Undoubtedly the most excited I have been all week (hell, who am I kidding? All year!) Sunday evening saw The Royal Courts of Justice packed to the rafters with fashion folk for Vivienne Westwood's AW11 catwalk show. A star-studded front row battled their way through hordes of paparazzi outside to take their places in court - attendees included Nicola Roberts and a newly-brunette Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud, Jamie Winstone, Jo Wood, Brix Smith-Start, Dr Who Matt Smith (who turned out to support girlfriend Daisy Lowe who was walking in the show) and the slightly random contingent of Boris Becker, Peter Burns and Boy George (who rocked up with a scantily PVC-clad dominatrix...interesting).
As ever, Vivienne Westwood's Red Label has always been about using English wool fabrics and knitwear; sustainability is clearly important to the designer, and this year was no exception. The collection was inspired by London life and quintessential Britishness, as well as Lewis Carroll's masterpiece 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. It was nice to see so much colour - many of this season's collection have been predominantly black; Westwood certainly didn't disappoint with a vibrant mix of reds, royal blue and flashes of gold and mustard in amongst the more traditionally autumnal colours. She even managed to squeeze in the T shirt she has designed for Comic Relief, worn with a red and blue plaid mini kilt and shirt.
Quirky headpieces were created by Prudence Millinery, one crown in particular was reminisicent of the Stephen Jones crown created for Sara Stockbridge's infamous i-D magazine cover, shot by NIck Knight in 1987. Other models had hair teased into crown shapes, which must have been a nightmare to get out after the show. Make up was courtesy of Alex box at MAC, who created almost clown-like look with odd eyebrows, multi-coloured panelled faces, and a mask of gold leaf on one model.
My favourite look was probably the massively ruffled jacket worn with a midnight blue pencil skirt. Admittedly not the most practical of looks for daily attire, but it was a vibrant multicoloured masterpiece that loked beautiful on the catwalk.
Love Laurel x
