Paul Smith ready to wear spring 2011 collection was a delight to see. Paul Smith is a world renowned British designer whom I love, he is known for his menswear inspired looks for womenswear collections and he did not fail to deliver.
The lines in the collection were so simple and clean and brought out the chic girl on that runway. I must say everything that was presented worked so well together from the well tailored trousers to the pops of colours that can be seen throughout each look. It was a strong collection that had an essential underlying femininty that for me, helped bring a sense of fun and drama, which ultimately kept me interested and had me on the edge of my sit looking forward to the next look I would see.
Within the menswear pieces the trousers just stopped shy of the ankles (a trend that we are seeing a lot for the spring and summer) it is such a flattering cut for trousers and only added to the feminity that binds the whole collection. Interesting sparks of real innovation and creativity made for pleasant surprises like the strips of colour and polka dots above the hem of the trousers, adding something fresh to menswear pieces.
The colour pallet of the collection was unqestionably perfect and was one of the reasons the collection was so strong and beautiful. Colours ranged from purples, deep greens, navys to brighter colours such as orange and yellows. The collection also featured some pretty chic polka dot and stripe prints! All the colours complemented each other perfectly. Most outfits were light and screamed that this was a spring/ summer collection. But even if the outfit was predominately dark there was always a pop of colour in the form of an accessory. Like this purple outfit with the belt providing that much needed colour pop of neon (above).
One of the most eye catching aspects of this collection which admittedly made me squeal in excitement occasionally were the addition of the accessories from the silk polka dotted pocket squares to handbags that had a just the right amount of a splash of colour. These little extras enhanced the overall looks and only sold the outfit to me more.
Makeup was simple with nude and neutral tones being used so as not to take anything away from the impact that the clothes were making. The large backcombed quiffs hairstyles with the slick backed sides only added to the sense of drama on the runway, it really gave a sense that the clothes were made for the cool chic uptown girl.
I could really see the usual stamp of the Paul Smith design in this collection, there was impressive femininty in the tailoring of the menswear pieces. Even more impressive was the use of prints not just in the menswear inspired lookes but in the chiffon sheer dresses that floated down the runway beautifully. The bold colours of shirt dresses and accessoried really added to the excitement of the collection. Overall the collection certainly showed that this is Paul Smith’s expertise, its rare to find such femininty and softness in menswear inspred looks, but this collection was made to look effortless and chic.
Photo Sources: Elle UK
Tags: British Designer, Fashion, menswear, Paul Smith, Photos, Spring/ Summer Collection 2011
Fashion Loving Blog 