YStyle Trend Report: #LFW S/S 2018

All Dolled Up

Simone Rocha

“I never want to do anything that’s harsh, or ugly, or aggressive, but I always want it to be questioning, to be interesting,” Simone Rocha muses. And her spring 2018 show, culling inspiration from the Victorian china dolls she used to slide down banisters as a child (“They ended up with cracked faces,” she laughs), echoes the Irish designer’s sentiments. A smattering of satin silk dresses clung to the skin of her rosy pink-cheeked models but the rest of her Edwardian- and Victorian-inspired designs cranked up the volume, literally. Cases in point: lace-trimmed slips fashioned from giant ruffles are worn over crisp poplin shirts, outsized floral-sequined coats get even bigger with exaggerated puff sleeves, and tulle frocks hand-embroidered with paper doll chain motifs are blown way out of proportion with frothy balloon skirts. While it’s true that the collection exudes an air of naivety and sweetness, the execution is sophisticated, even slightly sinister, as only Rocha would have it.

Sorta Fairytale

Molly Goddard

British designer Molly Goddard grounds her irreverent romanticism for spring/summer 2018. Offering more than just her modern-day pastel confections, the designer delivers her house codes of punk princess cuts in new propositions — think girlish, baby doll dresses with uneven hems; ruched ruffles and sensuous gathers, rendered not just in Goddard’s signature tulles, but also in workaday cottons and mirrored mesh. The result? New approaches made available for Goddard’s downtown muse.

Return To Childhood

Mary Katrantzou

Here’s looking at you, kid. Nostalgia plays a pivotal role in Mary Katrantzou’s springtime wears as the ‘80s-born designer looks back on popular childhood pastimes for design inspiration. “It’s a form of escapism, looking at things in a way that’s exuberant and joyful,” she shares. And boy, did the clothes emanate exuberance. From intricate friendship bracelet-inspired braided dresses (with each fringe-hemmed piece taking up to two months to create) and sequined Lego block pencil skirts (worn with glossy colorblock anoraks) to paint-by-number florals printed on inflated bubble frocks, Katrantzou’s newest collection is as playful as it gets. Even shoes aren’t spared from her trip down memory lane with kitten heels on Swarovski-encrusted jelly shoes and multicolored marbles embellished on chunky metallic platforms. Innocence meets imagination meets innovation? Now that’s our idea of fashion playtime.

Queens’ English

Erdem

Ahead of his highly-anticipated collaboration with high street behemoth H&M in November, British designer Erdem Moralioglu hits refresh for his eponymous label’s spring/summer 2018 collection. Inspired by Queen Elizabeth and her not-so-secret love of jazz music’ the designer reimagines the intersections between royal dress and the trappings of a Harlem 1950s-era jazz club. Highlights include: jacquard fitted-coats and tea dresses, trimmed with grosgrain shoulder ribbons; beaded opera gloves meet flapper-style silhouettes; soft broderie anglaise done up in the most rigorous of tailoring.

Silk Spectre

Roksanda Ilincic

This season Roksanda Ilincic eschews her structural signatures for spring/summer 2018; giving way to soft confections in silks and cotton, some almost liquid, fluid in its silhouette. The Serbian designer is known to make clothes for the contemporary dresser; sensible in shape yet not without its frippery. This season? We’re spotting raffia-like fringes, frocks ruched and shirred, with artesian detailing in no short supply.

Checked, Mate

Burberry

Ever since Burberry adopted a “see-now, buy-now” system two seasons ago, the heritage brand has eschewed the traditional fashion calendar in favor of a more “seasonless” collection that combines both its womenswear and menswear offerings. In their most recent presentation (simply called the September show), creative director Christopher Bailey reintroduces the label’s signature checks and gives it some cheek, with the iconic pattern appearing in gabardine coats, baseball caps, raincoats and giant shoppers. Meanwhile, bubblegum pink shearling coats, Fair Isle vests (worn alone or over see-through tops), argyle socks, and chunky cashmere knit cardigans are made nice and loose, making for multi-hued looks that are equal parts street and preppy. “This collection finds the humor, the beauty, the pathos, and the sheer glorious eccentricity of the British way of dressing,” Bailey explains. Cheers.

Stillness Is The Move

JW Anderson

This season, the JW Anderson girl is cool, calm and collected. Mulling over the idea of “the calm before the storm,” Anderson presents his take on serenity with pared-down looks that are relaxed and uncomplicated. Even so, his take on simplicity is more desirable than drab, with clever craftsmanship and “domesticated” fabrics winning over complicated designs and heavy embellishment. Look closer: the striped pattern on a flared minidress is made by alternating supersoft leather with sequined fabric (which somehow manages to glint and shine without being flashy), a slouchy kaftan and trouser set with a woven branded stripe is crafted from tea towel linen (yes, as in the dish cloth — who knew it could become covetable?), and a loose ankle-grazing dress is made extra comfy with the use of sweatshirt jersey. No fuss, no muss, just fashion.

Stepford Wife

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane imagines the hidden worlds of suburban eroticism for spring/summer 2018. The designer takes inspiration from Cynthia Payne, an English brothel keeper famous in the 1970s and ’80s for being the underground hostess to members of British parliament. For this season, Kane involves his usual mien of subversive tropes into the image of the pristine Stepford housewife: from patent leather coats trimmed with the most virginal of guipure laces; to sharp tailoring softened with frills and froth, weaving Kane’s cerebral codes into his signature brand of futurism. Our take? Who wouldn’t love to be Kane’s version of the modern-day madam?