Wrapping up London Fashion Week with the top 5 trends we spotted at the shows

Now that it’s time to pass the gauntlet of style onto Milan, let’s take one very short pause to reflect on a week full of exciting newness during London Fashion Week. Here are the top 5 trends we saw developing at the Spring 2015 shows.

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Photography by Peter Stigter

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LONDON FASHION WEEK SS15

Burberry Spring 2015

1. The Tropics Seen at: Erdem, Burberry, Jonathan Saunders, Mulberry, Mary Katrantzou, Julien MacDonald

We counted at least five shows that piped the sounds of birds chirping through speakers, setting the stage for a flurry of leaf prints, bejeweled exotic birds and, of course, florals. Nature’s most overt reference was in Burberry’s Spring 2015 collection name, “The Birds and the Bees,” which featured Britain’s insects and flowers on trenches and a new range of bags. Waves also made an appearance, undulating through sequined and appliqued dresses at Jonathan Saunders.

2. Sixties/Seventies Seen at: House of Holland, Emilia Wickstead, Holly Fulton, Jonathan Saunders, Tom Ford

If ever fashion needs a palate cleanse, it seems that designers return back to the dawn of modern womanhood. From House of Holland’s ode to the era’s groupies (paging Penny Lane!) to Emilia Wickstead’s loose boxy fits, the cool, confident girls that started it all prove forever inspirational.

3. Sheer Seen at: Simone Rocha, Topshop, David Koma, Mary Katrantzou, Toga, Thomas Tait, Burberry

Last spring’s proclivity for hide and seek rages on this season with sheer (pleated or otherwise) panels being featured in many of spring’s standout looks. At Simone Rocha, it took on a more dramatic flair, shrouding models’ faces and worn in combination with lace-y macramé.

4. The New Neutrals Seen at: Christopher Kane, Lucas Nascimento, J. JS Lee, Mary Katrantzou, Paul Smith

The last place you’d imagine tone-on-tone neutral looks would be at a Mary Katrantzou show, but that’s just where we found them in a series of slip dresses and trenches opening Spring 2015. At Paul Smith, neutrals were combined winningly with bright red and blue.

5. Elementary School Seen at: Peter Pilotto, Preen, Hunter Originals, Jasper Conran

From the primary hues (and school building setting) at Preen to the geometric resin plates at Peter Pilotto, there was something very childlike in this season’s collections. In my mind, naiveté is what spring is all about.