Osman A/W11 – London Fashion Week

Osman Yousefzada is known for his enduring love of clean shapes and structures, and his Autumn/Winter 2011 is no exception, but the designer has gone further this time and explored new ways, notably by working on texture and colours. “The collection is still about purity of line, but a lot more texture,” he confided to Vogue a few days before the show.

The silhouettes are impeccable, as always, and the blend of different materials and textures, such as cashmere, wool, leather and sheer voile gives them an even more luxury feel. The most stunning part of the collection though, has been brought by the use of block colours, which helps reveal and highlight the purity of lines and the perfection of cuts. Bright pinks, oranges, turquoises, literally took over the catwalk. The bright pink dress with a splash of electric blue on the front represented for me the highlight of the collection, making such a strong statement – and the contrast between these two complementary colours was to die for.

Other highlights included the large trousers in black or smokey grey shades, teamed with tight tops in grey or creme, sometimes lightened up by a hint a bright colour, such as lime for instance, and the white pieces, absolutely stunning, including the white and blue dress that opened the show, almost transporting us under the sun of Greece and, on this particularly rainy and cold Sunday, it was much welcome.

Laurie Guillem