London Fashion Week LFW: Anton Belinskiy SS14

Review by Katy Thompson

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Anton Belinskiy at Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Anton Belinskiy is a designer fresh onto the scene sending Ukrainian styles down the catwalk. He uses bold silhouettes, large hats and a largely patriotic colour palette. These garments certainly had a presence as they stormed the runway of the Kiev Catwalk show at Vauxhall Fashion Scout in the very beautiful Freemasons Hall.

Anton’s designs are inspired primarily by external factors linking to various regions, patriotism and sub cultures. One of the main themes I noticed was the very Ukrainian shade of blue. It’s great to be able to feel a country simply by looking at a collection of garments.

After studying Fashion Design at the Republican Art School in Kyiv, he knew precisely what direction he wanted to go in; his likes and his dislikes. He is now very successful in what he does, he has learnt a lot through collaborations with companies such as New Balance and Mercedes Benz.

In the SS14 collection we can see that Anton has experimented with many textures, including silk, leather, satin, linen and wool. His colours resemble the Ukrainian flag and bring in various other shades such as copper to break themes of blue and white. The shine of the more metallic radiated around the outfit, adding a gleam to rather simplistic garments. We also got a taste of tinsel, catching everyone’s attention, whilst breaking up the collection.

Belinskiy was also inspired by a wide array of objects throughout his travels across Ukraine, including objects and small villages. He has tried to translate local artistic heritage of Ukraine into his garments, which I believe he has done very successfully. He has tried to create individual garments that are comfortable and make the person stand out, whilst making inspiring designs that catch the eye of many.

The garments had very architectural styles with stripes, patches and panels. This may have been influenced from Ukrainian architecture, such as the grand Menorah Centre. The levels and heights of the angular buildings are reflected in the detailing of the garments. Large hats add an extra dynamic to this.

The music at the show had a great vibe, quirky yet catchy. It created a bounce on the cat-walk, it made me think of classy Eurovision. The garments draped and swung behind each model, giving the elusion of floating down the centre of the beautiful room.

Anton Belinskiy is most definitely one to watch in the future!