(‘One to Watch’ designer Richard Malone debuted his AW17 collection at London Fashion Week)
‘The most ethnically diverse London Fashion Week Yet’! The recently concluded annual fashion event has drawn praise for efforts to represent models of all shades. But will there be consistency in this positive step forward? Sue Omar rounds-up the events and trends from London Fashion Week 2017.
For decades, fashion week shows across style capitals London, New York, Paris and Milan, were dominated by wafer-thin white models, without a splash of melanin in sight. In 2013, supermodels Naomi Campbell and Iman along with fashion activist Bethann Hardison formed the “Diversity Coalition”, a campaign to call-out designers that only cast Caucasian models. Famous fashion houses on the chopping-block included the likes of Chanel, Yves Saint Laurant, Donna Karen, Victoria Beckham, Armani and Marc Jacobs. Led by three of the most elite black women in the fashion world, this initiative had a tremendous impact on the industry and spurred on change for the seasons to come.
In 2017, the political climate in the UK with Brexit and Trumps’ presidency in the U.S, means that the fashion world has an even bigger responsibility to reflect diversity on its runways. The 65th edition of London Fashion Week kicked off on Friday, February 17 2017 at a snazzy new location in London, The Store Studios. From LFW shows to street-style and VIP after-parties, to our delight, black girls rocked everywhere this season.
Black girl magic, British models Jourdan Dunn and Leomie Anderson hang out with Canadian native Winnie Harlow at the Love Magazine X Burberry LFW after-party.
The AW17 Front Row
As the new season styles were unveiled throughout LFW, supermodel and diversity cheerleader Naomi Campbell, stateside songstress Justine Skye and actress Thandie Newton, were amongst the celebrities who sat front row to watch what we’ll be wearing in AW17.
Thandie Newton was photographed by the paparazzi before taking a front row seat at the AW17 Erdem LFW show.
Naomi Campbell wears monochrome ensemble with a berry lip, front row at the Burberry AW17 LFW show.
Justine Skye stunned front row at the Topshop Unique catwalk show in this florescent yellow co-ord set courtesy of the British brand.
The New Season Trends
Discover the hot new fashion trends from LFW AW17…
Unlike past seasons, the AW17 trends that debuted at LFW proved to be more down-to-earth and wearable than ever before. Think cosy heavy-duty knitwear, flowy frocks with a romantic personality and futuristic fabrics and shapes that will take you from day-to-night in a cinch. To make the trends easier to digest, we’ve broken down the standout looks from the new season into four fashion themes. Now would be a good time to reach for your notepad…
The Modern Cowgirl
At the House of Holland AW17 LFW show, titled ‘Daddy, where is my car!’, the cowboy aesthetic took centre stage. From fringed skirts to thigh-high boots and denim that had been splashed with cartoonish figures – think Woody the Woodpecker – and symbols, the collection re-thinks festival-fashion by making it autumn/winter friendly. Following suit,
Ashley Williams’ AW17 line featured over-sized hats and colourful checker prints, which confirmed that cowgirl chic will be a big hit in the coming season. Yee-haw!
House of Holland
House of Holland AW17
House of Holland AW17
House of Holland AW17
House of Holland AW17
House of Holland AW17
British singer, Ella Eyre attended the House of Holland AW17 show dressed in denim from collection
Ashley Williams
Caption: Ashley Williams London AW17
Justine Skye all-layered up for the Ashley Williams AW17 show
The Hopeless Romantic
Turkish fashion designer Bora Asku’s AW17 collection features all of the girly-girl essentials: flowy fabrics, layers of lace and frivolous frills. Asku’s colour palette of blues, creams, lilacs and the occasional stamp of red, set the romantic mood. Models also wore a uniform of white opaque tights and black suede calf-high boots to tie the theme together. Taking it a step further, exaggerated frills and over-sized A-line dresses were uncovered at Molly Goddard’s AW17 LFW show, offering a more literal interpretation of the trend. Meanwhile, Temperley London’s AW17 line re-invents Victorian romance with chunky knitwear, reflective sequins and dream-like floral prints.
