London Fashion Week closes tonight after showcasing over 250 designers and taking an estimated £100m worth of orders. In this post we take a look back over some of our favourite AW16 print inspiration highlights whilst also discussing how they can best be applied to ready made garments.
Fydor Golan
Fashion duo Fydor Golan have collaborated with everyone from My Little Pony to Microsoft and their collections are becoming increasingly eclectic with each season. The vintage female faces juxtaposed with oversized coca cola logos on A-line coats and maxi dresses could easily be re interpreted as CMYK jumbo prints or all-overs for the same bold and graphic effect.
Zandra Rhodes
Queen of the screen printed repeat pattern Zandra Rhodes showed her signature prints alongside new styles inspired by the iconic New York skyline. Heavy brocade was cleverly mixed with delicate printed chiffon to create a textural contrast and to top it all off the collection was presented against a backdrop of textile printing table top covers. You can replicate this effect on ready made garments by combining standard prints with flock or puff ink.
Shrimps
If your style is more illustrative then perhaps Shrimps’ hand drawn and digitally rendered repeat patterns serve as better inspiration. Simpler arrangements are brought to life with either fur or embroidered embellishment. Experiment with pattern and texture in your own collections by adding embroidery to either plain or printed garments.
Temperley London
The epitome of British heritage and feminine luxury the Temperley London AW16 collection combined delicate floral patterns with graphic monochrome imagery and shapes. The ‘cross stitch effect’ is a great example of how stylising a traditionally colour heavy print can reduce the palette to just 3 or 4 shades.
Holly Fulton
Holly Fulton’s collection is a perfect example of how contrasting styles can work together to create a unique cohesion. Folky paisley meets striking geometry and Tudor-esque silhouettes are offset by sporty knitwear whilst the monochrome palette brings everything together. If you’re struggling to create impact with one colour printing black on white garments is definitely the safest and often most cost effective option.
Anya Hindmarch
Rubik’s cube colours, retro gaming characters and an emphasis on pixels were the backbone of Anya Hindmarch’s AW16 outerwear and accessories which transport us to an 80’s arcade. If you’ve yet to make a leap towards creating patterns for prints the using the pixel template is a great starting point. Try experimenting with classic colour palettes as well as varying the size to alter the overall effect of the finished garments.
