London Fashion Week FW17: VIN + OMI Present Submerge

VIN + OMI are known for their elaborate show sets during London fashion Week and as a brand famed for its couture, it draws in a pretty impressive crowd. For FW17 the brand has partnered with the iconic Michelle Violy Harper to produce its first ever ready to wear collection. Exciting stuff right?

With Violy as their muse, VIN + OMI have created a fresh aesthetic with new silhouettes and shapes to flatter form. Bold new patterns and colours reflect a fantasy waterworld, using fabrics made from recycled plastic collected from the ocean alongside the highest quality silks, sustainable latex and wool. The duo are always exploring new methods of fabric manipulation and fabrication and with Submerge for FW17, they’ve produced their most relatable and wearable collection yet.

“The collection is for that international, creative, art loving woman, with a sprinkling of menswear in there too. The collection has a balance of light pieces and heavier winter outerwear, pastel shades and bold colours. Global temperatures are changing and people are jumping on planes more often. Seasonal collections need to reflect this.” VIN + OMI

In a fully immersive London Fashion Week show staged at The Sanderson Hotel packed with the fashion elite, celebrities, and me, models walked the boards of the Perrier-Jouet enchanted garden before taking to the sidewalk to showcase the collection. A co-ed show saw both men’s and womenswear together on the runway, topped off with VIN + OMI’s signature quirky accessories including oversized silk mittens and zip tie jewellery in uber bright colours as well as hand drawn shoes. Oversized proportions and elongated shoulders and sleeves have been a favourite with many designers in the FW17 Showcases and these extreme shapes managed to remain flattering to the female form at VIN + OMI.

“My obsession with creating clothes that are avant garde, and steeped in the fantasy of the awe inspiring underwater world inspired me to work closely with VIN + OMI to create a collection that both challenges and delights. I was drawn to their work because they push boundaries and are able to explore and translate not only concepts, but also feelings.” Michelle Violy Harper

Radio 1 DJ Jo Whitley took to the runway for the finale alongside her two sons and daughter Coco, who led the finale, saying “well they got me out of Doc Martens!” As she closed the show.

Every Fashionista worth her Himalayan Pink Salt knows that London Fashion Week is where we look to find fresh new shapes, silhouettes and colours, it’s where most emerging trends come from and the VIN + OMI show provided a hotbed of inspiration for the high street. Come September, expect to see chiffon and mesh daubed with watercolours and frills (already huge news for SS17) on a high street near you.