onto his seasonal runway has proven only to be a trait of consistency with his latest Spring/Summer 2017 outing. His signature ruffles, all appearing in candy-pop hues, provided the ground support for the maximalist Hong Kong-born designer to share a cacophony of cultures. And, it was here—somewhere between Victorian pirates and the romantic rajas of India—that we found Lo’s latest garments, complete with Venetian clown-inspired prints, floral jacquard coats, puff-shoulder dresses and several extravagant Marabou-trimmed tricorn hats by milliner Stephen Jones.
Ashley Williams
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Ashley Williams’ Spring/Summer 2017 show pilfered 1980s youth culture for a runway experience that injected a much-needed (and somewhat nostalgic) sense of energy into the Brewer Street Car Park this season. Her puffball dresses, dungarees, mini-skirts and graphic two-piece suits were all instant hits—as were her models. Coming out in all shapes, sizes and colors, a diverse cast of women walked a messy runway filled with an air of authenticity rarely formed on the runway. And, it was with this that Ashley Williams merged her realistic aesthetics with her modern oddball styling for an almost fantastical lineup of reimagined silhouettes of yesteryear.
Peter Jensen
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There’s nothing more quintessentially English than tea, and gardens. And thankfully, it was the second that we discovered as Peter Jensen’s spring inspiration, with the late Lady Rhoda Birley as his main muse. Simply Google her name, and you’ll see her wearing an exaggerated straw hat with lopping shears in hand—much like the hats featured throughout this collection. Lady Birley, an Irish beauty, she was effortlessly fabulous in her countryside garden, and dressed to the nines. And, that’s exactly the vibe achieved by Peter at his latest collection—the colors were bright, and the prints were pleasantly “country” without going beyond the “hick” line.
Roberts | Wood
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It’s often hard for designers to find a balance between portraying fashion as art and fashion as a wearable utility, but that’s exactly what designer Katie Roberts-Wood did with her Spring/Summer 2017 collection. In a silent presentation at the ICA Gallery in London, she sent out a light array of intricate ruffles and frills, which were occasionally punctuated with harsher aprons and trousers. The complete effect lacked showstoppers; instead, Roberts-Wood replaced those disruptions with a consistently homogenous offering of minimalist subtlety and impeccably fabrication for what it no doubt the result of countless hours of editing (which were all undeniably worth every second for this level of raw restraint and technical indulgence).
Phoebe English
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Constantly blurring the line between art installation and collection presentation, Phoebe English’s seasonal outing are conceptual, captivating and contemplative (and always one of the more coveted invites around). Her honest approach to design grows in impact with every season, and that certainly didn’t change for Spring/Summer 2017. This time focusing her efforts on creating garments based on seven distinct emotions, or characters, across seven days, she created an archer, a water bearer, an inquirer, a smuggler, a chanter, a strangler and a mourner. Each appearing authentic in dramatically clean cuts, heroic draping, twisted fabrics and tiered tulle; a remarkable showcase of English’s particularly special brand of elegance.
Molly Goddard
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Since the debut of her eponymous label in February 2015, Molly Goddard has become a major name to watch in the London fashion scene—and her latest outing at London Fashion Week (Goddard’s runway debut) has only broadened her spot on the radar. The designer’s Spring/Summer 2017 collection showcased her ability to balance top techniques with her delicate design aesthetics. This season opting to vamp up her quirky-chic tulle baby-doll dresses in an array of fluorescent hues, these were hands down the top looks of the collection; however, her edgy T-shirts printed with club graphics by photographer Nick Waplington were a close second.
Sid Neigum
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Here’s a designer we’ve been paying close attention to since his stunning London Fashion Week debut last season—the Toronto-based designer Sid Neigum. Now making his runway debut as the winner of the DHL Exported competition, a contest sponsored by IMG and DHL to help emerging designers expand internationally, Neigum’s simplistic design repertoire is simple yet extravagant. It takes a lot of talent to create a series of unique garment in a single tone, but he does it time and time again. But, this season, just as you thought he would continue with a collection of whites and blacks, he surprised us all with looks in vermillion red and golden tones; this was easily one of the major highlights of the week, and the perfect finish for London Fashion Week at the Brewer Street Car Park.
Brent Taalur Ramsey is an American fashion writer living in Paris.