Paris Fashion Week: Hakaan AW11

This time last year (Friday 19th February, to be precise) I was sent to watch a show by little known designer, Hakaan. No one knew who Hakaan was so I was hardly expecting big things to happen. Oh how I couldn't have been more wrong. To say that it was bewildering to see Lara Stone, Natalia Vodianova and Natasha Poly at his début show in London would be a bit of an understatement. At the time, Hakaan caused a bit of a furore but mainly for his star-studded FROW and model line-up; this season, I have a feeling time has repeated itself...

The clothes are undoubtedly beautiful but I don't think his success is down to skill alone - were it not for the stellar line-up: Freja Beha Erichsen, Maria Carla Boscono, Natalia Vodianova, Karolina Kurkova, Natasha Poly and Anja Rubik, Hakaan might simply be another struggling designer. One gets the impression that Hakaan has friends in very high places, which is great, but there's only so far that monochrome-tailoring and pleated mini-dresses can take you.

Maybe I'm being too harsh; I was all over the début collection after all. I'd like to see some innovation and ingenuity if I'm going to track Hakaan's progress - not just a handful of the world's best models (although apparently, that helps). Do you think a world-class line-up is enough to propel Hakaan into designer stardom or does he need to up his game?

Photos from style.com

LFW Hakaan

Just yesterday everyone was asking 'who is Hakaan'?

With a star-studded front row (Kate Moss, Carine Roitfeld, David Walliams) and an even more impressive model list (Abbey Lee Kershaw, Natalia Vodianova, Lara "the only show I'm modelling for" Stone, Natasha Poly), it's now safe to say that everyone knows who Hakaan is.

For a relative unknown, the Turkish designers' debut collection at LFW today was incredible. Clean lines, butt-skimming bandage-mini's, sculpted fur-gillets and a strong but minimalist palette stormed the catwalk.

Backstage was a model spotters dream. There was alot of 'Lara?! Where's Lara??' and even more flapping around from Edward Enninful.

The sunlight (although a welcomed blessing) made street-style shots rather difficult; however, never one to miss an opportunity...

Natalia Vodianova & Maria Carla

Kate Moss

Carine Roitfeld

Apologies for the quality of the photo's. Look out tommorow for exclusive photos from Fashion East and Holly Foulton!

Photo's taken by me, do not use/copy without permission!