Day one of London Fashion Week was a festival of girlishness. Marta Jakubowski showed bright pinks and naive, childish shapes. Ryan Lo raised smiles with his usual poufy dresses and cartoon motifs. Right now, the entire schedule is dominated by fluff, flowers, layers and frills - see Molly Goddard, Mimi Wade, Ashley Williams and Simone Rocha. But Hannah Weiland of Shrimps - the brand that kick started colourful faux fur mania and pushed forward this girlish renaissance - pared things back for S/S 17. Sure this was still full of 'butter wouldn’t melt' details and sugary sweetness, but there was an elevated sensibility and a focus on simplicity and silhouette over surface. Weiland has always prioritised fabrications. That’s why her coats and clutches did so well - the faux fur is lush and tactile rather than prickly and moulting like high street imitations. But, for this season, she pushed her keen eye for detail further. She’d gone through countless cotton ginghams before settling on the crunchy, stiff polyester-blend option that appeared on easy, wrap front day dresses. The palette was stripped back - green and white dominated. The usual mish-mash of colours and scattering of embellishments and pearls had been cast aside to avoid destracting from the cleverly-cut collars, carefully measured waist lines and intriguing fabric mixes. The vaguely historical silhouettes and prim finishes referenced 18th century French Court but will speak to the modern royalty - the street style stars and fashionable It girls that sport Shrimps.
Faux fur is a hard sell for summer. Weiland’s success is approaching the season instinctively and referencing her personal style and wardrobe. What would she want to wear? What is she in the mood for? Her brand was built on this conviction. She couldn’t find the perfect Breton stripe fuzzy coat so decided to make it herself. It turned out lots of other woman were after the same look. Her intuition served her well for S/S 17 - this looked modern, relatable and easy to wear. That’s what people look for when they shop Shrimps - something to throw on and feel good. And there was plenty of good product here.
