London Fashion Week – Todd Lynn SS13

It is quite a fascinating, dark – in every sense – collection that Todd Lynn offers this season, inspired by Heart of Darkness and Peter Beard, whose collage works on Africa wildlife, mixing black and white photography, ink or even animal’s blood, have been exploring the curious relationship between beauty and horror since the mid fifties.

As a reference to Beard’s art, the designer used an innovative print technique, where colour washes are drawn onto photographic paper then scaled up and printed onto silk. The result is extraordinary, magnified by the structured, sharp cut of the dresses. Razor-sharp tailoring has always been Todd Lynn’s signature and this season’s collection certainly doesn’t disappoint.

The tailoring is perfect, with clean lines combined with breathtaking details such as gathered-forward pleats and raglan sleeves to structure the silhouette, large safari pockets, or large ostrich belts, coarsely stitched.

Hues of sand, ochre, olive and deep green dominate the collection, gradually replaced with black all-overs, in perfect harmony with the story of safari, colonisation and corruption Lynn wants to tell through this collection.

Louboutin shoes with lace-detailing, declined in the same palette added a glamorous touch.

Laurie Guillem