William Tempest

The hottest ticket in town was this evening was William Tempest at Vauxhall Fashion Scout. Having dressed the likes of Emma Watson and Victoria Beckham since winning the Merit Award for AW09, his third and final sponsored show saw the front row packed out by fashion cognoscenti such as Peaches Geldof, celeb stylist James Brown, Vogue’s Jessica Bumpus, Caryn Franklin, Sophie Anderton and Elle columnist and presenter Louise Roe.

Entitled “Under the Abaya” and inspired by Islamic architecture and the legend of the Queen of Sheba journeying to Israel, the show opened to the eerie strains of wind whistling across desert dunes.

The initial palette of midnight blue and black was creatively worked in contrasting geometric panels of textured fabrics - matt leather with soft stone-washed silks and glamorous double duchess satins. The mood suddenly changed as a pale gold lame dress appeared, followed by shades of aqua, emerald and sand. Highlights included a simple floor length column gown of contrasting black and sand.

For AW10, Tempest’s signature manipulation of fabric channelled the architecture of Rafael Vinoly and Tom Wright, designer of Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab Hotel – think sweeping, sculptural, clean lines. These could be seen in clearly in oversized shoulder details and dresses with an exaggerated hourglass silhouette created by nipped in waists and lantern shaped skirts. Hems grazed toned thighs or were floor sweeping (or both as featured on the dress pictured top), perfect for red carpets and stealing men’s hearts.

Words: Hannah Kane

Images: David Coleman