Roksanda SS16 show report London Fashion Week

Roksanda Ilincic returned to the Seymour Leisure Centre in Marylebone for her SS16 collection. The vast gym-hall space with a glass atrium and spectator balcony was transformed (again) by set designer Gary Card, whose curved MDF blocks with peekaboo windows came in demure shades of powder pink and blush.

Ilincic took her own colour palette down a notch from last season’s psychedelic fluoro brights, instead presenting clothes in more subtle shades: icy blue, dusky rose and apricot, cut through with splashes of acidic yellow. The clothes, too, were much changed: tailoring was replaced by long, fluid layers in floaty silks, chiffons and georgette.

Inspired by the romanticism and silhouette of modern ballet, Ilincic’s gentle clothes had an understated femininity. Silky vest tops worn with ribbon-belted feathered skirts were a clever take on the tutu, while puffed-sleeve sheer Victoriana dresses were worn over slip dresses and offered glimpses of flesh. Sexy, yet demure: a Roksanda signature.

Volume has emerged as a trend in London, and Ilincic experimented with it in the form of bell-shaped sleeves gathered at the elbow on hand-frayed taffeta dresses and A-line blouses. A boxy Jacobean overcoat, worn over a shirt with enormous cuffs, took the girlishness down a notch, as did a black tuxedo blazer thrown over a canary yellow slip.

Ilincic’s love for colour-blocking emerged with multi-width stripes on heavy satin jumpsuits and evening gowns, and was reassembled in geometric form on maxi dresses. And today’s Roksanda woman was further inspired by Japanese flower arranging, suggesting a more delicate future to come.

For more reports from the London shows, go to our fashion weeks page on the FT web app, or visit our London Collections Women SS16 fashion weeks hub on FT.com

Photographs: Catwalking.com