On the fourth day of London Fashion Week, English designer Emilia Wickstead unveiled a collection that was not only devastating in its simplicity, but also winningly whimsical and charming.
Like most designers at September’s fashion extravaganza, Wickstead chose to showcase her new collection with a film.
The designer is renowned for her delicately feminine tailoring, modern silhouettes and mix of traditional and modern influences, and these influences were all present in abundance in her Spring Summer 2021 collection.
In addition to this, Wickstead layered a charming element of fantasy to her otherwise designs.
“I want to educate my customers about keeping the fantasy alive in fashion and not losing the dream”. She told Vogue magazine about the new collection. “At the same time, we’ve all gone through a huge trauma, and should dress for our time,” she added.
For the new collection, the designer sought inspiration from a book that she found on her daughter’s bedside table.
James Norman Hall and Charles Bernard Nordhoff’s Faery Lands of the South Seas is a work of non-fiction which describes the places which the authors have visited in language which might feel more at home in a fairytale.
Wickstead was also inspired by a French artist called Lucien Gauthier whose images capture the beauty of the island of Tahiti and the simple styles of dress of the island’s female population.
In Wickstead’s hands, these influences came magically alive in a series of delicate dresses, skirts and matching separates graced by an abundance of prints – everything from delicate fern designs and intriguing geometric patterns, to whimsical sailboats; and a series of monochromatic dresses in appealing shades of red, yellow, and beige. The outfits were accessorised with elegant pearl earrings and shapely little pouches with in colours which matched the outfits.
These were outfits designed to look just as good on a trip to the shops as they will on a night out at the opera. Explaining the decision to prioritise practicality in her latest collection, Wickstead told Vogue: “We don’t know what the future holds, but I do know I’ll need to work from home and pick up the kids from school. So, I needed the collection to resonate [with this lifestyle] and feel right for these times,”
In her in the fashion industry, Emilia Wickstead has become one of the most sought after and influential fashion designer’s in the world, with a host of A list fans including Kate Middleton and Gwyneth Paltrow. On this form, it is not difficult to see why.
More information about Emilia Wickstead can be found here.
For information on other fashion events in London, please click here.
