New York Fashion Week: Matthew Williamson A/W 2008

I'm afraid it's time for my bi-annual Matthew Williamson love-in. There's something about this designer and his amazing use of colour and texture that has me in raptures time after time. The Winter cosiness of this collection was hard to ignore, and I also loved the fact that, after last season's globe-trotting looks, this season Williamson took inspiration from the English countryside, albeit glossed up with a bit of patent, yards of chiffon and a lot of prints.

It was colour that was the star of this show. From toned-down brights to muted blue and navy, it caused plenty of oohs as we pored over the pictures. Short fit and flare dresses and jackets in a myriad of jewel colours reminded us what Williamson is most famous for. Reminiscent of the hippy garments you might find on Camden market, but given a high-fashion twist with frilled trims and amazingly intricate stripes, they eschew the trends we've seen bubbling up in New York so far, but still look modern.

The coats, in particular, were beautiful, from a navy patent shearling jacket with a beige knit trim, to a slouch metallic parka with a fur-trimmed hood; the winter version of the khaki garment from the Summer collection. The pixellated rose print gave a techy twist on an old classic. It worked well on the chiffon dress, but the belted suit was a bit too 90s for my taste.

A rare pair of trousers - in this case inky skinnies - was a highlight, teamed with an embellished top and stunning fur jacket. Obviously a controversial choice, there was a lot of fur in the collection and sadly it looked authentic. Here's hoping if the high street decide to copy these pieces, they'll do so a little more humanely. Also bound to catch the eye were a bold tree print that looked almost batik-like, and any icy blue multi-frilled dress that must have taken hours to sew.

Finally we have the trademark ethereal printed chiffons for evening. They were perhaps not so suited to the countryside theme as some of the other pieces, but beautiful nonetheless. Williamson roughed them up by teaming them with chunky jackets and parkas for a more juxtaposed feel, or adding chunky fur neck pieces to super-short dresses for texture.

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Posted by Gemma on February 6, 2008 12:10 PM in Fashion Week| New York Fashion Week
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