I was up bright and early on day 2 of London Fashion Week. Truth be told, I was so shattered from the previous day’s antics that I lay in a little too long and left myself half an hour to be up, showered, dressed and organised for the day. The Bernard Chandran show had a 9.30am start time and this is a show I did not want to miss. I had seen images of his Autmn/Winter 2010 show and it seemed right up my street, innovative silhouettes and perfectly tailored pieces. For Spring/Summer 2011 he fuses sculptural shaping with softer, more romantic and fluid pieces.
The sculptural tailoring was mainly focused on the shoulders with exaggerated cap-sleeves featuring. This was interjected with fluid tailoring and slightly loose fitting dresses cinched in at the waist with belts or what looked like tied leather. Chandran had Malay influences, the silhouettes were clean and he featured rectangular panelling. He also played with volume in several pieces, I loved a black embellished evening dress which was fitted and flared out at the waist. Beading and metal embellishment featured heavily.
The colour palette was fairly muted, soft beige and grey to start off with and metallics towards the end. There was lots of bronze and silver, but also black and gold. He also used a Malay technique called Kerawang to introduce linear prints inspired by plant roots and plant fibres. My images don’t do these prints justice at all. It was a great collection, adding a slightly romantic, feminine aspect to his edgy aesthetic definitely works.
I really enjoy all your posts. I am an aspiring fashion designer. You give me the insights of whats happening in the ever changing fashion world. Thank you!