LFW Spring/Summer 2015 Trend Recap

As the curtains falls on another London Fashion Week, We've been reflecting on the most persistent trends for Spring / Summer 2015. We may have had few screaming and headline grabbing outfits among peacocking crowds in the courtyard at Somerset House, but it was a different story on the catwalk.
With the exception of few designers like Tom Ford or House of Holland who went against the grain with sexed up 70s glam, the catwalk was dominated by pastels, loose fit boxy dresses and tops, midi pleats, maxi skirts, comfy trainers and flat sandals.
Though seemingly minimalist most of collections had a share amount of sparkle sparkle or slightly subversive twist to them. Weather it was high-tech reflective fabrics or glow in the dark accessories there were plenty of little surprises and interesting juxtapositions to delight the audience.

One trend that looks like it’s in for the long haul is ‘normcore’. Coined by a New York trend agency back in October last year, normcore is less about standing out and more about functional, fuss-free dressing. Looking effortlessly sharp without making a big statement. Paul Smith was an enthusiastic proponent of the look, using a cool and crisp palette for his clean, uncluttered Spring styles:

Similarly, Roksanda although plumping for brighter, more summery shades, kept things relatively simple with colour blocking and clean lines:

And despite Fashion East making more headlines this week when a man fell through the roof mid-show, there were a few normcore gems in their latest collection. Don’t get us wrong, the weird and whacky were still represented but these two looks were a subtle acknowledgment of normcore injected with their own quirky twist:

Most of the collections we saw gave a nod to the fact prints are going to be a big deal come Spring 2015, our favourites were the artful Antonio Berardi and the ever inventive Matthew Williamson, whose eclectic new season looks ranged from power dressing in pink to highly decorated outfits from top to toe:

One of the most welcome trends in our book was for pleats - yes they may be a pain to maintain but pleats are incredibly flattering on pretty much everyone Christopher Kane and J. JS Lee were just two of many to jump on the pleat train:

With a few notable exceptions, neutral colours were dominant this London Fashion Week, we had a sea of white at Amanda Wakeley, largely shades of grey and beige at Emilia Wickstead and at high street brand Whistles, colour was most definitely out: 

We also couldn't help but notice a subtle yet welcome change in the appearance of this year's models. On the whole, they all looked a lot healthier and a much wider age range was represented. So it would seem that last year's pledge by London Fashion Week and the British Fashion Council to combat unhealthy body image and stereotypes has been taken seriously. We applaud them for staying true to their word, let's just hope this isn't a temporary trend and becomes the norm for the catwalk.

So, the moral of story for the next season? It seems to be keep it simple, keep it understated. Unless of course prints are involved, in which case, the bolder the better! London Fashion Week is always a circus, but it’s been a refreshing change to see ‘normal’ make a comeback, roll on Spring 2015.