Suspiria and Him. Thomas Tait AW15

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Do you know the horror movie called Suspiria? If yes, then you totally will understand this eerie and disturbing Thomas Tait collection. Latex gloves, wide pantalons, leather skirts and bloody red cowboy jackets. The invitation’s still from Dario Argento’s 1977 horror masterpiece Suspiria was echoed on pleated dresses – changed into digital print for Tait, made from screen captures done on his laptop while watching films in bed. “They’re kind of really shitty and a lazy way of doing some kind of informal research. I thought it would be really interesting to make these highly intricate garments and undercut them with a crap image from the film I love.” The dramatic venue and the music – created by Frederic Sanchez – matched the melancholic, slightly violent mood. Summing up – the collection is very, very interesting and… elusive?

Winning LVMH’s Young Fashion Designer prize last year has meant a huge difference to Thomas Tait, who like many young designers struggled with keeping the business working – not becaues of lack of ideas, but funds. “The money kept me from going out of business to be honest,” he said. And that’s pretty much a very happy ending for Thomas (in case of sponsoring), and hopefully it will be one for other money-struggling designers.

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Sophisticated. Barbara Casasola AW15

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Bringing on the Latin American heat and temper, Barbara Casasola shows a sophisticated side of her aesthetics. Black turtlenecks styled with flared skirts and black ballerinas (or yellow, if you want to cheer it up). The pleating was the spotlight this season—a touch Miyake-esque, but Casasola put her own signature spin on that look. And her showpiece efforts featuring multicolored silk fringe simultaneously contrasted with the pleats theme and carried the collection’s symbolic weight. The fringe appeared as if they were doing a little dance in celebration.

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British Rose. Erdem AW15

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Beautifully embroidered dresses styled with horse-riding boots? Definitely yes. That’s a cool masculine touch in a very feminine area. And it really makes the whole look great and not so banal. This season, the British “Valentino-aspiring” designer, Erdem Moralioglu, brings British aristocrat’s daughter to the world of hunting and romance, giving her not only fancy floral dresses, but croco-patent boots. She shows a bit of nipples, she exposes her shoulders. The new character of Erdem’s woman is curious and intriguing… and she’s not scared of covering a magnificently embroidered skirt with a burgundy turtleneck.

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Plastic is Fantastic. Mary Katrantzou AW15

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It’s the first good collection Mary Katrantzou presented for a loooong time. And the Greek designers proves, that plastic is fantastic, if you know how to use it. This might surprise you, but this entire collection has been made out of plastic. PLASTIC. Well, of course she used a bit of wool and silk there and there, but… the spongy clutches, details and pink runway are giving us a note, that the sponges that we use in our kitchens are trendy. Coming back to Mary – the designer totally leaves digital prints behind, which were her signature, and gives us feminine, flawless silhouettes. The bold colours, comfortable volumes and affordable-looking skirts plan to be best-selling this season. Personally, I like this new face of Mary Katrantzou.

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Artisanal Basics. Faustine Steinmetz AW15

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Faustine Steinmetz, the girl of the moment from London, took her techniques to the next level in her quest to make everyday clothing special and and artisan. Jeans came hand-felted and brushed with orange and white details to outline the stitching in a trompe l’oeil effect, or painted in silicone with thick, whipped strokes that were echoed in jewellery and hair pieces by Lara Jensen. For AW15, the young designer prove, that even the basics of our wardrobe can be revisited – I wish to touch one of these trousers. They seem to be out of this world. Until now, Steinmetz has been hand-weaving all her fabrics, but a sponsorship this season from Cotton USA meant that she was able to buy sustainable, materials. But she still gave them her very special and specific treatment: “It’s a bit like a painting,” she noted of the adding of felt and paint to her denim canvas and the way she had digitally printed blurry Photoshop lines onto jeans not so typical. “This was a reflection on if I were to buy fabric, like other people do – and their life is much easier, I’m sure – where would I want to take it, and why would I do that?

Photography Philip Trengove

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