Lou Dalton AW15 Collection

Central to the latest collection for Lou Dalton is the idea of the man beneath the surface, his sensitivity and his vulnerability. Speaking about her collection, Lou said that: “Tailoring and construction is who we are and what we do… I wanted to show the control of functionality, and the softness of the man who wears it”.

This control and yet softness could be seen particularly in the hooded parkas, which were slick and clean from the front but with volume at the back, as well as having hoods being snugly fitted and yet pockets being relaxed and slouchy.

In general, proportions were relaxed. Trousers were loose, as were sleeves, and jackets had a rounded look to them, all of which created the softness that Lou spoke about in her show notes. Mixed with this softness, however, was contrasted with some harsher details, such as the cargo pockets of the suit trousers, the use of the MA1 nylon material that is traditionally used for flight jackets and the utilitarian zips featured throughout the collection which were inspired by those on the spacesuits of Apollo 1.

Further adding to the slight sci-fi feel were the references to Thunderbirds that came in the form of cartoon strips and the Thunderbirds countdown sequence which were printed onto Merino wool knits in celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the classic television show.

The mix of utilitarian sci-fi and soft, slouchiness was further exaggerated when fluffy knits in shades of aqua blue and dirty pink punctuated the otherwise predominantly black collection, softening the otherwise harsh textures of the nylon and the Velcro patches that detailed some of the jackets and sweatshirts.

It was another standout collection from the well known opener of LC:M and set the tone for many of the trends that we have been seeing ever since elsewhere in London and in Milan. In particular, already the idea of slouchy tailoring and relaxed proportions has appeared again and again everywhere from Versace to Burberry, and is sure to be a big trend for next year and Lou Dalton has yet again beaten everyone to the punch with her take on it.