Just because London fashion designers have never had a power lunch on Capitol Hill doesn’t mean they can’t dress you for one.
Delicate femine looks at Muscat Vielma. Photo by Samantha Sault.
You may only hear about the most eccentric designers in London, but there are nonetheless a vast number who create flattering clothing for the modern woman that would work well even in Washington. If you walk past the massive catwalk tent and venture inside Somerset House, the historic arts building on the Thames that is the home of Fashion Week, you’ll find many incredible but little-known designers exhibiting in the massive London Fashion Week Exhibition.
Leather jackets from the Spring Peridot collection. Photo by Samantha Sault.
Peridot London is one such brand. Creative Director
Rachel Wilson is the granddaughter of
Ernest Asser of the famed
Turnbull & Asser on Saville Row, and she has developed a line that is quite simply “elegant and easy to wear,” her sales representative said. The key elements of the brand are fit and fabric, as the designs are perfectly tailored and made in all English fabrics, including some sumptuous leathers and a vibrant chartreuse silk.
Black launched her own line in 2010. For spring, she has feminine silhouettes in a minimalist, almost futuristic, style.
A new take on the feminine shape by designer Liz Black. Photo by Samantha Sault.
Finally, the new line
Muscat Vielma by
Kevin Muscat and
Gabriel Vielma just launched this season but is sure to make a splash with the designers’ new interpretation of power dressing. “We wanted to create a collection that is a new style of power dressing,” said Kevin Muscat at the designers’ presentation at
the W Leicester Square. “So, it’s not the 80s-style big shoulders, not power dressing to look like men, but a very strong, quiet, sexy style that’s powerful from within.” Indeed, the delicate palette of blush, navy, and cream is feminine but makes a strong statement.
Muscat Vielma Spring Collection. Photo by Samantha Sault.
Samantha Sault is a writer in Washington, D.C., who covers global fashion and the intersection of fashion and politics. Her work has appeared in the Weekly Standard, the Washington Times, and Policy Review, as well as her own blog, SamanthaOnStyle.com.