Bora Asku
Bora Asku AW17
Bora Asku AW17
Molly Goddard
Molly Goddard AW17
Temperley London
Temperley London AW17
Temperley London AW17
Temperley London AW17
Temperley London AW17
Temperley London AW17
Temperley London AW17
The Noir Club
Every fashionista knows that black never fails. The all-black-everything trend returned to the catwalks for the new season with an abundance of grit. Gareth Pugh’s AW17 show was a dystopian black-out that featured faux fur, PVC, leather, sharp tailoring cuts and over-sized outer-wear. In contrast, both the Julian Macdonald and PPQ shows re-called 1920s glamour, we’re talking feathered dresses and jumpsuits with sheer-panels, sparkles and netting.
Gareth Pugh
Gareth Pugh AW17
Gareth Pugh AW17
Gareth Pugh AW17
Julian Macdonald
Winnie Harlow closes the Julien Mcdonald AW17 LFW show.
Julien Mcdonald AW17
Winnie Harlow takes as bow with Julien Macdonald after closing his AW17 LFW show.
PPQ
PPQ AW17
PPQ AW17
PPQ AW17
The ‘Woke’ Women
Politically pumped, Ashish’s AW17 collection was a parade of glitter, American-inspired apparel and social commentary in the form of punchy slogans including, “Stay Woke”, “More Glitter, Less Twitter” and “Pussy Grabs Back”. Face paint was worn by Ashish models, transforming them into super-heroes fighting for justice in the most up-to-date fashions, of course. Over at Sadie William’s AW17 show, panelled wool jumpers and flared trousers splattered with a kaleidoscope of loud colours, echoed a rebellious-hippie vibe. Much like William’s, Marta Jakuboswi opted for a neon bright colour palette for the new season. Her AW17 collection features a florescent orange parker, modelled by a divinely dark model, demonstrating that these ‘woke’ women will not go unseen or unheard.
ASHISH
Ashish AW17
Ashish AW17
SADIE WILLIAMS
Sadie Williams AW17
MARTA JAKUBOWSKI
Marta Jakubowski AW17
Marta Jakubowski AW17
The AW17 Black Beauty Book
The biggest beauty trends as worn by black models backstage at LFW…
The Micro Afro
Making fashion history, natural Afro hair emerged as a reoccurring beauty theme at more than a handful of AW17 LFW shows. Let loose, fluffy, sometimes-waved, but almost always round, this season’s Afro hair-styles are filter-free and super low-maintenance. Natural curls and kinks were presented on catwalks in their rawest form, and the Afro finally prevailed as a symbol of style and aspirational beauty. Models channelled their inner Pam Grier with microphone-shaped ‘fros that varied in size, from little-to-large at an array of shows including Marques Almeida, Topshop Unique, JW Anderson, Fashion East and Jasper Conran.
Marques Almeida AW17
JW Anderson AW17
JW Anderson AW17
Winnie Harlow for Fashion East AW17
Jasper Conran AW17
The ‘Kiss-Off’ Lip
AW17 lips were stained and smudged at Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Topshop Unique and Temperley London, in juxtaposition to last season’s strict and sharp, perfected lip.
Val Garland from MAC Cosmetics set the bar for smudged lips at Preen by smearing lipstick around the mouth to create a lived-in, just-kissed effect. At Temperley London, Garland took it down a notch by simply staining the models lips in sophisticated shades of berry, contained within the natural lip lines. Meanwhile, makeup artist Lynsey Alexander created neon orange stained lips with clumpy lashes for the Topshop unique, inspired by Nineties party girl culture.
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi AW17
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi AW17
Temperley London AW17
Topshop Unique AW17
Not So Easy On The Eyes
The new season’s eye makeup is futuristic, detailed and statement, to say the least. Gareth Pugh’s AW17 show saw models were bug-eye lenses and deep-blue smoky eyes that quite literally caused a black-out. Blue eyeshadow was also used to create a statement on the lids at the Versus by Versace AW17 show, in the form of rectangular smudged blocks of blue that were plastered onto the eyes. While lime green, chrome yellow and fluorescent orange stained lids lifted the mood backstage at the Richard Malone and House of Holland AW17 catwalk show.
Beauty
Gareth Pugh AW17
Versus by Versace AW17
Versus by Versace AW17
Richard Malone AW17
Richard Malone AW17
House of Holland AW17
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