London Fashion Week 2017 Review

From the 17th to the 21st February 2017, London Fashion Week was in full swing. Although I was unable to attend the shows in person, However, as a huge fan of fashion, I still followed the events on social media and in the news. There were so many collections to follow from Mulberry to Ashley Williams to Topshop.

Now as you all may know, my blog is based on the stereotypes of the 'perfect sized model' and after following London Fashion week, I feel the industry hasn't really come any further in terms of acceptance. However, I endeavour to explore this later on. First, let's start with my favourite and least favourite collections.

My favourite collection at London Fashion Week was the Topshop Unique show on day three. Now, to say I LOVE Topshop is a complete understatement. I would say I am borderline obsessed with Topshop. Their clothes, style fitting, everything is just perfect. So when I saw the new Topshop Summer collection I was amazed. Here are some of my favourite looks:

These are my favourite looks as although they are on the runway, they can be worn as they are in everyday life. I am already a huge fan of edgy looks and having the ability to stand out. I think this is why I love Topshop so much as the looks are not too over the top, but are bold enough for people to notice and comment.

Also, as you can see in the pictures above many of the Topshop summer collection outfits can be worn casually and formally. For example, during the day the purple can be worn with sandals, but a pair of heels would look great for a night out.

The models make-up and hair is extremely understated and natural. The models look healthy. This was one of my favourite aspects of the show. It almost made 'normal' people feel like they were a part of the show. This stood out for me as many of the other shows exaggerated the model's hair and make-up. I feel like the most important part of fashion is to make people feel included and this something that many of the fashion houses fail to recognise.

Moving on to my least favourite collection: Mulberry. When analysing all the shows, I felt like this one was not to my taste at all, especially in terms of the collection that was showcased, the stylistic approach and how the models were dressed. Here are some of my least favourite looks:

Starting with the outfits. They are too oversized and large for my liking. I would say that the jackets and dresses are very much for evening or work wear. They are not outfits that could be worn casually or during the day. The colours are also extremely uninteresting and monotonous, the browns and blacks would put me off buying the items.

The style of the jackets and suits is very formal and classy. However, although I used to like this, I prefer to look more casual now as I feel like I don't look any different when going out in the evening if I dress formally during the day.

My main issue with these photos is the way the models look in terms of hair and make-up. While some of the models are wearing heavy eye make-up, all of them look pale, gaunt and quite ill. That is quite clearly down to the make-up and hair. Briefly going back to my main point I feel this portrays an unrealistic and unnatural image of women and the way women should look. I feel that looking 'ill' is not a look to aspire to. Also, the model's hair looks greasy, it's just extremely undesirable.

The Mulberry collection is quite expensive and is not as easily accessible to the public as the Topshop collection is. This is why is like the Topshop collection better as I can't see the point in displaying a collection that is not really suitable to wear on a daily basis and is aimed at the rich. Although Topshop can be expensive at times, the quality and look of the clothing is excellent and it is more than half the price of what I would pay for an item from Mulberry.

Right, so I said I'd leave my main point until later on in this post. Whilst I am really fond of most of the collections at London Fashion Week and these collections both stood out to me the most, I feel that both Topshop and Mulberry and the rest of the modelling world are not showcasing women with different body shapes on the catwalk. Earlier I said that I loved Topshop because of the fitting and range of sizes. Well, I feel that if they incorporated models who could wear all of the sizes on the catwalk, I would love Topshop even more.

As I have reiterated in my previous posts, we need to see more diversity on the catwalk. Why are men and women, young boys and girls suffering from body dysmorphia? Why are they anorexic? Why is there such a thing as 'thinspiration'? Because the 'perfect' image that the modelling world, airbrushed magazines, and the media are portraying is unrealistic and makes many people, especially vulnerable youngsters, feel self-conscious.

According to Young Minds, since 2011, the number of young people calling Childline for help with eating disorders has increased by 110%. This a shocking statistic, nevertheless, until we address the situation and embrace other shapes and sizes in the modelling industry, and educate children about a healthy size and shape, this number is going to increase. I feel this will also be positive for the models themselves as they would be able to relax more and not feel pressured to be a 'size zero'.

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