London Fashion Week SS13: Battle of the Prints

It seems that we're either going to be embracing a mishmash of colours and designs or keeping it simple next season; monochromatic-minimalism has already dominated several of the SS13 catwalks but head-to-toe prints aren't all that far behind...

 Temperley London

Erdem

Michael van der Ham

For SS13, prints have been given a bit of a grown-up makeover; knee-length pencil skirts, high-necklines and classic shapes inspired by Dior's 'new look' were all transformed by various forms of print. Michael van der Ham and Erdem are among my favourites from the London catwalks so far although I'm not convinced I'll be wholeheartedly embracing the trend next season; I'm much more of a black and white kind of gal:

Christopher Kane

As much as I love the colourful and aesthetically exciting variety of print, I feel comfortable in a monochrome palette; it requires much less thought in the morning and you know you'll always look half decent. What are your thoughts on the London collection so far? Have any designers already caught your eye for SS13? 

photos from style.com

LFW Fashion East

With a stellar line-up composed of Michael van der Ham, Heikki Salonen and new-boy Nasir Mazhar, Fashion East was never going to be boring.

The crystal detailing at Michael van der Ham was gorgeous, as were the McQueen-esque plaited hair; however, the 'mismatched' dresses didn't really do anything for me (although I loved the Liberty print he used!).

(not van der Ham but this photo is adorable!)

Not only was Nasir a complete diva-fest backstage (tears, tantrums - and all because of a bit of body paint), but the hair and make-up was just mind-boggling.Inspired by black culture Duffy bought the models to life with gold fro-combs and fluro hairpieces. The hats/head-pieces were complete showstoppers and although I loved the minimalist bondage/net looks, they merely served as a canvas.

Heikki, Heikki, Heikki, what a year you've had! Out of the three Fashion East designers, this season Mr Salonen was my favourite by far. His grungey aesthetic was highlighted with distressed and studded trousers, leather and fur bombers, dark rich colours and utilarian fabrics. The red and navy velvet DM's were a nice touch as were the tinted glasses (luckily I saved mine from the Spice Girls heyday - I knew they'd come in handy one day!)

Heikki stuffing a 'back-pack'

The last photo is hand's down my second favourite photo of the day - tomorrow you'll see why it wasn't first! After a long day at Somerset House I'm glad to call it a day, will post the Holly Fulton photos tomorrow when I'm not sleep deprived.

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