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Suzanne Fatta reports on London Fashion Week

Models of Diversity was really pleased to get 2 VIP passes to Mark Fast's amazing show from our friends Caroline Rush and Simon Ward at the British Fashion Council. Big thanks to them!

We've been huge fans of Mark since he put plus models on the LFW catwalk in Sept 2009 for his S/S 2010 collection, so MoD is always watching to see what he'll do next. Angel Sinclair, the Co-Founder, and I really enjoyed the show, and our photographer James Lyon got some amazing shots of the action outside.

THE SHOW

So how do you take knitwear, which is Mark's signature look, and make it fresh and light for a spring/summer collection? Well the first place to start is colour; the garments flowed from nude, yellow, tangerine and poppy-red to black. There was also a strong 1970s vibe in that kind of beachy/macramé way, as you could see in the swimwear.

Talking about the show, Fast says "The palette originates from sand tones in a desert landscape, then moves into gold fringing. We wanted to create movement over the body to emulate the force of a sand storm. We worked with yellow, orange and fuchsia and feathered printed neoprene to compose a tropical exotic surge of colour."

I see did a lot of 1940s looks as well, with structured jackets, fitted skirts and WWII-silhouettes. And all the models had 1920's-style flapper bobs; I thought this mix of retro styles was chic and modern. The jewelry was in tones of gold, brass, silver and chrome, matching the exotic safari look of the make-up.

Out of 24 girls on the catwalk, we saw three models of colour. One model looked to be a size 10/12 and while most of the girls looked healthy, there were some that were shockingly thin. We're glad to see Mark used a mix of sizes on the catwalk, but the more healthy models of all colours we see up there, the happier we at Models of Diversity are.

I liked the flirty, feminine ruffles, pleats and flounces, this was another great way to lighten up the collection.

AFTERWARDS

	So what happened outside after the show? Angel and I were able to make lots of contacts with designers, bloggers, TV presenters, models and magazine publishers, some of whom will be at our Curves in Couture show in November. One person we ran into is our friend Emmanuel Ray, Britain's first "It Boy" and the first person of colour to win the Fashion Icon of the Year 2011 award at Fashions Finest. He attended our Styled and Frocked fashion show for the Tree of Hope Children's Charity last April. Here's Eliza Doolittle with a friend. Inside the show she was kind enough to pose for a photo with Angel.
	One of Mark's lovely models after the show We say Bravo to you Mark for your gorgeous, chic, wearable collection! We love your figure-hugging knits, and your insistence on diversity on the catwalk. Keep more plus models and models of colour on the runways of the world... and who knows, maybe we'll get to see a mature, disabled or petite model in your show someday!