Acidic brights, fabulous fringing and streetwear to turn even the most cynical of heads

This collection embodies everything I love about fashion! From the clean, bright colours, to the swishy, plumes of feathery fringing, I had joyful chills just watching this show! What a way to open the LFW SS20 season!

Perfect Plumage

Fashion for me is all about fantasy, joy and creative expression. These were all here in spades, but when I dug a little deeper into Fast’s inspiration for the collection, I realised not all was well in paradise… It seems it was the colours of the Amazon that proved inspirational to Mark. Having pored over pages of National Geographic, he imagined a rainforest party attended by the kaleidoscopic species of flora and fauna to be found in this special habitat.

Sadly, of course, the Amazon began burning only months afterwards, so this collection serves as a tribute, and a hopeful paean to a wilderness all but lost…

Colour Me Happy!

Despite the devastating fate of the Amazon, there is no doubt that this collection inspires joy, not least through the copious use of colour. From acidic limes and lemons to raspberry, peach and plum, I was close to salivating at this bounteous fruitfulness! As a wearer of similarly bright colours, I felt inspired to run home and dig out every shade I’d seen on the runway! It’s going to be a blooming lovely SS2020!

On the Fringes…

In much the same way as the plumed pieces, the fabulously fringed gowns created a dramatic sense of movement. These pieces are made to be seen in motion - sashaying down a catwalk is clearly beautiful, but I want to dance in them! If Ginger Rodgers were alive today, she’d be wearing a Mark Fast gown for sure!

Strut-Worthy Styling

Images: Chris Yates

Of course it’s lovely to fantasise about black tie events in full-length, feathered frocks, or cocktail parties in head-to-toe fringing, but not all of us can attend such glamorous gigs on a random Tuesday! And that’s where this collection succeeds: luxurious fantasy fashion, balanced perfectly with a glamorous grunginess that would look perfectly at home on London’s streets. Plume-like feathers and fringing gave way to fishnet fringing and semi-transparent layers of python skin, bodycon dresses and graphic tees. Colour still reigned, but it was tempered and used more selectively, with the addition of inky black and cool white.

Foot* Note

It would be remiss of me, a self-confessed shoe junkie, not to mention the footwear on show here. From the crotch-skimming, snakeskin boots in every shade of purple, to the cutout ankle boots in battery-acid green, this was a collection to swoon over. By contrasting the footwear colour with the outfit, Fast reiterated the exotic feel of each look, evidently inspired by nature itself… Well, have you seen a red-eyed tree frog?

Mesmerising Movement

As I said, these pieces were made to be seen in motion… Here’s the final walk I captured at the show.

Thanks to Mark Fast and Spring London for inviting me. Photos by Chris Yates, courtesy of Spring London. Where unmarked, photos are shot by me from the FROW.

Please share your thoughts on the collection in the comments below.

Thanks!

Nx