Once the epitome of dodgy, the East End of London has become a hotspot for up-and-coming fashion talent. At the forefront is Alternative Arts, a non-profit organization based in E1, which organizes the Swatch Alternative Fashion Week each April. Situated in super-trendy Old Spitalfields Market, the event been gaining momentum since its inception in 2001 to become one of the more important events on the fashion circuit. London Fashion Week is too expensive a proposition for many designers, so the opportunity Alternative Fashion Week offers to put on a free, high-visibility show can jump start a career. University College lecturer Jennifer Hughes says, "This kind of exposure is fantastic. Alternative Fashion Week provides an opportunity for truly innovative designers to present their work directly to the press, the public and fashion industry." Maggie Pinhorn, the organizer of the refreshingly democratic event, where admission is free, front row seats are shared by top editors and plebes, and there is not a VIP section in sight, says, “We are not in fashion. We are an arts organization. (…) Fashion is an exciting and original art form.” But all of this democracy and opportunity is a two-sided blade: out of the hundreds of applicants, there are a few brilliant designers whose work is deservedly cast into the spotlight. And then there are those who would have invested more effort into showing their collections had they actually invested their own funds. Below, we examine good, the bad, and the ugly, the talented and the mediocre, and those who really put the “alternative” in Alternative Fashion Week.
Kelly Ashworth: A recent graduate from the University of Northhampton, Ashworth jumped on the “green” bandwagon with her all-white collection consisting of repurposed vintage linen. Making something fresh out of old embroidered tea towels and sheets is no easy proposition, but Ashworth succeeds in creating garments that are equal parts old-fashioned and modern. Her lacy pinafores, mutton sleeve blouses, and flouncy skirts worthy of Degas’ little ballerinas are chock-a-block of details like ruching, mutton sleeves, and peter pan collars, but, styled with utter simplicity and worn with soft court shoes, they seem to meld a very English sensibility with Belgian-style minimalism.
Hasan Hejazi: This Muslim designer from Manchester claims to be inspired by Madonna, but it doesn’t really show. One can see some early Tom Ford influences in Hejazi’s colorful feathery coats and black and red color scheme. A play on contrasting volume and texture, with slick PVC teamed with soft feathers and flowing silk, ends up creating a Russian doll effect. This designer has a lot of fashion confidence and is definitely one to watch.
Amy Hostler: Hostler claims to be “inspired by the rag time era,” so the fact that she sent her models down the catwalk in primary-color clown-at-a-nightclub outfits topped with weird red bubbly hats and had them pose like mimes is a bit confusing. The worst thing is, some of the dresses- sans extras- might actually have been deemed wearable were it not for the distractingly ridiculous styling and accessories.
Cooltan Arts: When we saw the models for the show, we were optimistic, because they were definitely “alternative”: ranging from an Amazon with blazing pink hair and womanly curves, to a completely “average” woman (which looks totally weird on a runway of course), to a lovely lady who looked like she might be the designer’s grandmother. The actual collection was a big disappointment and an example of a designer not pushing herself as hard as she could. Boring Kimonos looked like they were bought on Portobello Road, given a few pokes with a needle and thread, belted, and sent down the runway. The pink-haired model’s look was a long turquoise kimono that depended too much on styling to give it any interest, paired with a fuschia fan that matched her hair and obscured the details (if any) of the garment. But if the designer was going for a Manga look, she fell woefully short. Gwen Stefani does it way better. The granny model came out looking like she was wearing a shapeless bathrobe, and when the designer emerged to take her bow, she clutched the best looking accessory in the show: her child.
Shakella ljaz: Her wittily named Court 2 Court collection was one of the most innovatively styled yet wearable at Alternative Fashion Week. Playing on the layering of tailored and sport clothing, the looks included super-sophisticated and elegant monochrome hoodies, pinstripes paired with jersey, and slim-cut grey trousers worn with white shirts layered over a white hoodie, suspenders, and a necktie that were evocative of both depression era chic and urban athletic dandies. Some of the women’s hoods seemed to reference both sports and Ijaz’s Pakistani heritage. The only gripe is that most of the trousers could have been more interesting.
Adil Iqbal: Influenced by the Kalash tribe in Northern Pakistan, who must be pretty snappy dressers, the young designer showed a surprisingly large and cohesive collection. Many of the pieces would be perfect for a autumn or winter cocktail party, so we’re guessing that Iqbal got a good reaction from buyers. Gray, metallics, black, and burgundy ruled the color scheme. Some looks were a bit boring, but many had interesting construction or details to steer them away from the too-classic. The cutaway jackets and coats were particularly successful.
Aaron Ray Dowie: This geometry-lover explained his inspiration rather obtusely, claiming he created clothes that had “foreshortened tailoring with a sinister edge.” All we know is that he showed the best menswear at Alternative Fashion Week. The looks were sharp, directional, cohesive, and showed beautiful attention to detail. Great touches such as origami-like cummerbunds and intricately decorative jacket linings paired well with asymmetrical jacket lapels and geometric neckties.
