London: Spring / Summer 2012

Sportswear influences continued to trickle into LFW collections with markedly sporty influences infused into Marios Schwab and Clements Ribeiro. But I love that London was also heralding the prints trend for next summer, with some astonishingly beautiful designs. I thought Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro also did print, as well as sports luxe, excellently. The floral dress has been ubiquitous for a long time now, so for them to focus their efforts on printed trousers instead is a fresh idea. I felt Erdem’s prints had slightly less alacrity than his usual outing, with a dreamy collection of cool blue tones, but I like the tranquillity of the collection as well as the cutesy primness with all those top buttons done up. Preppy is another trend that seemed to be at the forefront of LFW, and if we’re going to live up to our prim English reputation, it seems we’re doing it with a new age twist. I love how Issa London and Emilio de la Morena  proved that prim doesn’t necessarily mean stuffy, with her pineapple printed cutesy blouses and his risqué, slightly see-through shirts.