LONDON — London Fashion Week rolled out the big guns Monday, with British design powerhouse Burberry hosting the glitziest catwalk show of the season. Hunter, the maker of the classic Wellington boots, evoked wild Scottish countryside with indoor waterfalls, while Christopher Kane seduced with clothes featuring nude life drawings.
Here are some highlights from Day 4:
• BURBERRY PRORSUM: With the Oscars clashing with London Fashion Week, the past few days have seen a dearth of big names gracing catwalk front rows. Not so at Burberry. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal squeezed in with Grammy-winning musician Sam Smith, and all the top British models were here: Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn.
Naomi Campbell, sporting a fluffy white fur coat, arrived late and had to push through the crowds to get to her seat midshow.
On the catwalk, the label reinforced fashion’s current fling with all things retro with a collection rich in patchworks of floral embroidery, bohemian ponchos and quiltlike textures.
The first look, a cozy turquoise and grass-green printed poncho laden with long suede fringes, set the tone. Then came folksy tiered, paisley dresses and hippie versions of the brand’s bestselling trench coats, all tan suede and adorned with tassels.
A tan suede cape-dress, covered all over with tiers of fringes — and worn with tasseled shoe-boots, no less — won approving nods from the stars and models gathered in the front row.
Backstage, design chief Christopher Bailey said he wanted to explore “all the different crafts that we have in the British Isles.”
Burberry is the biggest and most successful British brand at London Fashion Week, and it’s a fairly safe bet that whatever Bailey sends down the catwalk will be copied in a few months in a store near you.
“You know, it’s always delightful when something really resonates with people,” Bailey said modestly of the influence he wields in fashion. “But you never really know when you do a show how people might express it or translate it.”
Bailey said he was “intensely proud” that Eddie Redmayne — who had modeled for Burberry — won best actor at the Oscars on Sunday.
“Not only is he one of the most charming people that you’ll ever meet, but he’s one of the most talented actors that you’ll ever meet as well, so I’m completely delighted for him,” he said.
• CHRISTOPHER KANE: For some designers, seduction may be manifest in a low neckline or a thigh-high slit. But this is Christopher Kane, and his version of sensuality is nothing one would expect.
Kane, known for his creative and kooky designs, created dresses that featured sketches of nude bodies — taken from life drawing classes. The shapes appear abstract from afar, but on scrutiny one can make out a hand here, entwined limbs there.
The designer said desire was a central theme, and he was aiming for “something sexual but not grotesque.”
Those sketches, with their torsos, breasts and limbs, also found their way onto ethereal tulle dresses, and the artsy theme continued on pieces featuring a woman’s silhouetted profile. Elsewhere, there were sleek black suits with pops of bright red on the lapels, velvet tuxedos, and bright red and blue coats with a bold lightning pattern.
Kane was acquired in 2013 by luxury group Kering (the company behind Gucci and Saint Laurent), and recently opened his first flagship store in London. Business interests may mean that many of the pieces are made for the consumer market, but the designer was clearly keen to preserve the eccentricity that first won him acclaim.