Imanni da Silva: All we can say is, why? Why? Why? A drag queen on parade float at Carnaval would feel that these clothes are over the top tacky. Even the most desperately attention-seeking extrovert would be hard-pressed to desire any of the neon-colored plumed and bedazzled meringue-like confections on display at this show.
Nicola Cox: “Inspired by the ageing woman”, this collection combines noble sentiment with scary execution. It speaks of a knitting circle gone horribly wrong. Shapeless draped knits held together with long tied scarves in tones of moss, grey, and purple were accessorized with large knitting bags and hideous crochet-covered booties. In our opinion, the designer could have used the time wasted on “embellishing” the booties towards actually working on correctly constructing the garments.
Mia Nisbet: This all gray collection composed of supershort and sheer layered outfits is aimed at a younger woman, and offers nothing transcendent but nothing terribly hideous either. The whole collection could go straight to a TopShop store and nobody would notice. The designer claims she was inspired by recycling, and that her clothes were for “today’s urban pixies.” Which must be why we feel like we’ve seen it before and everything is terribly tiny.
JK Designs: Jane Dennerly and Kay Haskins’ use of recycled materials is admirably environmentally friendly, but when the transformation is so incomplete and yawn-worthy, it leaves us thinking the stuff might have been better off in a landfill. A so-called gender-bending man’s skirt is ridiculous: it combines an attempted recreation of the newspaper print that Galliano did better years ago with a shape that might have been new when Gaultier came up with it. On closer inspection, the skirt looks to be pieced together out of old shirts and pinstriped boxer shorts with words printed on. The guy model is topless, which is the easy way out. The public would at least have wanted to see how one could realistically accessorize this skirt. The next look comprises of a flowered apron over run-of-the-mill jeans and a white T, accessorized with sunglasses. Maybe we have no imagination or vision, but to us this says “housewife at a barbeque” more than “alternative fashion.” Then come a hideous vintage-looking dress which I suspect is not even altered from when they bought it at the flea market, a “night club siren gone wrong” look with a black vest and mohair miniskirt, and an un-shocking “androgynous” girl in jeans and a white vest. It’s a bit boring, and it totally doesn’t go together. These supposedly re-purposed clothes represent a very sophomoric effort, if effort there was.
Jessica Odoi: Influenced by 18th-century court clothes, this menswear designer sent men out on the runway in Purple brocade Ziggy stardust suits, gorgeous vests, elegant white scarves, and a dramatic gold brocade coat. It was all very the Little Prince meets lawn jockey, running of the bulls, and Ridicule, but in the best possible way. The models curtsied at the end of the runway and walked carefully to showcase the eccentric volumes of the garments, which emphasized the hips. It’s what all women have been waiting for with bated breath: finally there is a clothing line that will make men want to whine, “does my ass look fat in this?”
Robert Miller: His collection was called “Pretty Pervy” and that pretty much sums it up. This is definitely one of the designers who read the “alternative” bit to mean “alternative lifestyle.” But compared to Kaori Matsubara, whose latex-intensive collection was too conventionally fetishistic, with an all-latex geisha complete with apparent ass-crack and a ridiculous “gimp” in head-to-toe silver latex and ball-and-chain prop, Miller’s collection was humorous and innovative. The first look is best described as alien PVC bondage-Smurf. There were also a few gas mask wearing insect-like creatures with incredibly inflated hips that would drive anyone with a bee or ladybug fetish wild. There was also a Goth alien and an anemone gone wild that would make Nemo blush. The shapes, volumes, and color choices are absolutely out of this world, and leaves us thinking that if Miller would only expand his range of materials, his work would be even more interesting.
zip-up sweater in black cashmere by local designer Savannnah Knoop that can be worn a thousand different ways, but it won't be in 'til august. O, the desperation! Uncomprehendingly, local "chain" shops do not seem to stock very many sweaters, and the small boutiques smart enough to offer cashmere are hawking it at something approaching the price of gold, knowing we are desperate and will pay anything for a bit of warmth. Since we are reaching deep into our pockets anyway, why not go straight to Fall 2008 ready-to-wear and couture, some of which is available already on net-a-porter and eluxury? I recommend black since it's back in a big way, and you'll get more wear for the buck out of it.
Dolce & Gabbana topped a huge number of their fall looks with Astrakhan long vests or jackets. The one below is shorter and more manageable than the majority, and so warm and fluffy that maybe you can overlook the karmic consequences of wearing something made entirely of fetal lambs.
Gucci jumped on the Fair Isle bandwagon and produced this adorable wool vest that cuts all the black with a hand-crafted design for that desirable "Kate Moss at a summer music festival in England" look we're not over yet. Combine with unseasonable boots (one of the perks of living in SF), clashing prairie dress, and stringy hair. 
The most important issue to keep in mind when doing the whole winter-coat in the (supposed) summer look is to keep it short and relatively casual (but no parkas or rigid trench coats), so it looks like it was thrown on as an afterthought, i.e. it totally doesn't need to match your outfit. Doo.Ri's wool flare-sleeve topper achieves this really well, because it is unstructured yet elegant. 
There, problem solved. Now we can move on to thinking about what to pack for trips to Sonoma and Napa, where we can warm our chilled selves.
