Hi everyone,

How has February been treating you? We hope you are keeping yourself warm, working toward your goals and enjoying life as it comes. As London fashion week came to an end, we are happy to offer you a brief distraction from your daily life and a glimpse into the highlights of Fall/Winter 2021 collections.

Simone Rocha

Simone Rocha’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection is a play between the soft and edgy, a coexistence of the feminine and masculine. Black leather biker jackets over frilly skirts, jackets and dresses with tactile satin roses, Edwardian balloon sleeves, tailored black leather jackets to emphasize waistline, ivory flowers cascading over pink tulle ballet skirts, are all elements fabricating this fantasy of a rebellious ballerina character. This season’s collection retains the soft femininity that characterizes Rocha’s work, with an additional dose of resiliency and sense of experimentation, all ornated with faux natural pearls, porcelain earrings and hand-painted roses.

"Embroidered tulles, Hand-painted flowers on pearls. Porcelain cameos, encased in gold. The Three Graces. Satin, leather, tulle."

Erdem

Erdem’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection is constructed to represent several stages of a dancer’s wardrobe, from rehearsal to performance. The conception of this idea originates from Erdem Moralioglu’s memorable experience of designing costumes in 2018 at the Royal Opera House, translating the excitement of observing ballerinas practicing in their transitional outfits from rehearsals to performance. Illustrating the ballerina’s everyday practice clothing and interlacing it with their embellished stage costumes, the lineup served a variety of feminine skirts, opera gowns, tailored jackets thrown over embellished, feathered skirts. Tops encrusted with jewels and ribbed knitwear, ballet slippers transforming into stilted platforms, and Swan Lake headpieces, made for an interesting fusion of in-between stages of undressing.

Art School

Eden Loweth’s Fall/ Winter collection carries a strong message of resistance, hope and strength to London’s queer communities. Through his work, Loweth aims to give a voice to marginalized communities, offer a safe space for LGBTQ+ identities to be seen, free of prejudice. This season’s collection was unique and completely focused on inclusivity, presenting garments easy to wear for all bodies and genders. The show featured two nonbinary contestants from Season 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK : Bimini Bon-Boulash and A'Whora, Loweth’s close friends, and members of London Trans + Pride. The prevailing theme in this collection stands that of Inclusion and Unity, all reflected in the coats and leather pieces, linen smock dresses and bias cut pieces, designed for different body types.

Matty Bovan

Matty Bovan’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection is an explosion of color, paint, exaggerated shapes, volume, interpreted through psychedelic effects of intentional blurring and smearing. With every outfit encrusted in crystals, splashes of color and light, to say that this collection is experimenting with the nontraditional of ready to wear would be an understatement. This season, Bovan labelled this collection Odyssey, referencing the theme and source of inspiration. All this, revealed in the backdrop of this presentation and the sound effects throughout the video, unfolds in the visuals and sounds of struggle through heavy waves out in the sea, shipwreck and survival.

Bovan confesses that this is a personal theme: “I’ve always been afraid of the sea. I suppose it’s that fear of isolation”

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood Fall/Winter 2021 line-up was mostly made of recycled, previously used materials as a statement to reduce the impact fabric waste does to the environment. Fabrics used encompass a variety of wool, tartans, forest positive viscose, organic silk, along with a newly sourced recycled denim.

The collection featured a print of Daphnis and Chloe, a 1743 painting by by French Rococo painter François Boucher, becoming the main print for this season. The collection brought a pastoral mood, in a combination of clashing colors, herringbones, stripes, ginghams and King of Wales Check throughout various items of denim, suits, shirts, corsets and dresses. As always, the lineup carried over Westwood’s signature style of unruled draping and balanced chaos.

The focus of this season stays in the constantly improving efforts to become sustainable, as stated on Westwood’s social media posts on this collection:

We continually challenge ourselves to make our collections with greater care and contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry. We are proud to announce that for Autumn-Winter 2021/22 over 90% of our main-line collection is made from materials that have a reduced impact on our environment.⁠

Molly Goddard

Goddard’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection brings back tulle skirts and voluminous shapes, in a clash of textures, bright colors, metallics and patterns. Strategically large layered skirts reveal a sense of movement. While much of the designs are overly playful, many garments remain wearable and casual, including Fair Isle sweaters for men and women, tartan coats, tailored suits and taffeta dresses layered with casual denim. A joyful color palette of warm red, pink and bright orange, is balanced by charcoal grey, mint, and uplifting blue.

Duro Olowu

Duro Olowu’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection is comprised of various exhilarating prints and evokes an inspired outlook of a happier time. Garments manifest a union and blend of reinvented colorful florals, geometrical patterns, python prints in green, fuchsia, orange, turquoise. As stated on Olowu’s Instagram posts of these spectacularly cheerful silk chiffon dresses and swing coats:  

Inspired by the work of the African American painter Barkley L. Hendricks and the French painter Édouard Vuillard. The collection is a homage to the wonderful palettes and pattern laden compositions in the paintings of these two amazing artists from different eras and continents.

It is also an ode to the power of style as an inspiring and uplifting weapon of optimism in these uncertain times.

Emilia Wickstead

Emilia Wickstead’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection, represents the idea of looking into a woman’s life. The concept was inspired by three films: Teorema (1968) by Pier Paolo Pasolini, I Am Love (2009) by Luca Guadagnino, and Rear Window (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock. Walking further away from casual ready to wear, and into a reinvention of Eveningwear, this collection featured tailored suiting in wool gabardine, pencil skirted dress, off-the shoulder charcoal wool dress, soft tailored flanella, and draped fabrics that serve as outerwear to offer comfort and a soft edge against the structured garments underneath.

What do you think of our Highlighted moments from London’s Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2021? At Design Land NYC, we are loving the rush of creativity, the progress made towards sustainability in fashion, the bright uplifting colors and prints in place and all the amazing work that designer’s are doing in response to the challenges encountered in the past year. We are following the next fashion shows closely and cannot wait to report the next recap!

Sending joy,

Lori / Design Land NYC