Paul Costelloe's Summer/Spring 2011 catwalks show opens up London Fashion Week.

Winter is nearly upon us so our thoughts turn to Spring/summer as LFW SS11 begins. Even the weather warmed to the event as it went from crisp chilly days to end with blazing hot sunshine.
Early on Day one and opening the show at the BFC marquee catwalk was Paul Costelloe. Still sleepy, frantic shouting backstage put a smile on our bleary eyed faces.

PAUL COSTELLOE

Titled ‘A Long Day’s Night’, the collection is girlie and described as ‘Tinkerbell turned party girl’.

Cropped biker jackets are thrown in to give a harder edge but are softened with the use of lighter colours and soft sheen fabrics.
Skirt lengths go to the extremes - either short or maxis. The short skirts are fun and flirty whilst the maxis are elegant and ethereal – one a sensual diaphanous fabric with modesty only prevailing through the pale pink and blue zigzag wave pattern.

Colours are sugar pink, mint green, silver, pearl, greys and navy. The pinks formed abstract checks with navy and white, lightly spice up graphic patterns with pale apricot, zigzagged with pale blue in waves and graduated alone from light to a bolder hue. The mint green was refreshing in a shiny jacquard fabric.
Textures come in metallic weaves and twill, patterns in abstract checks and graphics

Large bows don the back of low backlines.

The short skirts swirled in skater style, cocooned legs in tulip and puff ball shapes and looked art deco in a dropped waist pleated style.

The more interesting were the silver embossed puff ball dress tied at the bottom to form the shape of a large bow.........

........and the jacquard mint green dress looking futuristic with its stiff 3 tiered skirt.

Favourites:

The loose fitting hooded shiny grey jacket with short puff sleeves – it had a Red riding hood feel to it (minus the red of course) especially teamed with the pearl twill weave skater dress.........

.........And the Grecian goddess style dress in pearl with its short puffed out mini skirt.

To keep the smile on our faces, we were treated to Costelloe’s six sons strutting down the catwalk (albeit nervously) suited and booted.