George Michael Would Approve: Street Fashion at London Fashion Week

October 18, 2015

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Article and photography by Audrey, VRAI Magazine Contributing Photographer[/x_text][/x_column][x_column bg_color=”” type=”3/4″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_text]LONDON — Waiting to enter the Brewer Street Car Park can be alarming, not least of which is the constant fear you’re about to be trampled by a bunch of fashionistas. I found myself weaving through this year’s London Fashion Week, having been given free reign to snap photos of beautiful models and interesting fashion trends. As it turned out, a bunch of fashion students posing outside wearing a “barely-there, 80s-inspired creation with a futuristic unisex monotone twist” was not the day’s most inventive trend wear – though it was the most memorable in my opinion and a heck to memorize the style itself which used-up a third of my brain capacity.

London has always had a knack for pushing boundaries, so inviting fashion-forward citizens to “get exposure” was really throwing the gauntlet. Walking down Brewer Street is like an outdoor runway providing individuals with style and flare the opportunity to be snapped by street photographers who crawled out of their London flats to be in this one particular, energized location.

London Fashion Week inspires thousands of visitors to converge in and around the area trying to sneak into the coveted invite-only runway shows, this year inside its new Soho home, the Brewer Street Car Park. Though it was great photographing models strutting down the catwalk and shooting clothes inside the exclusive designer showrooms, I felt invigorated and embraced by just being a paparazzi outside the London street fashion scene.

I’ve heard that real style comes from the street and this “street style” is the most authentic, the most genuine — revealing the ensembles that people really wear and not what appear on the runways or haute couture collections. As I pointed and clicked my camera towards these fashionistas, I noticed that they were not bashful at all being photographed. Quite the opposite, they expected to be mobbed by photographers – showing their modelesque walk as they passed by, plugging their clothing choices to style bloggers, and most importantly, having the awe inspiring ability to have a multitude of poses when requested to be photographed on a whim.

A woman wearing a vintage puffy red fur jacket approached me after I took her photo. “Hi,” she hurriedly said. “I just wanted to point out that this is faux fur. I love animals!” I saw her again later giving the same monologue to another street photographer, as I finished photographing a kilt-wearing rocker-style fellow.

Walking a few blocks away from Brewer Street, I politely asked to snap a photo of a lady wearing a dress that resembled my elderly aunt’s flowery-pink living room curtains. “I love your accent,” she said in an English brogue. “Oh, I love your British accent too,” I responded. “I don’t have an accent,” she softly mumbled, hurriedly walking away with her curtain-like dress billowing behind her.

Even if their style wasn’t my cuppa tea, the “weirdest” fashion could be pulled off with the right attitude of the wearer. Orson Welles once quoted, “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” Clearly, not giving a damn really makes street fashion unique, making the viewer compelled to pause, ogle, and to deeply contemplate if 80s fashion could be resurrected to make it chic again. I really have a good feeling that Member’s Only jackets, shoulder pads, parachute pants, terrycloth shorts, and high-waisted fold over jeans will make their comebacks soon. Pair any of these 80s pieces with a little faux fur, now you’re talking “street style” and the award for best dressed at the next hip-happening Saturday night party.