London Fashion Week - Michael Van Der Ham S/S 12

Monday afternoon saw me again trekking along to the old eurostar terminal to see the show of Topshop Newgen designer Michael Van Der Ham. If your a regular reader you'll remember how in love I am with this ingenious designer and his particular brand of fusing patterns and textures to create unique and captivating clothing.

This time around the designs were more subtle, delicate and wearable. I loved how the venue for the show created its own kind of contrast with the clothing. The location was rooted in concrete giving it a hard edge while Van Der Ham's designs were softly spoken masterpieces in a pastel colour palette which has been a key trend running through the S/S shows.

















Contrast is a theme in Van Der Ham's work. But gone were the contrasting textures evident in previous collections to be replaced by contrasting patterns which is what makes this collection utterly wearable. These designs were feminine to their core. Empire line dresses, cinched in waists, cap and flared sleeves all featured here. Long sweeping sleeves contrasted against mini like skirts. Maxi dresses with a cap sleeve on one side and no sleeve on the other. This collection is trademark Van Der Ham but inb a more subtle, restrained manner.

Navy blues, sherbert yellows, blacks. white. lilacs and dusty pinks make for a vivid colour scheme and worked well together. The pieces were both fitted and oversized, feminine but with a subtle toughness. Van Der Ham collections are all about contrast. There is one thing I know for sure I wanna live in Michael Van Der Ham's crazy, contrasting but adorable world.