WELL before London Fashion Week began last Wednesday, relevant sections of the British media had been diligently working themselves into a frenzy over the event. The principal theme of these preview pieces was that England's capital is about to become style centre of the world, a position it briefly (and mythically) held some 30 years ago and has longed to regain ever since.
But the language of fashion is addicted to hyperbole and this latest attempt to pump up London's reputation proved to be no more based on substance than its predecessors. For the British, the arrival of overseas designers and buyers was taken as an indication of greater interest in the local talent. While there certainly was a stronger American presence this season - as witnessed by the launch of Donna Karan's new shop on Bond Street, the opening party for London's first Fashion Cafe and a show of Tommy Hilfiger's new collection of men's sportswear - this had more to do with finance than fashion. For the giants of American design, London is simply a convenient base from which to launch a European invasion; far from being strengthened by the presence of such interlopers, the domestic market is actually weakened.
Even if Britain's fashion press have yet to notice this fact, the country's designers are well aware of what the new invasion means and so, like their trans Atlantic counterparts, they are becoming steadily more commercial in their approach. That means that with each season, British fashion becomes less fanciful and more pragmatic, less likely to be buffeted by faddish changes and much more built on a sound commercial base. Where there is radicalism, as with such young names as Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan, it tends to be largely superficial.
The effect of this shift in approach is that British designers are now producing collections likely to appeal to a broader market than has been the case. The clever tricks of tailoring and cut are fewer and a spirit of minimal simplicity retains its dominance. Even a designer like Tomasz Starzewski whose reputation was based on extravagant use of fabric and brilliant colouring opted this time for understatement. British design for next spring/summer is generally clean and unfussy; for women used to expecting something more dramatic from this section of the market, what's on offer may seem rather too understated. However, low key, well produced clothes are what sell - this was a hard lesson for British fashion to learn, but now it appears to have done so.
Overall, the 1970s revival is still popular with designers although they are, without exception, avoiding the excesses of that decade. Rares, for example, are everywhere but in a very pared back style - there is no need to worry about flapping about with yards of fabric around your ankles next year. The overall silhouette is somewhat more curvaceous than this season; the focus is on the bust (lots of plunging necklines) and the waist (the thin belt of crucial importance), so women in possession of a voluptuous figure will have plenty of choice.
The three best collections shown in London last week - from John Rocha, Alexander McQueen and Clements Ribeiro - all managed to combine simplicity with flare (and the latter doesn't just refer to width of trouser leg). Their work demonstrated that it is possible to be sensible about fashion and the needs of women today without losing a sense of excitement. Thanks to the likes of these designers, next spring/summer will have its own unique character. Here are the main points to watch for during the first six months of 1997.
Trouser Suits
RETAIN their popularity from the current season and look set to remain dominant in any woman's wardrobe. There is almost universal agreement about the style, typified by John Rocha's double breasted 10 button jacket and flared pants in chocolate brown; shoulders are still square and tight but the body of the jacket is then darted to follow the line of the waist before flaring lightly over the hips. Single breasted jackets such as Ben de Lisi's white wool crepe, can have five, three or just one button but lapels are usually wide. Where jackets are not finger tip length, they tend to stop on the hip itself; Bella Freud's raspberry wool example personified this style, as did her matching flat fronted flares which are fairly fitted down to the knee.
Coats To The Knee
COATS for spring were much shown, all of them very similar in form. Tomasz Starzewski's simple, single button design in navy wool was very much the norm; very slightly A line, it has a single vent at the rear and stops on the knee. Similarly, Clements Ribeiro showed an ivory wool coat, close on the shoulders and darted at the waist, single breasted but fastening all the way up to the collar. Alternatively, lighter weight rain coats still stop on the knee, but as with Pearce Fionda's white coat piped in black, they're tightly belted around the middle. This was the choice too of Katharine Hamnett who offered a white six button, double breasted and belted raincoat.
Tunics
THE long tunic top, slit high on the sides and worn over pants, may have been made popular thanks to this style having won approval with Jemima Goldsmith and her friend the Princess of Wales. It is based on the Indian shalwar kameez and in its purest form was seen at Red or Dead where tunics in pale lilac and turquoise paper tissue jersey were teamed with trousers in co ordinating shades. At Jean Muir, there were also lots of tunic and pant combinations; in salmon hued jersey for a short sleeved version and palest baby blue for a button through collarless style. Betty Jackson, meanwhile, produced a sleeveless denim tunic teamed with matching flared jeans.
