Day 4 - There is only one McQueen.

As promise, here is my day 4 analysis of London Fashion Week, and of course, how can I not write about Alexander Mcqueen and his successor, Sarah Burton? Also featured, the Topshop Unique collection, which brough coolness to the catwalk without being unwearable. 

Every fashion and design student/industry expect has a deep hearted loved of McQueen - it is instilled in our creative blood from day 1 (that and of course, Vivienne Westwood). So, when the McQueen dreadfully passed away, there was almost a nervousness in the air of who would keep the McQueen house running and keep the designs true to their pre-accessor. Bring in Sarah Burton. Originally personal assistant to McQueen, once Gucci confirmed the continuation of the brand, it was only right to put Burton in place as creative director, and she has indeed stepped up to the job title.

Said to be of a woman who is a night creature that drifts beytween dream and reality, McQueen's gothic romantic work plays through the entire collection, with Burton showing her skill in tailoring through the emaculate dinner and tuxedo jackets - worthy of the red carpet. The floral print that was present in the men's collection also makes an appearance in this dreamy story, showing the importance of identity and belonging. With the feminine silhouettes and romantic story telling qualities of the garments, could the rumours be true of Burton taking up the empty throne at Dior after Simons? One would hope not, as as far as I can see, McQueen is still present at London Fashion Week. 

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Now, to the other end of the fashion spectrum, we have Topshop Unique, but not as you know Topshop.

 My first memory of Topshop was when I was 10 years old and my sister and mum took me to Topshop in Staines-on-Thames to find my sister some clothes - there were metal baskets of sale items, and it was reminiscent of a Woolworths for clothing (we all remember Woolworths). add 10 years on and Topshop has now become every cool-girls guilty pleasure - especially now that Topshop Unique exist - our inner Kate Moss can now scream out in happiness! 

Showing the juxtoposition between the 'proper girl' and her naughty alter ego, creative director Geoffrey Finch exclaimed back stage that 'we wouldn't want anything to be too proper', pointing to Topshop Unique's image as being for the girl about town. Garments were contrasted against each other with elegant feminine cuts, against masculine, sexy materials - models donned grungy makeup whilst holding scruffed up 'sex hair', as if mum was dragging her angsty teenager to see her grandparents on a saturday afternoon. Still with Topshop's inherent 90's theme in the mix, Topshop Unique collection was the collection to see, the must on the list, that brought reality back into the mix and made fashion buyable (and East London worthy).

images - vogue.co.uk