Propos receuillis par Leila Jensen
ELIZABETH SALZTMAN, Vanity Fair Fashion Director.
What is so special about this LFW?
E.S. : "What is so special about LFW, is its incredible amount of talent, serious and new talent, young and old. It’s a mix cab of so many creations. America has its identity of sportswear. London used to have its own identity of cutting‐edge, punk, but now it has everything.
Now you go from Pringle to Christopher Kane, to a new one Thomas Tate, to the British Fashion Council’s whole extravaganza, all these new designers sponsored by Top shop, you have Erdem. There is a lot out there that people are looking forward to seeing. And you have people like Sir Paul Smith. There’s a lot to look out here."
What is the future of LFW?
E.S. : "Getting bigger, better and stronger, the shows have been on time, fiercely on time, it’s just becoming a big market and a fun one because you get the mixed bag. So I think it’s pretty exciting here. Hey I live here for a reason!"
What are the general trends you’ve seen so far at LFW?
E.S. :"A lot of colour, great, fun colours, a lot of whimsy, a lot of neon and floral prints. I think trends are kind of an odd word these days. Anything goes now. It’s not about short or long. There is definitely a play with flirting again. It’s been really fun. I think the shows have been amazing. This is the strongest season London has had in a really long time."
GODFREY DEENY, Fashion Wire Daily Editor in Chief
How are you?
G.D. : "I’m very well. I enjoyed Giles Deacon. I’m going to the after‐party. It’s nice to see all these super models coming back and some footballers’ wives front row. I thought it was the best catwalk of the day. I thought Christopher Kane had the best collection. I thought his whole “Princess Margaret meets Yakuza‐Gangster” print was hot and very influential. I think it’s been a great day. It’s gone sadly, but elegantly with the memorial of Alexander
Mc Queen.
What is so special about this LFW?
G.D. : "I love the energy, the humour of it and the absurdity. I saw the show Meadham Kirchhoff, it was completely out of left field, taking place at the old eurostar station in Waterloo, the Topshop venue, and the mix of “punky‐funky/80s/Lower east side” I thought was amazing. The absurdity at LFW is always good. I think even Sir Paul Smith who is a male designer did a collection for women with a “tom‐boy” look. We saw men’s pants, strip shirts, and once again this mix or “rock/funky”. I thought he made clothes a straight guy would want to see more on a woman today.
What is the future of LFW?
G.D. : "I think it was a bit squeezed in calendars the last couple of seasons. Now you basically ought to come to London every single season because there is interesting stuff, weather it’s Mary Katrantzou or Mark Fast. Every season one or two guys come up with these left 2 field things. These designers are the ones who will take over and run the big co operations and the big fashion brands like Dior, Vuitton or Gucci. It’s like Giles Deacon who is doing his first season with Ungaro in Paris. So if you really want to scout and know what’s next you definitely have to come here.
How are you involved in fashion?
G.D. : "I’m a bit of a “closet‐heterosexual” in a very gay world. I’m a critic, I write for the Financial Times, I run Fashion Wire daily, created a magazine called Imagine Fashion, I’m the Paris correspondent for Harper’s Bazaar UK.
ANNE CHRISTENSEN, Glamour USA Fashion Editor
What is so special about this LFW?
A.C. : "I think there is so much energy in the air, and there’s all these kind of groupies who cometo the shows. It’s very different for me than the New York shows. There are all these kind of interesting people, interesting styles and it has the energy more of a college graduation show. I say this in the best and possible way. There is an energy and excitement about the shows that doesn’t exist in other cities I feel."
What is the future of LFW?
A.C. : "I think Burberry obviously pulled a lot of people here and it’s important for London to have someone that has some bigger names and bigger brands that can help get people here because there are so many fashion weeks and shows to compete with, it’s hard to be away from the office for so long with New York, Milan and Paris. But they are on the right track and if they get a few more big names, it would help everyone dedicate as much time here as needed."
What are the general trends you’ve seen so far at LFW?
A.C. : "A lot of lace, see‐through materials, “50s meets punk‐lace”."
How are you involved in fashion?
A.C. :"I’m here to experience everything, to feel the London energy, and for me it’s all the pleasure of getting the eye‐full and enjoy it."
