By Li-mei Hoang and Brenda Goh
LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) – London’s fashion designers looked
to painting and sportswear for inspiration as leading fashion
editors, models and celebrities flocked to the capital’s biggest
runway shows on Monday.
British heritage brand Burberry sent models down the runway
in long flowing dresses and scarves, daubed with brushstroke
designs of flowers, leaves and autumnal abstract prints in
shades of cornflower blue, lemon yellow and blush pink.
The show, which featured a live performance from musicians
Paloma Faith, Ed Hock and Rhodes, was attended by actors Bradley
Cooper and Naomie Harris, as well as U.S. Vogue editor Anna
Wintour and Harry Styles from boy band One Direction.
Designer Christopher Bailey said he drew inspiration from
artists in London’s Bloomsbury Group of the early 20th century,
which included painters Duncan Grant and Roger Fry.
“What I wanted to do is try to capture that spirit in the
collection – the colours, embroideries, the fabrics – but also
through all the hand painting on all the bags and the coats and
the shoes and the belts,” Bailey, who is set to become the
company’s chief executive soon, told reporters backstage.
Burberry’s signature trench coats featured hand painted
designs and were cinched neatly at the waist, paired with
knitted pencil skirts in shades of ochre, burnt orange, and
russet reds.
American designer Tom Ford dressed his models in velvet
tunics, leather pencil skirts, brightly coloured fur coats and
sequined football jerseys embellished with his name.
Floor-skimming skirts, cropped jackets and knitted dresses
also featured in Ford’s collection in luxurious fabrics such as
leopard fur, alligator leather and cashmere.
“It was a pared back, streamlined collection. It was a bit
of a pullback but still very chic, very luxurious. It feels
right to me,” he told Reuters.
Ford said he was confident his label, which he founded in
2006 after leaving Gucci and YSL, was on the way to becoming one
of the top international fashion brands in the world.
Earlier in the day Georgian designer David Koma, who was
hired by Thierry Mugler in December to become their artistic
director, kitted out his eponymous collection with sharply
tailored outfits in a range of luxurious textures.
Models wore pony hair-covered coats in bright violet or
cobalt blue, concrete grey leather skirts and sculptural black
dresses with midriff lattice cut-outs that were inspired by the
portrayal of women in Renaissance paintings by German artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Design duo Peter Pilotto attempted to fuse sportswear with
evening wear for their latest collection with puffer jackets
digitally printed with mountain landscapes and floor-length
gowns embroidered with mother-of-pearl which were inspired by
their recent travels.
“We want to do something quite summery, like summery colours
in a winter collection, so we wanted to use pieces of summer
like shells and have them embroidered onto evening dresses,”
said co-designer Christopher de Vos.
“We find that sportswear is often so dynamic, the lines
follow the body and it’s sort of ergonomic. We found it
fascinating to use that as an inspiration when doing formal
wear,” designer Peter Pilotto added.
