ON/OFF London Fashion Week | cheriecity.co.uk

Ada Zanditon AW11, London Fashion Week

February 22, 2011 by cheriecity

Ada Zanditon has carved a reputation as the ‘one to watch’ when it comes to British sustainable fashion.

While many ethical designer play it safe and focus on ethical production as their niche, Ada presents a complex, architectural aesthetic that speaks to a younger, edgier buyer.

Ada Zanditon’s Autumn/Winter 2011-12 collection, ‘The Cryoflux’, took inspiration from the extreme climate of Antarctica. A palette of icy marine and navy were contrasted with warming shades of flame – reflecting natural fire and ice elements.

Ada builds on her signature geometric digital prints, incorporating them on a stunning, bandeau evening dress with gathered side detail and a beautifully cut jersey top.

My absolute favourite part of the collection was the elegant tailoring combining navy wool and black leather.

The panelled leather a-line dress is sure to be a best-seller and the exquisite 3/4 length culotte suit with ruched leather sleeves and contrasting lapels shows Ada’s skills as an innovative tailor.

The most beautiful piece in the collection has got to be this black and marine double ombre chiffon belted dress.

The fluid length, belted waist and fading away colour make wearable while being a statement piece.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist bagging this dress when it arrives at YoungBritishDesigners.com come Autumn!

Ada Zanditon has also collaborated on a jewellery collection with Luca Romanyi, with large, geometric piece crafted from printed tile, silver chain and vegetable-tanned leather.

The wrap-around heels were a talking point at the presentation and they reminded me of Zaha Hadid’s futuristic rubber designs for Melissa.

The Ada Zanditon presentation was my first foray into the disaster that was the new On|Off venue.

Designers shouldn’t be held accountable for the misjudged venue choice, that saw numerous international fashion editors left out in the cold due to ‘over-crowding’, but still, it’s impossible to ignore that this did impact on the atmosphere and efficiency of the presentation.

With all the crowds, I just couldn’t connect with the video and instead of putting it on a loop, perhaps a series of screenings would work better.

But really, I’d like to see Ada Zanditon get her own catwalk show. Her pieces and creative vision require the exposure of a proper show to give her the commercial boost that she deserves.

Photos by Chérie City

Ada Zanditon – The CRYOFLUX AW11 from Andrew & WIlliam Ho on Vimeo.

Designers, Fashion, London, London Fashion Week

LFW SS11, Day 1: Bora Aksu

September 20, 2010 by cheriecity

In a surprise departure from the powdered pastel palette of last season, Turkish designer Bora Aksu has gone dark and dramatic for Spring/Summer 11, dedicating his collection to ants.

For his ‘Ants and Corsets’ show, models were adorned with oversized, knitted creepy crawlies, clinging on sinisterly to wrists, shoulders and the backs of hair. The tights also echoed the insect influence, featuring sinewy tangled webs.

The collection started with panelled lace dresses with Bora Aksu’s signature voluminous gathering and structure, creating a jutted out hip silhouette. This was continued with a Pierrot-style ruffle shirt with bow tie and tailored harem pants, similarly in shades of cream, charcoal and gunmetal silver.

Delicate, contouring ruffles continue throughout the collection and are carefully curved to recreate the ‘inner body’ frame that characterises Bora Aksu’s design aesthetic. The beautifully draped and manipulated dresses are at once eerily romantic, gothic and doll-like.

This otherworldly mood is shot through with moments of elegance and luxury, with the most sumptuous looking silk tapered trousers, slim-fit tailored jackets, billowing silk blouses and a louche sequin tie.

The highlight of the collection was a scarlet dress beautifully crafted to reflect the body’s organs and accentuate the powerful, seductive female form, with emphasised shoulders and curved hips.

To compliment the ant theme, the soundtrack featured Marilyn Manson’s ‘Tourniquet’ (see the moth to butterfly video directed by Floria Sigismundi) mixed Rasputina’s ethereal cover version, Garbage’s ‘Paranoid’ and the more uplifting ‘Dancing With Myself’ – quite possibly the best show music so far!

Bora Aksu manages to combine wearability with an uncompromising vision and his Spring/Summer 11 collection simultaneously exudes elegance, intrigue and seduction, making his pieces some of the most covetable at ON/OFF this season.

All photos by Chérie City

Designers, Fashion, London, London Fashion Week

Braganza’s London Fashion Week Bicycle!

September 13, 2010 by cheriecity

Designer Jean-Pierre Braganza adds another covetable accessory to his Spring/Summer 11 collection at London Fashion Week…the Braganza Barclays bike!

Opening the first day at London Fashion Week with his SS11 Incendiata show, in association with Barclays, Jean-Pierre Braganza pays tribute to the partnership by designing a limited edition print to feature on a select fleet of cycles.

Known for their uniform blue frames, Jean-Pierre Braganza has injected some cool London style into the Barclays Cycle Hire bikes and no doubt there will be queues to ride a Braganza bike up and down Kingsway, come fashion week.

Jean-Pierre Braganza says: “I’m genuinely excited to be part of this initiative. As a very keen cyclist in London, Barclays Cycle Hire offers the freedom to explore the city worry-free.”

He adds: “By customising a bike for London Fashion Week I hope to indicate the inspiration travel has provided in my work, and highlights that everyone can, and should, explore and discover our city.”

Jean-Pierre Braganza has even cited “mystical bikes” as inspiration for his upcoming collection, alongside “legends of ravens and Heavy Metal whispered softly by faeries.”

I’m curious to see how the collection will connect with the free-spirited idea of voyaging and exploring that is made possible through cycling. With such an innovative collaboration, Jean-Pierre Braganza’s opening show at ON/OFF is set to be one of the highlights of the schedule.

For more information on how to become a member of Barclays Cycle Hire, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire