LFW...Mark Fast

The Mark Fast show was probably the one I've been looking the most forward to, being a knitwear designer. And he didn't disappoint. The collection was based on disintegration and restoration and as indicated by the invitation, was based on a bizarre story about an exotic land full of alligators, birds and butterflies. What Mark did cleverly was integrate his unique style of knitwear into/from the story. It stated in the press release that an acid rain destroys this utopia washing away the pigment, turning everything white.

There were the white pieces that seem to be in most collections this season. Fast's signature body con, open knit was obviously still there, except this time, there were swaths of fringing at hems that gave the pieces a whole new movement, which was breathtaking. I'm not a huge crystal fan, but the Swarovski elements used were stunning intertwined in the knit, adding another dimension to the otherwise restricting body-con silhouette.

(Apologies for the poor picture quality on my own shots here; combination of poor lighting, my camera being temperamental and trying to strain over people to get shots after being crammed into the aisle!!)

The monochrome pieces worked out of their movement and simplicity, but I think the pieces involving the more exotic colours are what stood out and was refreshing after seeing a lot of neutral palettes.

Every piece had an allure to it, whether it was the vibrant fringing swinging, the crystals shimmering or the geommetry of the openness of the knit. I think demonstrating the movement is important because it was such a spectacular feature of the collection.

The finale dress was the most breathtaking of all. Not sure why I filmed it in this angle, but you get the gist!! I want to say that this is one of my favourite collections I have seen so far; the knit, the colours, the idea behind it, although slightly odd!! The final dress was out of this world, but I feel Peter Pilotto's collection had wearability, the idea behind it and the beauty. Nonetheless, Mark Fast will remain one of my favurite knit designers.

After the show, with knitwear on the brain, I spotted this guy. Love the combination of textures, from the open knit of the body and the dramatic sheep like quality around the neck.

Pictures and video by Lauren Sanins, catwalk images from style.com

For the full video of the Mark Fast show, type laurensanins into youtube.com