The Ones to Watch: LFW

London Fashion Week kicked off yesterday and everyone dragging on a cigarette behind dark glasses could be heard muttering about the ridiculous number of kids running about outside the Natural History Museum (it's also half term for school kids)

Yesterday was a monumental day as it was my first fashion show, it was like being the new kid on mufty day at school and worrying if your Kappa popper trousers are cool enough, except in heels and coiffed hair.

The show was 'The Ones to watch' with new designers Lu Flux, Kamiko Watari, Studio_805 and Alice Palmer.

Lu Flux is an ethical designer and works with salvaged and vintage clothes to remake new and original designs. The collection had a very folksy feel about it with wee willy winker style knitted caps, long patchwork smocks for the girls and tweed jackets and trousers for the boys all accompanied with picnic style woven baskets for bags.

Next up was Kamiko with an all womenswear collection which had every model strutting down the runway with over sized bobble hats perched on their heads. cosy! The collection had a sort of childish theme of nighties with Victorian prints or red and blue koala designs on large t-shirt dresses.

The most fashion forward and in your face designs was definitely by Studio_805 who produced a loud unisex collection with dazzle boat patterns of jagged shapes in a limited palette of red and white. Every model had either large lego blocks round their necks as necklaces and huge cubes on their heads matched with censor style placks on their lips. Though this collection was really fun and arresting in its attention seeking designs, it perhaps lacked the quality of a well constructed design which Miss Palmer had in spades.

My favourite of the evening the knitwear designer, Alice Palmer, showed a refreshingly calm collection in subtle shades of grey, cream and moss green with flashes of metallic chrome.
The collection had a feeling of the medieval about it with felt smock dresses livened up with random panels of chain mail style knitted shapes in metallic tones.
All the models wore chain mail knit hats which wouldn't have looked out of place with Arthur of the round table with cut out eyes or hearts at the back.
Structured shoulders were complimented with tinsel-esque brooches and one dress was half cape-half dress with an interesting design of the arm pinned to the body. One armed beings across the country are clamouring for her insightful dresses as you read this!
A beautiful black model (the only black model in the entire show) closed the collection in a stunning floor length felt gown with ruched sides and a low back in charcoal grey, which was lifted with a diamond back section of her trademark chain mail knit.

I then skipped outside to our MA exhibition called 'Mapping Future Fashion' which in collaboration with the V&A's Sackler educational centre was a great success! Cool dance organiser's 'Work it', which is based in Shoreditch and ran by a classmate, provided the DJs and party atmosphere with trendy people hanging about in fluro prints and sequined hair.
All in all a fun start to the biggest event in a fashionista's diary.