Become a Member
Life

London shows sheer style for spring 2011

September 28, 2010 13:48

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

2 min read

It has been half a decade since Jaeger began its regeneration under boss Harold Tillman and in that time it has been transformed from a stodgy heritage brand, bought primarily by county types in pearls and Hunter wellies, to Jaeger London, a dazzling, iconic and perfectly on-trend British fashion label.

At a packed runway show on the final day of London Fashion Week, before an audience that included Pixie Lott and Rachel Stevens, designer Stuart Stockdale showed his spring/summer 2011 collection deliciously updating the Jaeger ‘60s archive. Think little trapezeshape tops over narrow pants, wide palazzos teamed with silk tees, and a series of flawless A-line shifts, some sleeveless , many with bracelet-length sleeves. Other immaculate and infinitely wearable pieces included a series of sharply geometric blazers, a half-sleeve trench coat in light navy with asymmetric hem, a slouchy parka in sumptuous butter yellow and sweet shorts in suede and silk.

Dexterously mixing silk gazar, organza, silk shantung, canvas, butter-soft suede and perforated leather, he added macramé for a stunning, drop-dead simple maxi dress and a perfect tee. It was all executed in a palette of the season’s favourite colours (raspberry and rose, light and dark navy, emerald and teal) and best neutrals (nude, ivory, buttermilk, black and white), sparked by occasional splashes of rose or grey print.

Layering was a strong theme at Nicole Farhi, who showed to an equally packed house at her regular venue, the Royal Opera House. Unaccountably, Team Nicole decided to try the “edgy” arrangement of seating the audience (press, buyers and celebs) in the centre looking out, while the models paraded around them. The difficulty is that a model is in your sightline for — literally — about three seconds; if you blink or have your head down doing something as quaintly old-fashioned as making notes, you can miss an entire outfit. And often your view of the model’s bottom half is blocked, even from the second row, which makes it impossible to see a dress length or whether trousers are palazzo or straight.