London Fashion Week A/W 11 kicked off today with yet another wonderful display of Paul Costelloe’s unique tailoring. The Dublin-born designer has opened the last six seasons of London Fashion Week and stayed true to his Irish roots as many models appeared in flashes of emerald green and sporting red crimped bobs. Tartan and tweed covered every inch of his runway providing an attractive combination of classic and chic designs, falling perfectly in line with the increasingly popular ‘utility-wear trend”. His menswear collection consisted of mulberry tones, splashes of khaki and olive and was completed with an ever-charismatic velvet blazer. Costelloe believes his design signature to be, “tailoring with oomph” and it is safe to say that oomph was in abundance as his more out-there pieces appeared to the audience half way through the show. From metallic dresses that retained elegance as their 60’s swing skirts shimmied down the catwalk to collars that were unusually bunched and pleated around the neckline, his designs were as warmly received as the autumnal colours they portrayed. The front row was graced by the likes of Janice Dickenson and Jason Gardiner who both appeared to appreciate the tasteful display of 70’s chic. Once again, Paul Costelloe has wowed both the public and his peers with this wearable collection that will undoubtedly feature in many office wardrobes for months to come. With bizarrely attractive red wigs and a flurry of tweed, London Fashion Week A/W 11 has very much arrived…
By Kirstie Eden
