Emilia Wickstead goes puritanical but luxe with AW16 collection

A day and a half after it officially opened, there was a feeling that London Fashion Week finally got started at the Emilia Wickstead show.

All the big fashion editors, still jet-lagged after New York Fashion Week, will nevertheless make a special effort for "Emilia".And when Alexa Chung is on the front row, alongside Natalie Massenet, the ???freshly-Damed??? founder of Net-a-Porter, one knows a label has a certain cachet.

The New Zealand-born designer, now firmly established in London, is an impressively self-made woman whose upscale taste and seamless tailoring skills early on attracted a high-end clientele that has now been built into a list any design house would be envious of.

Top of the address book is the Duchess of Cambridge, who has worn a number of dresses and coats designed by the mother-of-two.While the Duchess favours the more conservative styles and pastel colours that have long drawn Wickstead"s most loyal personal customers, for her catwalk shows the designer always demonstrates a kookier or more dramatic tone.

Emilia Wickstead collection

This winter"s offering stayed with the late mid-century silhouette that Wickstead offered last season but added more volume, cosier textures and deeper colour.Imagine you are the moneyed wife of a business man invited to a posh November dinner party in the middle of the 1973 oil crisis.This is what you would wear.A high-necked, long caped gown in horizontal stripes of brown, lime green, blue and purple was the striking first look.Swoony, if a little de trop for the Palace"s tastes.

With the exception of a couple of minis, and some swoopy wide-legged trousers, this collection was all about the long dress and skirt.It is a romantic, puritanical look that began being fashionable a few years ago when Valentino made modesty the new thing for the younger generation.And it"s had staying power because it appeals to the woman who wants to appear graceful but powerful.

There was a feeling of luxurious upholstery to many of the fabrics, which came in those rich dusky colours beloved by Biba back in the day.The stripes were eventually followed by heavy wools in David Hicks-esque geometrics, but there was a lighter denim story in there too.

With her huge gathered skirts, voluminous sleeves, discreet cut-outs and luxurious textures, Wickstead has mastered contemporary grandeur - no easy thing to do. When her new shop opens on Sloane Street next month she should expect that high class client list to swell.

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