London Fashion Week S/S2010 - Louise Amstrup

LONDON FASHION WEEK S/S2010 - LOUISE AMSTRUP

Call us prophetic here at fashion156, but Louise Amstrup presented a collection which fulfilled our prescient 'Forecast' predictions for Spring/Summer. Eschewing a catwalk show and opting instead for a more intimate presentation, banks of mirrors greeted us as we entered the presentation room at Freemason's Hall. Sleek, body-conscious dresses, panelled much like Pam Hogg's collection with stealthy go-faster insets in silver, black and white, and black sheer recalled the mesh and panelling of the menswear shows.

This apparent sportswear influence resulted in cropped grey jersey sweatshirts, and gauzy, white zip up capes, skillfully inset with neoprene and resulting in a simultaneously delicate yet sculptural form. Fractured crystal prints featured on dresses and cut away vests - short at the front, and expanding into billowing lengths at the back - infiltrated Louise's play with silhouette as protruding crystal-esque shapes crowned shoulders in an alternative on the ubiquitous strong shoulder. Louise's show ticked all of the trend boxes, though this can be attributed more to her innate aesthetic than a pandering to the Summer season's mood.