Fri 24 Feb, 2012 UJ LFW AW12 Round Up If you weren’t doing the LFW rounds this week, you probably still noticed the circus was in town. British pride shone through with London first-timers (Moschino Cheap and Chic) and returners (McQ, Stella) showing in the capital. Collections seem to have grown up - even La Wintour agreed - without losing their London flavour. On a stateside note, appearances from heavy hitters like Rihanna, Kanye and Lana Del Rey were in abundance, and the usual fash-friends-for-photos duos (no finger pointing) were seen front row. Digital fever gripped attendees young and old - hands were too busy with smartphones tweeting/snapping/videoing to be able to clap, and shows such as McQ and Mulberry were streamed live. And then there were the parties. Oh, the parties. These are our AW12 highlights. show photos As usual, fridges were stocked, seats stacked and guests quenched with rainbow bottles of Glacéau vitaminwater. The fash-pack were out in force at PPQ, Mark Fast and Ashish: Bip Ling, Peaches Geldof, Jameela Jamil, Paloma Faith, Pandemonia and Mr Kanye West. Shows were all over the fashion spectrum: grown-up romance from PPQ (we want a bike!), 90s grunge at Mark Fast and Ashish’s mix of yin-yangs, tie-dye and brights which wouldn’t look out of place at a Goan rave. We’ve already made a mental shopping list. Click to see the Glacéau vitaminwater show photos EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT FUR: Dip-dyed, colour-blocked, in square bibs (Peter Pilotto), shaggy (Mulberry), fluoro (Matthew Williamson), tossed over the shoulder (Roksanda Ilincic) or adorning heads (Temperley, Moschino Cheap And Chic): fur dominated LFW. TOM FORD: The designer air-kissed editors and talked through his entire fall collection every half hour, all day long at his private showing. TECH: LFW sponsor Vodafone installed 10 extendable cables into mini drawers at every front row seat at Somerset House. Twitpics were resuscitated. PUFFAS: Forget shiny garbage-bag coats of yore. Autumn’s puffas are nipped at the waist, covered in sheer tulle (Marios Schwab), and fashioned from the softest Nappa leather (Burberry). PARTY PHOTOS It was a vodka marathon this season with a wealth of Belvedere cocktails at fash week after parties London-wide. Erin O’Connor’s She Died of Beauty party pulled quite the crowd (the terrace at The Ivy Club was packed with the usual attendees - read Daisy Lowe, Zara Martin), while at Stella’s 400-strong soirée, a rather sedate veggie dinner was followed by Alexa Chung being hypnotized and levitated. Matthew Williamson attracted the disco-dancing set to Nobu: Jodie Harsh shared moves with Twiggy to tunes by Scarlett Etienne. Lastly, Viv went all out, naturally, with a tranny-heavy party at The Box. The arty-meets-it crowd (Damien Hirst, Christina Hendricks) reigned - with the icing on the (low-fat) cake being Janice Dickinson (we love!). What a week. Well done Belve and Mission PR. Click to see Belvedere party photos 5 OF THE BEST COLLECTION: Christopher Kane’s ‘Lurid’ collection saw the designer reinvent himself once again. Wood-effect prints, a palette of blood red and purple, luxe black fur 'strip' coats and brocade? Yes, please. We’ll have one of everything in houndstooth from the House of Holland show too, thanks. SHOW: McQ pulled out all the stops for its first-ever show. Models walked down a runway of dead leaves donning dramatic hair ‘halos’, tulle and bright, floral cocktail dresses accessorised with elbow-length gloves. PARTY: Stella McCartney hosted a dinner for friends—Anna Wintour, Rihanna, Alexa Chung, Kate Moss, and Yasmin Le Bon amongst others. Hans Klok’s magic show was followed by a flash mob of models in sultry eveningwear dancing on tables. SURPRISE: Chinese whispers along the back row of Mark Fast revealed who donned the front: Kanye West! SOUNDTRACK: The soundtrack of Drive at Marios Schwab and Marina & The Diamonds shaking the seats at Burberry Prorsum. LFW Round Up Mix If you liked the heavy beats of last week’s mix, then here’s another LFW-inspired podcast from Audio Sushi. We were all over the mixes at the shows, which ranged from movie soundtracks (Christopher Kane, Roksanda Ilincic) to trance-meets-Bollywood at Ashish and industrial grunge at Fashion East. There was even live music from queen teen Charli XCX at the Fred Butler presentation, which you can download here. Play TOP #LFW TWEETS @TheSTStyle Badly dressed people with stupid hair: the world's fashion press arrive at London Fashion Week. RG #LFW @PoppyD There’s a man wearing a sieve as an earring. A sieve as an earring. A SIEVE AS AN EARRING. This might be my last season. #LFW @SHOWstudio Billingsgate for Peter Pilotto. Scraped my face up off the floor and tried to look decent. Today = all killer no filler. Brutal but crucial @spicerlife Well the Stella lot'll be off to Scotch now, the secret place everyone knows about. Secret is the new hot @HannahRochell Apparently this bag is designed to carry 5 CHAMPAGNE BOTTLES! What a brilliant idea. #louisvuitton Retweeted by times fashion @HilaryAlexander What’s the difference between NewYorkFashionWeek and @LondonFashionWk? You don’t hear photographers shouting ‘please uncross your leg’ @madeuptweet Mary K show notes proclaim "Colour is the fruit of life." Totes profound! Now pass me a kumquat, unpaid intern #LFW Retweeted by Melanie Rickey @_lulukennedy Lucked out at @Simone_Rocha_ - seated next to my favourite front rower @Brixsmithstart and Gladys the pug…who is being "totally zen" ♥ UJ LOVES PRODUCT PICK - Limited Edition LOVE Grab a boxed limited edition of LOVE issue 7, created in line with international fashion weeks as an AW12 souvenir. It includes a 32-page story of Mario Testino (who also shot the Moss/Stone cover). Each one is hand numbered, and 50 have been randomly signed by Testino himself. Want! LOVE 7 ‘What’s new Pussycat?’, £65. Available at Condé Nast Worldwide News store, Dover Street Market, Tate Modern and The National Portrait Gallery. UJ LOVES - Pandemonia Pandemonia, UJ’s fave 7ft blow-up plastic postmodern princess, was doing the rounds this week. Check out her twitter to see what she’s up to. by JC, MY, RT, TR, and KS LIKE SHARE FORWARD PREVIOUS EDITION (c) 2012 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved. Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free daily mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.