Mood board: Sophistication has swagger again. After seasons of trainers and sportswear, a new take on smart dressing is dominating. Just look to the smart foulard silks, pencil skirts and pussybow blouses, which Riccardo Tisci debuted at Burberry last season. Outside the shows, hair clips, trench coats and kitten heels are taking centre stage. Ports 1961 has always had a smart yet playful sensibility. Its signature piece is the shirt.
For A/W 2019, the staples of bourgeois dressing, from twinsets to evening dresses fascinated creative director Nataša Cagalj. These were reinterpreted with off-kilter elements, like camel dresses appearing undone at the collarbone, asymmetrically cut blazers and vinyl mackintoshes with flyaway sleeves. Eveningwear and tailoring but twisted and turned. Classic grey, camel, black and white, offset with pops of satsuma, carmine and eggshell.
Best in show: From cashmere to camel hair, bonded wool to houndstooth, luxury lay here in Cagalj’s fabrications. Standout was a zebra stripe knitted sweater with trailing threads, oversized oblique cut blazers and a camel coat worn on the reverse, dangling with long threads of gold chainmail.
Finishing touches: Long tassels dangled from model’s ears or hung low on the décolleté as pendants. The fine strands resembled not bourgeois string of beads, gemstones or plumes of feathers, but dense lengths of hair.
-
Five of the finest compact cameras available todayPocketable cameras are having a moment. We’ve assembled a set of cutting-edge compacts that’ll free you from the ubiquity of smartphone photography and help focus your image making
-
London label Wed Studio is embracing ‘oddness’ when it comes to bridal dressingThe in-the-know choice for fashion-discerning brides, Wed Studio’s latest collection explores the idea that garments can hold emotions – a reflection of designers Amy Trinh and Evan Phillips’ increasingly experimental approach
-
Arts institution Pivô breathes new life into neglected Lina Bo Bardi building in BahiaNon-profit cultural institution Pivô is reactivating a Lina Bo Bardi landmark in Salvador da Bahia in a bid to foster artistic dialogue and community engagement
-
‘Dirty Looks’ at the Barbican explores how fashion designers have found beauty in dirt and decayFrom garments buried in River Thames mud to those torn, creased and stained, ‘Dirty Looks’ is a testament to how ‘creativity and new artistic practices can come out of decay’, its curators tell Dal Chodha
-
Tyler Mitchell’s London show explores the figure of the Black Dandy, ‘imagining what else masculinity could look like’Originally part of a visual essay to accompany the Met’s ‘Superfine’ 2025 Costume Institute exhibition, ‘Portrait of the Modern Dandy’ goes on display at Gagosian Burlington Arcade in London this week
-
Inside Louis Vuitton’s Murakami London pop-up, a colourful cartoon wonderland with one-of-a-kind caféWallpaper* takes a tour of the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up in London’s Soho, which celebrates the launch of a new ‘re-edition’ accessories collection spanning the greatest hits from the Japanese artist’s long-running collaboration with the house
-
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UKAs A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
-
Margaret Howell London Fashion Week Women's S/S 2019 -
London Fashion Week S/S 2023: Ahluwalia to Martine RoseThough slimmed-down, London Fashion Week nonetheless provided the moments of creative expression the city is known for – from Ahluwalia’s ode to Africa to Martine Rose’s much-anticipated runway return
-
Discover these fashion brands at London Craft WeekDuring London Craft Week, fashion brands including Smythson, Bally and Serapian are hosting events across the capital
-
Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London