Matching Coats And Trousers
THESE have been popular this season and will remain so through spring, although in softer tones and lighter fabrics than at present. Sometimes the style is that of a frockcoat, as with Nicole Farhi's example in pate blue wool or Alexander McQueen's in moss green shot taffeta.
Jumpsuits
THEY may not be to everyone's taste but almost every designer produced at least one example of the jumpsuit, whether it was Amanda Wakeley's midnight blue silk crepe with satin revers on a deeply plunging neckline or Margaret Howell's stone coloured cotton, button through to the waist and flaring from the knee. Alexander McQueen's offerings in this line included a black silk brocade sleeveless style which was cut perilously low at both front and back, while Paul Costelloe produced a black lace example, zip fronted and again sleeveless.
Pedal Pushers
ANOTHER item which is unlikely to win universal approbation, despite turning up in a great many collections. Justin Oh included them in an ox blood glazed linen, Clements Ribeiro in bitter chocolate raw silk and Betty Jackson in buttercup yellow suede with matching flak jacket.
The Shift Dress The Shirt Dress
THE shift dress is now such a mainstay of the 1990s that it looks likely to turn up every season until the end of the decade. For next year, it either stops on the knee (often with matching coat) or else about three inches above. Invariably sleeveless, only the neckline varies from being high and round (Katharine Hamnett's floral print) to square (electric blue at Paul Costelloe) to a deep V neck (Hussein Chalayan's black satin).
Alternatively, the shirt dress seems ready to return to favour, especially when in the style of Bella Freud's British racing green velvet with three quarter length sleeves and polo shirt collar.
Short-Sleeved Shirts
SHIRTS are short on the arms (typically about two inches above the elbow) and very often short on the body where they are darted to fit close and tight, as with Nicole Farhi's baby blue cotton. Stretch fabrics can be used for a really hugging fit as with Ally Capellino's black latex short sleeved shirt or Paul Frith's acid green nylon mix example.
Neck Sweaters
FOLLOWING Prada's enormously fashionable lead this season, next spring/summer's favourite knits are V necked. Workers for Freedom had such sweaters in black or stone, short sleeved, ribbed and with polo shirt collars. Paul Costelloe's were again V neck and stone coloured, either long or cap sleeved, ribbed and with a lacy pattern in the knit.
Ruffles
ALMOST as an antidote to so much stark simplicity, there were intermittent outbreaks of old fashioned femininity during the collections, embodied by ruffles, seen at their best in the Clements Ribeiro show, where lavish tiers of pink and orange print chiffon cascaded around a wrapover knee length dress. Nicole Farhi was more restrained with just a double line of ruffles down the front of a mannish shirt in salmon pink, but John Rocha found this style irresistible; not only were there ruffles down his chartreuse green shirt but also gathered lace running around the body of his bias cut crepe evening dresses.
Bias-Cut Dresses For Evening
AS JUST mentioned, John Rocha was just one of the designers who produced a generous selection of bias cut evening wear - his sea life satin devore was particularly gorgeous. So too did Alexander McQueen (black lace over panels of flesh coloured satin and with an asymmetrical hem); Ben de Lisi (black and white printed satin) and Hussein Chalayan (black jersey with a spider's web mesh over the low cut back).
Prints
MONOCHROME colouring dominated the London collections but there were occasional outbreaks of pattern. In knitwear, horizontal bands of colour were one popular choice and turned up on Clements Ribeiro's cashmere twinsets, while Nicole Farhi used a pale blue/turquoise/yellow check for some of her sweaters. Pearce Fionda had black and white banded tunic dresses while Bella Freud had some jackets in lively red and yellow checks. An occasional psychedelic print appeared (Paul Frith's swirling arabesques in tones of purple, green and tuquoise for a stretch jersey polo shirt) but next year looks like being overwhelmingly given over to blocks of colour.
Colours
AND these are being kept within a very tight palette. Black and white were widespread, as always. In addition, there is still some brown (but not nearly as much as at the moment) and camel, plus lots of stone. Blue is next spring/summer's dominant colour. It runs from corn flower and aquamarine through to navy and Prussian. Everyone has also ventured to produce one or two pieces in turquoise.
Fabrics
LITTLE consistency here. Lots of lightweight wool and viscose mixes were long with stretch jersey and, for evenings, chiffon and silk crepe. A little nylon is still around and most designers are offering suede as well. Satin is another fabric with a certain loyal following, together with velvet devore.