Yifang Wan’s effortlessly cool SS14
collection left everyone craving glittered blackout sunglasses in
September, so today at Freemasons' Hall we were all eager to see what
the young Central Saint Martins graduate was going to bring to the
table.
An electric atmosphere was immediate as
the show opened to Machine Gun by Portishead. Even though the models
were not equipped with their glasses from last season, they
definitely still had the tougher than nails attitude that is always
expected from Wan's army.
A gorgeous palette of shimmering yale
blue, lilac, dark teal, stone and black complimented each outfit
perfectly. Each look was head-to-toe in the chosen colour, allowing
attention to be drawn to the fabrics. Thick wools with rough edges
provided the warmth needed for London’s winters, however sex appeal
was not amiss with deep v-neck dips and side slits.
Wan's martial art influences were
present again with slitted and pleated skirts, oversized jackets and
asymmetric paneling. The impeccable tailoring behind each and every
one of Yifangs collections enabled this collection to follow suit in
being extremely covetable and desirable.
An interesting feature for AW14 was the
use of strings draping from each outfit, whether it was from the
chest, back or side each model left a trail as they walked behind
them.
For AW13 Fashion Scout awarded Wan with the Merit Award for her simplistic and elegant aesthetic and a
year later nothing seems to have changed.
By Emily Black, (@emilyy_black)
Images by Jamike Latif (@JamikeLatif)