ERIN O`CONNOR, British Top Model and Fashion Critic
What is so special about this LFW?
E.C. : "I don’t think you can define any seasons being any particularly special, but what I love about London is that whole sense of spirit and that kind of unapologetic attitude. I think they never lost that and as much as we support brands or designers we also consider the creators and the educators behind the creators also being inclusive of the colleges, and everybody that helps bringing fashion week together. We might not be the most commercial and buyable fashion city in the world but we are all about spirit. We celebrate what makes us different."
What are the general trends you’ve seen so far at LFW?
E.C. : "Everybody has gone bonkers with colour palettes. I’ve never seen so much in my life. It’s all about neon. Last night, Vivienne Westwood had these incredible sparkly trousers and jackets. Mark Fast went bonkers with colour palettes, and Christopher Kane also, so it’s really refreshing to see all this."
How are you involved in fashion?
E.C. : "I am eternally committed to fashion, I launched my own tee shirt company. I’m also the founder of the “model sanctuary”. We collaborate with fashion colleges. We are trying to bring new models and inspiring new fashion designers together so that they can share an
open space. It’s a sort of an opportunity to appreciate each other, the pressures they are under on both sides but also just trying to create a haven for model’s working because I think they always represent the beautiful glossy magazines but we tend to forget the
person inside the glorious clothing. My goal is to protect the health and well being of their carriers as well as their physical being."
Where are you going next?
E.C. : "I’m going to Paris. Every time I try to retire from modelling, I get called by someone and this time it’s Jean‐Paul Gautier, so it’s a really nice match for me."
JAYNE PICKERING, Marie Claire UK Fashion Editor
What is so special about this LFW?
J.P : "I think it has been unbelievably exciting this season. There is so much original fashion here, as usual. Some of my favourite shows so far were here, fantastic, inspiring and brilliant."
Whats it the future of LFW?
J.P : "I think greater and better, getting stronger and stronger. So much foreign press is coming, especially this season. Ana Wintour is here, all the Americans are here, its been a really good season for LFW."
What are the general trends you’ve seen so far at LFW?
J.P : "A lof of neon, lots of colours everywhere, lady‐like suits, perfected leather."
ALEXA CHUNG, Model & TV Journalist
What is so special about this LFW?
A.C. : "I haven’t been to a lot of shows but I think generally speaking, LFW is pretty fun and exciting. It’s a place for new designers to showcase their collections. It accesses a launch platform for them. It’s nice that a brand like Burberry would show at LFW. That way it drowns the crowd, fashion editors and the international press. Perhaps they will be persuaded to attend other shows."
What is the future of LFW?
A.C. : "I hope it gets bigger and better really. It’s a shame when people badmouth it because I’m really proud of it. It’s so focused on new talent, and the most important ones."
MIRIAM DEMBACH, Fashion Critic and Journalist
What is so special about this LFW?
M.D. : "I like the vibe here. It’s totally different to New York where it is much more business oriented, Paris is all really chic and classy and Milan all very sexy on the catwalk. So London is a different vibe and a really creative one. You can still find a lot of new talents. I think in Paris there are not that many new talents pushed forward. They don’t really care about the new comers; they do here in London so that’s really nice."
What is the future of LFW?
M.D. : "If big brands like Burberry, Matthew Williamson or Pringle of Scotland stay here I think it will be a bright future because I can see now that after Burberry returning, Williamson and Jonathan Saunders coming back from New York, a lot of international press is coming back. May be it’s just for several shows but you have Ana Wintour here again, Ana Della Russo, you’ve got all the big ones, and all the bloggers, nowadays it’s all about the bloggers so it’s a good future ahead."
What are the general trends you’ve seen so far at LFW?
M.D. : "It’s a bit of the 70s vibe I think in different ways. For example Top Shop Unique is a very important show as it is such a big mainstream thing, everyone watches it. It’s a bit like Marc Jacobs in New York, with all those rust colours and really flair, floe, with a 70s vibe.
And then you have Richard Nicoll with his “David Bowie‐Slim duke” style, floe clothes but trying to get another edge from the 70s, which I really like. And shoes, platforms, no more kitten hills."