The Best of LFW SS22

And just like that… we’re halfway through fashion month. Sorry, I’ve been poring over paparazzi pics of the Sex and the City reboot, and my Carrie is coming out in full force. But it’s true, we’re already halfway through fashion month and it’s hard to keep up. In between the Met Gala, NYFW, the Emmy’s, LFW finishing up with Milan and Paris rearing to go – it’s a lot of clothes to look at.

But the good news for you is, unless you can be bothered to pore over thousands of looks from hundreds of designers, I’ve done it for you and curated the best looks that deserve your attention.

Ostrich feathers are staying strong since their recent return to the runway with Saint Laurent last year, with David Koma, Huishan Zhang, and Halpern plucking a feather from YSL’s goose, and adding some much loved extravagant (and camp) volume and excitement to their silhouettes.

Broderie anglaise is back with fervour. Clothing is ticking over from modern and polished, to a more folk and artisanal direction, following Gabriela Hearst’s new crafts-focused aesthetic for Chloé. Self-Portrait, Rachel Comey and Erdem have all showcased broderie anglaise heavily in their collections. Is this the beginning of a more handcrafted wardrobe?

Metallic clothing is also back, with Nensi Dojaka, Toga, and even Cos showcasing slinky little shirts and skirts, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Isabel Marant’s 2012 collection, and metallic became cool for a fleeting minute until round about this time 2 years ago, when Dior did silver coats and jumpsuits, but which unfortunately didn’t stick. Will we be seeing metallic dresses back again, writhing under the disco lights of Loulou’s? It’s looking like it. Maybe this time it’ll stick.

In terms of silhouettes, the babydoll shape à la Cecile Bahnsen is back. Molly Goddard naturally also sticks to this silhouette, and nothing much changed from her collection apart from the lack of tulle (surprisingly, but tulle is better, and she should bring it back). Keep an eye out for short, baby-doll silhouettes – with the drop shoulder trend, it’s going to be bigger than you think.

LVMH Award winner Nensi Dojaka returned with her favourite airy black looks this season, showcasing extreme skill and finesse with her heart-shaped detailed dresses, and her fan flowers with adorn most of the dresses and trousers she put forward this season. Cute and very à-la-moment, Nensi continues with her winning streak of creating delicate and detailed black party dresses. Question is, will we get bored of this M.O.? Can she bring something new to the table?

JW Anderson actually made some cute party looks this season, which is very unlike him as he much prefers a good oversized tailored suit, or an oversized knit of an indeterminable shape. Apart from the great collection (a little out of the norm in my opinion), he kept things bizarre with the occasional photo of a photographer clad in nothing but black budgy-smugglers clambering through tires in different positions. You can take the bizarre out of the collection, but you can’t take the bizarre out of JW Anderson’s aesthetic.

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Richard Quinn came at his floral obsession from a different point of view this season. Instead of committing totally to his usual OTT floral prints and fabrics, Quinn started out the show with tight catsuits in a range of solid colours, with bonnets that make the models look like the singing tiger-lilies from the Disney classic, Alice in Wonderland. Extremely oversized shoulders made an appearance here, which seems to be an extension of the SS22 trend of big/oversized/dropped shoulders.

Emilia Wickstead also went for florals this season, sticking to her more demure aesthetic, but using brighter colours such as lime green and mandarin orange. Was it exciting? Not exciting per se, I prefer when Emilia does a little more Serena Joy, and a little less Duchess of Cornwall.

In the wise and incredibly scathingly sarcastic words of Miranda Presley, “Florals for spring? Ground-breaking.”