London Fashion Week – DAKS SS13

Daks kicked off Day 2 of London Fashion Week with simple yet extremely elegant silhouettes consisting mostly of separates with sharp, clean cuts counterbalanced by the fluidity and lightness of fabric.

The collection is said to have been inspired by the free form handwork of Abstract Expressionists Robert Motherwell, Jasper Johns and Clyfford Still. American-born creative director Sheila McKain-Waid has translated some characteristics of the New York School painters, such as layered brush strokes or cross-hatched surface techniques, into fashion. Focusing on texture, she used layering as a basis for the collection and successfully gave a certain twist to the traditional house check.

The palette ranged from ethereal bright white at the beginning of the show, gradually increasing in density with hues of nude, pale yellow, camel, and greys, to powerful shiny black at the end.

The collection also included fabulous outerwear – we are talking about British summer here! – with capes, and a trench coat and parka in silk gazar and translucent nylon. All in all, a minimalist yet powerful spring summer collection for the heritage brand.

Laurie Guillem