London Fashion Week SS12: Margaret Howell

Who: Margaret Howell

What: Relaxed but refined tailoring with an emphasis on cut – crisp white shirts, key shirt dresses, signature navy separates and stripes in between. Pops of deep coral-pink punctuate through neutrals, occasionally appearing with light khakis and stone-coloured separates.

Highlights: Loosely structured shirt dresses, perfect flat summer sandals – classic, two-strap kinds – and a trademark buttercup yellow fisherman trench.

Lowlights: It’s going to cost a lot when we buy the entire collection.

Overall: If only every day could start with Margaret Howell and a Joni Mitchell soundtrack. The British designer has delivered, possibly, the most practical collection for spring 2012 yet with her signature evolving classics. Key this season are crisp white shirts and airy, softly structured shirt dresses that sit free and feminine. Signature stripes, on pyjama dresses and tops, break blocks of stark white and navy separates – high-waisted tapering tailored trousers, easy-breezy pleated skirts and straight shorts. Tomato-red lips deliver a contemporary pop of colour to these classic pieces, but not as boldly as the deep coral that pops between light khaki and stone in a nod, perhaps, towards next spring’s safari trend. Pared-down and unassuming, Howell’s latest collection is spot on in its simplicity, as clean shapes come spiced with elegant, feminine touches – it’s light and airy with perfectly executed pieces that could step straight off the runway into your wardrobe. So wearable, so wonderful.

Watch the video of Margaret Howell’s spring/summer 2012 show below:

Image: Margaret Howell