London Fashion Week SS12: Peter Jensen

This is a guest post by Sarah Driscoll, one of our fabulous competition winners. She’s been hitting the tents at Somerset House as a guest fashion reporter for My Fashion Life to cover as many of London’s spring shows as she can make – find out how she got on when we armed her with a bag full of tickets and sent her packing…

Who: Peter Jensen

What: Known for always centring his collections around a famous female muse, Jensen’s SS12 collection focused on troubled jazz singer, Nina Simone.

Highlights: The safari animal printed suits and floral tulle dresses, rounded off with the cute ankle socks and bohemian turbans.

Lowlights: Those who didn’t like the character may have struggled to escape the theme.

Thoughts: It’s quite poignant, considering the recent loss of another infamous troubled jazz singer, that Jensen focused on Nina Simone. Simone’s stubborn, strong and independently-minded character was the inspiration for the pieces, and the clothes certainly made that presence felt. White broiderie Anglaise trench coats and ankle strap shoes with socks suggested an innocent femininity, whilst the angry-eyed tortoiseshell sunglasses and huge hair tucked in black straw turbans showed a more dramatic, passionate side – as did the raunchy satin-front bustier dresses. Leopard print cropped trousers and gold lurex jumpers offered a more relaxed, off-duty approach to the glamour, as models walked to a live piano performance, which further enhanced the sense of the musician behind this inspiring collection.

Watch the video of Peter Jensen’s spring/summer 2012 show below: