The PAUSE team have had a week to take a look back at all three fashion weeks in London, page Milan and Paris, and we wanted to highlight some of our favourite shows and collections from SS15.
London Collections: Men
With LC:M now in its third year, the menswear equivalent of London Fashion Week has gone from strength to strength and LC:M SS15 was no exception. There were some great pieces by Bobby Abley in the MAN show, the Kit Neale show was a celebration of colourful prints and Topman reintroduced us to the 70s! However our two favourite shows from the three-day event came in the shape of artistic creativity and pure Britishness.
Craig Green
This was Craig Green’s first solo show and has been described as one of the most emotional runway shows in recent years. The collection celebrated minimalism and pure colour, with looks being all one colour. Not many shows, especially menswear, can be called beautiful, but this is certainly an exception, with the flow of the garments something unique and wooden sculptures attached to the models that resembled flags creating a truly spectacular runway.
Burberry
The last day is always full of excitement for the Burberry show and every season it delivers. With the fantastic backdrop of Kensington Gardens, Christopher Bailey created a desirable SS15 collection. Each look from head to toe we loved. From the classic Burberry Mac, to the colour leather jackets and little detailing of floppy fedora hats, this was our favourite show of LC:M.
Milan Fashion Week
From London, the next destination was Milan. The likes of Gucci, Giorgio Armani and Versace showcase their latest collections at MFW. There were no real surprises from the big designers, and delivered us everything we expect from them. However, two shows that stood out for us were Etro and Vivienne Westwood.
Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood showed us how fantastic a printed suit can look. The collection revealed to us a number of beautiful prints and bold patterns. We also loved the brands take on denim and the combination of patched denim, making for great denim garments.
Philipp Plein
We love shows that have a strong theme and then do something different with it. Philipp Plein focused around a navy military theme and introduced varsity styled patches, detailed embroidery and leather jackets, whilst tying it altogether with a strong use of navys and whites. The collection also managed to include some strong statement pieces such as a leather jacket with snakeskin embellishments and a tailored denim jacket. The whole show possessed a casual flow to it, although it featured plenty of formal wear, an element found in most of the SS15 shows.
Paris Fashion Week
If the fashion capital of the world isn’t London, it must be Paris. PFW was the last stop for and we were very excited by some of the collections.
Saint Laurent
PAUSE love all black and Saint Laurent did not disappoint with their rock and futuristic theme. There were plenty of black garments for us to fall in love with: skinny jeans, pointed toe Chelsea boots and also a range of leather products. Saint Laurent also included a lightweight striped poncho, which may come around for SS15!
Paul Smith
Paul Smith at Paris Fashion Week saw a catwalk surrounded by plants and cacti, rekindling the feelings of the laidback 70s. The fit of the garments were again a representation of the era Paul Smith had created. Blazers were very casual, trousers were baggy and free, sweatshirts were worn loose and even the models were quite relaxed whilst walking. We just like how casual everything looked in the collection, but at the same how the designer has managed to create some very smart and formal pieces.
Rick Owens
Rick Owens always offers something different to runway shows. This time the designer explored space with very loose silhouettes, oversized garments and grey scale and earthy colours, which was decorated by very interesting tribal details.
The PAUSE Verdict
So we’ve said what some of our favourite shows were, but we also wanted to highlight some key trends we noticed for Spring Summer ’15.
Stripes
PAUSE noticed that stripes were everywhere. From Givenchy, Kenzo and Junn.J in Paris, to Gucci in Milan, stripes are back. Stripe detailing is simple, but adds that extra dimension to an outfit. From coloured stripes for statement, to simple black and white stripes to add the illusion of extra layering. Expect to see stripes everywhere in SS15.
Hats and Bucket Hats
Streetwear and high street may have already been using the bucket hat for sometime, but it is only now where designer brands have started to introduce bucket hats into their collections, YMC and MOSCHINO SS15 being two prime examples.
Hats in general are also making a strong return. In the much-loved Burberry show, every model on the runway wore hats. Burberry showed us how pairing your outfit with the same colour hat gives you a ‘complete’ look.
Return of the 70s Vibe
One of the surprised trends for fashion week was the ‘70s look’. From baggy shirts, flare trousers and some outrageous prints, Spring Summer 15 is set to bring back the fun, free and psychedelic prints which made the era so colourful. Examples of this on the runway was most notably Topman at LC:M, but also Paul Smith at PFW with his colourful and silk suits and Katie Eary and her peace logo imagery.
Shades of Blue
If all of the designers from the three fashion weeks met to decide what colour to use in their collections, it definitely would have been blue. From light to dark, loads of shades were seen across all three fashion weeks. We especially loved how navy tones were used in the Dior Homme collection in their tailoring, whereas Agi & Sam used blue to convey a more casual style.
Denim
Whether they were denim jackets or dungarees, denim was one of the most reoccurring themes. Near enough every designer experimented with denim, thinking up of new ways denim can be worked into an outfit, Kenzo created a great denim trench coat in Paris and Fendi worked with distressed patterns and pairing denim with fabric detailing. When it comes to jeans, ripped denim is the newest way to wear them!
Bags
Now with every season there’s always a main accessory. In the past its been statement jewellery or sunglasses, but for SS15, collections almost always included a bag, clutch or man bag on the catwalk. Every bag we saw though was different. Some designers took a simple and safe approach, which is fine, but others went all out in trying to reinvent the bag or clutch in order to make it an important part of someone’s outfit. Take a look at Canali or Burberry and how they worked bags into their collections.
That’s our fashion week round-up with our best picks from the designers and our insight into new trends for SS15. Did you spot any other trends at fashion week or have another favourite collection we have not mentioned? Get in touch using twitter or simply comment below.
Words: Jordan Bunker
