Daily Front Row

2011 February 22

London Fall 2011: Burberry, Christopher Kane, Erdem

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Burberry Prorsum Fall 2011
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(LONDON) Burberry Prorsum
Jean Shrimpton, nicknamed “The Face,” nabbed the muse of the moment award from Christopher Bailey's latest collection for Burberry Prorsum. The English super of Swinging London once modeled for the iconic Brit brand back in the day and her groovy style was spotted in the mod ¾ sleeve cropped jackets, skintight trousers, and 60’s drop-waist dresses. Bailey threaded his theme into Burberry’s infamous outerwear; voluminous capelets in cherry red, yellow ‘n’ black checked toppers, orange toggle coats, and a dramatic black mink creation dominated the Crayola colored catwalk. The mistress of psychedelic London would no doubt approve.

Christopher Kane
Britain's darling du jour, Christopher Kane, presented a collection focused on new texture and innovative fabrics for Fall 2011. Case in point: a transparent plastic filled with glycerin and vegetable oil. Once heated on the models' skin, the rainbow liquid would fizz throughout multihued crocheted dresses with plunging necklines and sleek black cocktail shifts. Taking his soda pop collection one step further, Kane trimmed see through sequined shifts with the bubble liquid-plastic, only adding to the carbonated appeal. Every piece may not be as wearable as in season's past, but this collection was a step in the right direction for a designer maturing into his full potential.

Erdem
What a difference a season makes! Last time around, Erdem Moralioglu floated out exquisite lace confections in precious creams and luscious florals; Erdem’s pretty quotient has taken a dip and he has instead gone for edge this fall. Moralioglu channeled the complex artist’s wife, a woman of darker propensities who has lost her marbles but certainly not her grasp on style. And thus, a parade of patterns blotched with charcoal, cerulean and cobalt with flecks of raspberry and orange, like the mottled layers on a painter’s palette. Accents of black lace peeked out on bodices that canvassed and crisscrossed the chest, skinny suits and beautifully draped trenches in the same richly impressionistic painter’s strokes.