With some of the prettiest colour combinations I’ve seen, Carlotta Gherzi’s AW09 Sado collection featured simple silk pieces in grey, raspberry, orange and peach.  Prim puff sleeve blouses, boxy cropped jackets, and mini capes in yummy sherbet dip hues were worn with grey knee socks and raspberry platform ankle boots.  With a vaguely 70s feel to the show, Ali MacGraw in Love Story sprang to mind.

An additional autumnal palette was introduced towards the end of the show with the retro combination of mustard and brown silk separates worn by red-heads whose colouring looked magnificent against these rich colours. 

The collection was not outrageous or ground breaking, it was pure and simple and wonderfully wearable.  I know what colour scheme I’ll be rocking for AW09…

[Image: Catwalking.com]

With a jazz inspired soundtrack and each model sporting a grey silk skull cap, there was more than a whiff of the 1940s at the Maria Grachvogel show. The collection was staggeringly elegant. Halter dresses, flared catsuits and trousers, pussy bow blouses, in tweeds, silks and organzas, adorned with feathers, pleats and frills, just seemed to drip off the models bodies.

Yet there was sculpture too, with oversized folds and twists of fabric around the necklines of blouses. Trousers were wide-leg or pin-slim. A bold peonie flower motif provided a splash of colour in what was otherwise a very muted collection, with a pallet of deep ink, mushroom and ebony.

I caught up with Maria after the show for a quick word:

MFL: There seems to be many influences from the past in this collection, with a hint of the 70s and 40s. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

MG: For me, it’s never been about external influences. Everything is about making a woman feel gorgeous. So the pleating that I have developed in this collection was about me trying to find a new way to sculpt the silhouette. It’s about finding ways of making women feel beautiful.

MFL: How has that evolved for you this season?

It’s always been about sculpting and that develops season by season. It’s really interesting to me now that fashion has moved much more towards investment dressing and not having something that only lasts a few seasons. The idea is that these pieces should become future classics and still look beautiful in 20-30 years time. They’re items that I want to be handed down.

MFL: This collection seems to fuse a lot of shapes that are diaphanous with those that are highly structured.

That’s an important contrast. The masculine and the feminine. The figure should be sculpted flawlessly. Clothes should be effortless and comfortable, not restrictive. You may have noticed that there are no seams on the trousers. It helps the hips look smaller and the legs look longer. It’s nice to embrace the feminine form and it really shouldn’t matter if you’re a size six or a size twenty, you can still look beautiful. It’s lovely to embrace all shapes, sizes and ages. I really enjoy that spectrum.

Fashion week is on so let the front row gossip begin. Now we heard from someone who knows someone who heard from someone that Grazia is saying that Gareth Pugh is definitely moving to Dior Homme.

There have been numerous rumours surrounding this possible move. Ever since big fashion boss’ daughter Delphine Arnault, daughter of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault sat front row at his menswear show in Paris.

It wasn’t just her presence that caused quite a stir, but she had also gushed about the collection calling it “beautiful”. Speculation then ensued over where he might head off to. Then the penny dropped, Dior Homme has somewhat fallen off the radar, and as Delphine was sat at a menswear show rather than waiting for the women’s line, it was decided he was being groomed for Kris van Assche’s job.

Grazia claim that it is definitely happening, with an announcement to be made any day now. I’d have thought that the announcement will be held until Fashion Week moves to Paris. In an even more telling move Gareth Pugh’s Paris show is running directly after Kris Van Assche’s at PFW, both shows are taking place Wednesday 4th March, with Pugh’s venue still unconfirmed.

So we will just have to wait and see, they may make an early announcement in order to sort out fact from fiction. Oh you have to love the front row rumour mill. And speaking of front rows, the man in question has been spotted out and about; last night he took prime position at the eagerly anticipated Pam Hogg show.

[Image, Source]

When Anna Wintour headed backstage to greet Justin Timberlake before his big show, we were hoping some video would surface of her christening him as the next great celebrity designer. Of course all we got was this awkward photo in which Justin refuses to smile and Anna does. It’s kind of creepy when those gowls perk up…

>> I promise I do have a ton of things to delve into and explore with London Fashion Week.  A lot of thoughts in general about what direction designers are taking in these "difficult" times… (said with a slightly strained/constipated expression).  Rest assured, there is positivity and I have so many things to joyful about fashion-wise.  Come Milan Fashion Week, which I usually have not much to say about, I'll do more detailed posting…

For now, I give you outfit posts courtesy of Tommy of Jak & Jil – Phil, it's not the same without you.  I'm hopefully going to be feeding Tommy Ton up a bit (he's only ickle!) whilst he's over here… don't be jealous!

Day 1 – Been meaning to harp on about this dress, a dropped waisted ruched affair courtesy of Rumi's vintage store.  It's exactly the sort of thing I'm feeling right now… an awkward length yet pretty… there's a sheer panel on the front with embroidery which you can't see in the pic.  Literally zooomed from airport to shows here… me thinks it shows a bit…

Day 2 – A more relaxed affair.  Been into odd trousers lately thanks to Fanny and the Cave.  It granted me access to these wonderful Bless trousers which didn't go down so well with the tourists queuing up outside Madam Tussauds. Trusty Michelle Jank and Maria Francesca Pepe tee (can't wait for her show at Fashion East tomorrow!) keeping it company.