London Fashion Week SS16 trends

London Fashion Week consistently delivers on innovation, and this season seemed especially relevant with an inaugural location in Soho's Brewer Street Car Park.

There was modern romance, 90s references, Victoriana, modernism, high brow and lo-fi, and without attaching a label to London Fashion Week it is best described as an eclectic culmination of both quirky and innovative collections. There was plenty of directional fashion and even commercial collections, but its was the 90s influence that gave London its youthful edge.

A new Romanticism

From Giles Deacon's Victorian references, to a celebration of femininity seen at so many catwalk presentations, there were high-cut necklines, intricate lace and sheer fabrics that underlined a new romanticism for SS16. These were underscored by ruffles, as seen at J.W. Anderson, frills as seen at Preen and floral prints as seen at Erdem.

The nineties are back

Truth be told, in London the nineties have never gone away. British designers often reference the 80s and 90s and this season was no exception. We saw electric colours, grunge, high-shine metallics, even 80s power dressing which emphasised shoulder silhouettes. Designers who embodied these previous decades were Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou and Preen. J.W. Anderson also made references in his 'Odyssey' collection with bold shoulders and the mixing of patterns.

More is more

More is more, in volume terms that is. It may be spring, but there is plenty of volume next season, albeit in lightweight fabrics and silhouettes. The focus was on exaggerated details and diaphanous shapes which move away from the body. Floor-skimming hems offer a dramatic finish, as seen at Giles, Jasper Conran and Marques'Almeida.

Yellow is the new green

New York had green as its pop colour for SS16 and London has yellow, buttercup yellow to be exact. Both subtle and summery, the yellow seen in the collections of Burberry, Pringle and Jonathan Saunders was pale and interesting. Elsewhere there were plenty of brights, like an acid-yellow dress seen at Joseph and yellow detailing at Holly Fulton.

Continuing from a trend we saw in New York, graphic black and white gave a modern and dynamic contrast to detailing, as seen at Joseph, or added sophistication with a timeless appeal, as seen at Erdem and Amanda Wakeley. There was plenty of pattern and print, too, this being London, and layered contrast prints put a new focus on geometric fashion. As seen at Roksanda Ilincic, Gareth Pugh and House of Holland - prints were often spliced and came in mismatched patterns and hues.

Florals bloomed across the London collections

If the dress is the key item from the London collections, florals are the key print. Florals literally bloomed across the SS16 catwalk collections, with a focus on English summer garden flowers. Designers combined these prints and patterns with feminine shapes and lightweight materials.

Bare shoulders seem to be the new erogenous zone in fashion, as was already seen in New York. Here cut-out shapes and off-the-shoulder detailing was sexy without being too revealing. This styling was seen mostly on longer length dresses to get the maximum effect, as presented by Pringle, Erdem and Barbara Casasola.

The new trouser shape for next season is a wider leg, as seen at Paul Smith, Christopher Kane and Joseph. Fluid is the key word, as is lightweight and softness. Fabrics came in silks and cotton blends for this loosely tailored and masculine-inspired shape.