JOHN LEWIS AW12: PREVIEW

Had a little peek at the new John Lewis AW12 collection the other day – and what a treat it was! There were three main trends to highlight. The first is NEW JAPAN – a chic, clean look which mixes Japanese-inspired patterns with elegant Scandi shapes. The art of WABI SABI (imperfect beauty and all that) is explored. I love the navy, orange and grey palette – and the elegant new Sama bed with gradating headboard struts…

Inky Ikats, delicate geometrics and simple, elegant shapes – it’s all very more-ish. The next trend is called HOME COMFORTS. Think Pedlars meets Baileys with a healthy dollop of tweed…

It’s terribly British, what what – think hedgerow greens, coastal blues and letterbox red. This is fantasy ’40s farmhouse chic, darlings, yah.

I hate to nit pick, old chap, especially when it’s such a smart little accessory and all – but shouldn’t that be ‘leave nothing but footprints’ instead of ‘footsteps’? Just saying…

The last look is called THEATRE – hailed as ‘the return of glamour’; It’s very 1920s, very Art Deco – very Great Gatsby (coming to a cinema near you soon BTW – and GATZ to a stage – the novel’s term of copyright is up – can you tell?) Fan-like designs, regal hues, reflective surfaces and glittering metallic finishes – it’s the perfect antidote to recessionista simplicity.