London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2014 Trend Roundup

During the biannual fashion weeks of the 'big four' (New York, Milan, Paris and London) trends for the coming seasons are determined. Although the collections shown at London Fashion Week in particular tend to be unique and individual visions from each designer, we can see that definite trends are emerging for the coming season. Take a look at what you'll be wearing in Autumn/Winter 2014...

Geometry

This trend was seen in various ways throughout LFW; in print, fabric cut and in texture. One of the main elements in Roksanda Ilincic's collection was the way she experimented with the cut of each garment, using large panels of material, creating beautiful misaligned geometric shapes. Stripes, both vertical and horizontal, in contrasting colours added to the look.

Uneven hemlines and asymmetric lengths were also evident in the 'great Scots' shows, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders. Kane wowed the audience with dresses made from masses of origami-like, triangular folds (edged in white). Saunders showed eye-catching geometric prints; checker board squares were seen throughout the collection along with bold contrasting horizontal and diagonal bands of colour. Saunders also appliquéd square pieces of almost raw-edged fabric to garments, which gave these pieces a softer, more folky look (more on this later!)

Matching Sets

Also seen at New York Fashion Week, LFW was full of matching tuxedos and trouser suits, with Christopher Kane, Emilia Wickstead, Erdem, Giles and Felder Felder all showing their variations of a modern suit (in a variety of fabrics and styles). However, another (far) more exciting trend was spotted: outfits created by multiple items or layers in a matching print. This was seen at most of the big brands such as Burberry, Temperley London, Giles and Peter Pilotto. The most frequently notable version of this was a matching dress and scarf combination – seen at Burberry, belted at the waist and at Temperley London, wrapped around the neck. This is sure to be a trend that will be replicated on the high street, as it has an impact without being too overpowering.

Blue with Oxblood Red

All shades of blue had a very strong presence at LFW this season; navy at Topshop Unique, cobalt at Mark Fast, electric at J JS Lee and (stunning) powder blue Holly Fulton. However, when bright royal blue was paired with rich oxblood red it made the biggest impact on the catwalk. Roksanda Ilincic championed this new colour combo, which featured in numerous outfits – blue oversized coats with mid-length loose fitting red skirts, blue outfits with red hairbands or as a contrasting under-layer. Marques Almeida's take on the colour combination was to use oxblood red fur (again, more on this later) with dark blue denim – an oversized fur stole or stitched onto a long sleeved top at both the front and back. This palette was also seen at Peter Pilotto, Emilio de la Morena, Napsugar von Bittera and Lucas Nascimento.

Although, while most shades of blue are extremely flattering, oxblood red isn't particularly, so if you're keen on trying out this trend, stick to red accessories with your blue ensemble.

Folklore-Inspired

We also noticed the emergence of a folklore inspired trend at Bora Aksu, Burberry, Mary Katrantzou, Temperley and Peter Pilotto, where garments were made from a mix of fabrics and colours that were highly embellished or decorated.

An unlikely champion of the trend was Mary Katranrzou. Usually famed for intricate and complex digital prints, Katrantzou completely changed direction this season, leaving digital prints behind. Drawing inspiration from Greek symbolism (as well as road-signs!) the designer used heavy brocade, ornate detailing and heavy embroidery reminiscent of chain-mail and lace.

Temperley showed whimsical, 'pretty,' floor-sweeping black and cream dresses embellished with Russian style blue, pink and orange floral embroidery. Lace, fur and quilted fabrics all added to this luxe folklore look.
Peter Pilotto took the opposite approach, embracing the idea of folk but to the max, with multiple textures of fabric, complex layering and vivid bold prints. John Rocha and Sibling both used crochet in their collections, giving them a hand-done take on the trend.

When even Burberry, famed for its military style coats, was doing it, by showcasing a collection of floaty fabric, with blanket-like capes in earthy tones (that were monogrammed with the models' initials), we knew that a major new trend was being confirmed!

90s

After winning the British Fashion Council's Fashion Forward prize for this season, Nasir Mazhar produced a collection that was made from a mash-up of many 90s themes: TLC, cyber goth and chola. Think sporty silhouettes, crop tops, metallic pink and silver mini skirts, elasticated slogans, lip liner, articulated curls, gold gas-masks and so much more!

Fyodor Golan also embraced the 90s look with oversized mohair hoodies, metallic high-shine jackets and gathered waist trousers in bright pink, petrol green and turquoise. Caps and round sunglasses were an obvious nod to the era.

Another 90s devotee was Ashish. Models strutted down the catwalk in multi-colour light-up platform Buffalos (THE 90s footwear choice), sequin tracksuits, tiaras and rainbow coloured hair (keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Ashish x Topshop collaboration – we're excited)

If you're after a specific item that says 90s, the bomber jacket trend just keeps going. They were cropping up all over LFW – with hoods and silver embellishment at KTZ, patterned and floral at Tata Naka and fur collared at Richard Nicoll.

Fur

From soft and downy to teddy bear, fur (or faux fur) was definitely the hottest trend of LFW A/W14 – it was seen in almost every collection and made a huge impact. Our favourite was Christopher Kane's use of soft and wispy pastel pink fur on the collar and cuffs of a black PVC jacket, creating a stunning contrast. Topshop Unique put 'teddy bear fur' jumpers with leather pencil skirts, incorporated luxurious looking dark green fur into navy coats and went all-out with a mid length patchwork fur coat in red, pink, beige and black. Multi-coloured patchwork fur was also shown at Roksanda Ilincic, this time in the form of an oversized sweater top in an eye-melting palette of blue, orange, white and oxblood. Antipodium used a burst of mossy green fur, and Emilio de la Morena used shades of pink. On the (slightly) more subtle end of the spectrum, Eudon Choi used grey and beige in his coats and stoles.

So there you have it, our pick of the trends.