Burberry offers hand-crafted romance in London

Burberry Prorsum presented a romantic, hand-crafted collection at London Fashion Week with soft, flowing dresses worn with embroidered shearling coats and cosy cashmere blankets, AFP reports. The luxury British label matched revealing frocks in printed silks, lace and sheer fabrics with thick plaid ponchos and coats as well as printed scarves, worn long and belted at the waist, protecting the models' modesty. "The mood of the show was this kind of slightly artistic, very soft, very feminine, hand-crafted show," said creative director Christopher Bailey, who was recently also appointed chief executive of Burberry. Many of the shoes, belts, bags and coats were hand-painted, while some of the ponchos were embroidered with the initials of the Scottish workers who made them. The autumnal palette and the patterns were in the same spirit as last month's menswear show, and confirm a shift away from past collections which focused on variations of Burberry's classic trench coat. But the label remains one of the highlights of London Fashion Week, pulling in the stars. Paloma Faith performed live during Monday's show, while celebrities including actor Bradley Cooper and One Direction singer Harry Styles looked on. Faith is a regular at the London fashion shows, although she admitted she did not see much of Burberry. "I was worried about remembering the words more than the clothes, but I'll look at it online," the singer told AFP afterwards. A different kind of femininity was on show earlier as Roksanda Ilincic offered a collection of ankle socks, sporty flat shoes and full skirts in thick, soft fabrics and a glorious palette of beiges, blues and oranges. The Serbian-born designer's dresses are favourites on the red carpet but she stepped it up last season with solid flat shoes worn with mid-calf skirts and boxy jackets, in a style dubbed as "ugly chic". For autumn/winter 2014-15, she offered a more wearable collection in the same vein, with calf-length, voluminous skirts and elegant coats matched with Converse-style flats with oversized tassels and grey ankle socks. Blocks of colour were matched together, within one of the many figure-flattering dresses or in a patchwork fur coat, and finished off with a wide gold belt. There was a flash of multicolour madness at the end with dresses embellished on the front with three-dimensional pieces of brightly coloured plastic, from far away appearing almost like a floral print.