London Fashion Week opened yesterday with the first of 45 catwalk shows for the summer 2005 season, writes Deirdre McQuillan, Fashion Editor, in London.
The event, which continues until Thursday, may not have the same commercial importance of New York fashion week, which precedes it, nor the cachet of Milan and Paris, which follow it, but it is inescapably associated with the young and the new and perceived internationally as a hotbed of creative talent.
Capitalising on that, there are many new and obscure names on the show schedules this week alongside a significant rise in sponsorship, which has trebled over the last seven years.
Ben de Lisi and Ronit Zilkha are well established on the calendar and they kicked off the week with shows not dissimilar in approach. De Lisi made great play of banning black, but as a succession of pastel chiffon goddess gowns and candy-striped taffetas with slash, halter or strapless fronts sparkling with glitter swept down the runway, it was clear that these were high-voltage dresses aimed at glamorous summer parties or red carpets. That mint, strawberry and champagne were the colours seemed appropriate.
Zilkha also made great play of colour, with long, layered chiffon dresses, swinging skirts and ruffled cap sleeves all adding up to a very feminine, sophisticated look, but everyday wear was a fine crochet dress or a hibiscus print shift. The designer herself, sleek and lean, took her bow in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, in contrast to the dip-dyed colours on the catwalk.
But the brightest and most upbeat show yesterday was that of Jessica Ogden, who brought a heady blast of Afro-Caribbean brio to her show, a nod to her birthplace (Jamaica) and a tribute to the love of colour and freewheeling sense of decoration in African dress.
All the models were black, their skin tattooed with gold motifs. They swung out in gingham ra-ra skirts, scooped tops, cheeky blue cotton jump suits, quilted capes, striped sailor tops and embroidered denims.
Coupled with this was Odgen's familiar emphasis on handwork; zig zag braiding, appliquéd or embroidery motifs, patchwork and hand knits bringing together English sensibility and African exuberance brilliantly.
This was a bold, carefree and sunny collection, both boyish and girlish in spirit, and a real winner.