Kinder Aggugini at LFW

After being given the accolade of creating a ‘fashion moment’ by  Hilary Alexander with his last collection at LFW, Kinder Aggugini had a lot to live up to as the lights went up on his autumn/winter 2010 offering.

The former Savile Row tailor has a reputation

Antique candleabras set the tone for the muted, but expertly tailored collection; a Napoleonic theme inspired by 19th century royalist favourite Juliette, Madame Récamier. Military tail coats and capes were the statement pieces, overlaying draping silk dresses with flashes of pillar-box red in slim-fitting pencil trousers and accented piping.

A short, textured cream dress was the star of the show, a swan-like highlight in a palette of smudgey charcoals and greens.

Oversized cashmere knits with open backs and leather biker jackets gave a hard-edged rock ‘n’ roll twist to the collection but there was nothing particularly forward-thinking on offer. There was something all too familiar about many of the stiff-collared jackets and ultimately, I was left a little unsatisfied following the eccentricity offered up in September.

With inspiration from a woman who lead literary and political circles in 19th century Paris, exiled by Napoleon himself, I expected a little more than the subdued sexiness that Aggugini offered.

No gargantuan top hats or beetlejuice stripes here. The only nod to the Tim Burton-inspired vibrancy of previous collections were two laser print silk dresses, with flowing black silk skirts which helped sign off the show to a healthy applause.