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Holly Fulton was the last show on my London Fashion Week calendar and it ended up being the perfect way to end, what was an incredible season! My day might have started with an early wake-up call, no time to eat, queueing in the cold and trying to stand on a pair of not so comfortable Louboutin heels, praying I won’t collapse, but once I was inside the show space all of that went away and what was left was a huge adrenaline rush, as I simply could not wait to see what Miss Fulton would do.

The show started with an array of hot, pink outfits: dresses, trousers, skirts, tops in all different shades of pink, adorned with Fulton’s signature geometric prints! Seeing these bright, statement-making looks, the designer’s comment before the show, about her girl this season being sexy and seductive ,started making complete sense! Wearing a bright, pink dress in the winter, just gives off such a playful, confident vibe that is impossible to resist!

Another very interesting part  of the show was the designer’s use of black for the first time! Being know for her use of vibrant colour, Holly Fulton pushed her boundaries this season, by limiting herself to only two colours, as well as challenging herself to use black. It was a challenge she dealt with just fine, as the addition of print and texture on classic black trousers and dresses ensured that her signature was maintained. One of my absolute favourite looks however, would have to be the pink, printed pants matched to a simple, black turtleneck! When simplicity meets creativity, it really is a match made in heaven.

The show then moved towards a series of outfits in different shades of blue, that were as vibrant, playful and sexy as the pink line-up that opened the show! Conclusion? Break the boring rules that tend to associate the winter season with greys and blacks, and wear colour; the brighter the better!

Here’s a short video I managed to take during the final walkthrough to give you a better idea of the monochromatic heaven of the show:

Natalie xoxo

Try to imagine this scene: an old, crumbled building made of laser-cut paper in the background, the Oliver Twist soundtrack playing loudly and a parade of models walking with fur hats so big, you could barely see their faces!

The reactions the Marc Jacobs Fall 2012 show led to were deeply ambiguous: some hated it and wondered what on earth was Marc thinking (after all a fashion show primarily aims to sell clothes and these were not particularly wearable), others just fell in love with it. Personally, I fall into the second category, I completely fell for this twisted fairytale Marc Jacobs presented us with. The hats brought back memories of watching the Wizard of Oz as a child, however in this modern version , the witch is less wicked and scary and more stylish and even fragile, perhaps. Intriguing to say the least.

As for the wearability of the clothes, it does seem inexistent at a first glance, but break down the pieces and you will see that you would want to wear, each and every one of them! Just imagine that gorgeous, emerald green coat (image above) with a pair of jeans and plain black boots and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

What I found particularly interesting was this strong paradox that went on throughout the show. While the enormous hats, as well those chunky shoes and their enormous buckles brought an image of the witch of the Wizard of Oz meets the Mad Hatter to mind, the soft, pastel colours and delicate fabrics, simultaneously communicated a sense of fragility.

Even when the colours started getting darker, you can still sense a hint of this fragility, as leather, structured tops were contrasted with soft veils, while the total black and grey outfits had a melancholy feeling to them, as widows were in fact, one of the designer’s inspirations.

Finally one of my favourite images! Styled otherwise this pink sparkly dress would appear as the perfect, glamorous party dress for the ultimate New York socialite (and it probably will be anyway). But here the designer chose to use it, to tell a story instead; a beautiful, melancholy, ambiguous story, where the girl is not only pretty, she is also fragile and enigmatic, just like the rose she is holding. It is indeed a less commercial story, but it got us to fall in love with fashion all over again! So thank you Marc Jacobs for bringing a little bit of fairytale in New York.

But as he says, this might not be a fairytale, just his own reality of the show!

Natalie xoxo