Seen and Overheard: Dita Aloud

Hot-ticket designer William Tempest delivered a collection of gorgeously architectural, Tudor-inspired dresses just a few hours ago (full review later), and like the members of Fash Pack, Emma Watson and Sophie Alexander seemed pleased. Assumably, so did the reps from Sass & Bide who were also sitting in the packed house at Vauxhall Fashion Scout.


Backstage, we found out a few things:
1) William's grandma hasn't planned a celebration, but she sure hopes she can take him to coffee later.
2) William has set his sights on dressing Dita von Teese, whom he's already met a couple of times, or at least Girls Aloud.


Watch those tabloids closely. With comparisons to Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane, this kid is going somewhere.

Roving Reporter: Hemyca

Heymca showed why they are one of, if not the hottest ticket on the Vauxhall Scout schedule. Their autumn/winter offerings include angular tuxedo jackets with a strong sci-fi aesthetic. If there's one thing you will be wearing come fall, it's a statment jacket. Let me rephrase that; a Heymca statement jacket. They were padded at the shoulders and on the hip, emphasising the waist and creating a powerful but feminine silhouette. It's hardly suprising that the pair did a sting at Roland Mouret who is the king of all things stuctured and archetectural.


Helen and Myra, the design duo behind Hemyca, proved that Central Saint Martin's isn't the only place churning out strong design talent and the fashion industry should pay attention to London College of Fashion alumni.

Roving Reporter: Nico D

Nico D is all about wearability - and we love that. Chunky knits in classic shapes were styled with oversized leather bags, trilby and khaki trousers for ultimate comfort.

Tailoring was a strength of the show. Jackets, with oversized collars in satin, were boxy and structured with angular shapes at the front, drawing on Didonna's interest in geometry this season.

Evening wear was strong, tied in by a theme of sequins that adroned black turtlenecks, mens tuxedos and floor length evening gowns.

Geometric shapes was the source of inspiration for the show but was not clear in the collection. Individual looks worked well, but toverall the show lacked cohesion. The designer served us with a bit of leather and grunge, some sequins a la Ashish and some casual urban wearable looks rather than committing to one theme and seeing it through. Styling was also inconsistent, starting off very strong and losing it's punch towards the last few looks where a beautiful black knee length dress was teamed with pink fish net tights.

Roving Reporter: Alexandra Groover

Have just gotten back from Ashish, have just sat through another fashion show (already running 45 min late), have just eaten two mini bananas as Naomi (The Kaiser) had not allowed me to stop for food. Need complex carbs soon or an insulin drip.

Alexandra Groover, the LFW first-timer who designed the last set of clothes we saw, seems to be feeling the recession a bit more than Ashish or Eun Jeong. In all black - literally - Groover sent out about a dozen looks that all used texture, rather than colour, to add interest.

One of her most unique bits came at the beginning, when she experimented with a technique that neither Naomi nor I know what to call. (Rivkie, perhaps you are wiser.) Dresses were cotton jersey tunics, slightly draped and cinched at the low waist. But with slashes every inch or two, the frocks were anything but simple.

Will the newbie complicate her colour palette as much as her construction next season? Too soon to tell.