Guests were handed a glass of champagne on arrival, and were greeted personally by Amanda, Bridget Bowen our Head of Private Clients, and Gary England, from the Royal Ascot racecourse.

During the evening, models Nina and Lisa wore a selection of Amanda Wakeley looks from the Spring Summer ’11 collection, which were accessorised with beautiful millinery by Stephen Jones.

For more Ascot inspiration, visit our online store…

Can’t get to Cardiff? You can visit our online Bridal Boutique anytime, where you can browse the Ready to Buy collection, view our lookbooks and book an appointment at our flagship store…

“Elegant, fresh – loved the colours and the fabrics. A very light and wearable collection” Wearable Trends

“Stunning, gorgeous, beautiful collection. So many must have pieces! Loved it!” QVDesigns

“Loved the soft washed out tye-dyes in little rompers and gorgeously draped minis. The collection seems geared towards a slightly younger and edgier girl than Amanda normally designs for, sheer embellished black leggings, for instance, teamed with an asymmetrical white silk boyfriend blazer, personally I loved it!” Kristin Knox, The Clothes Whisperer

“She’s very good at doing day to night. There was lots of jersey draping in desert colours and shiny gold jewellery,” Vogue fashion director Kate Phelan

“We are drooling at the tribal inspired drapes and metallic finishes at Amanda Wakeley SS11″ Woman&Home Magazine

“A stunning collection from Amanda Wakeley love the beading, gold panelling, and all sorts of detailing, so wearable, so luxe. AMAZE.” LiveFromFashionWeek

“The dresses that every girl will want” Emily Carter, Collective Review

“Amanda Wakeley gave one of her best presentations to date” Fashion Foie Gras

Amanda and her team have been casting the models and carrying out fittings. Each girl will catwalk two to three looks from the Spring / Summer ’11 collection.

This season, the look is desert dweller…loosely inspired by tribal ceremonial dress; pieces sculpt the body with skeletal seam and cast beading detailing.

Expect to see cooler shades for Spring / Summer ’11…oatmeal, white, nickel, ink and cobalt, off set by warm neutrals…caramel, sand, mocha and cocoa with injections of coral and magenta.

After the castings, hair and make-up trials take place – the final look is yet to be decided….

Check the blog later this week to see the official catwalk and backstage photography, read reviews from the press, and reactions from our favourite bloggers…

The inspiration..

Transition from cool to warm….

This summer’s palette evokes a feeling of desert dwellers…cooler shades of oatmeal, white, nickel, ink and cobalt evoke warm neutrals of caramel, sand, mocha and cocoa with injections of coral and magenta.

Inspirations is loosely taken from tribal ceremonial dress…the saturation of colour…the hollow cast beads accenting the spine…skeletal seaming that sculpts the body…jersey strapping circles the silhouette…emphasis is on the shoulder…

Fabrics…fluid silk batik, sand washed silks and black prints contrast with crisp cotton tailoring, broken tweed, perforated leather and textured panamas…

Key Looks this season are; cropped broken tweed jacket with a crisp high-waisted pant, broken tweed folded dress, new length lux trench, effortlessly draped washed silk cady dresses, perforated leather mac.

The colour pallette:

Our official show date for our London Fashion Week show will be 21st September.  Stay tuned for info on how to watch the live stream of the show and as ever, the first look at all the show imagery, videos and backstage reports.  Sign up here to get up-to-date reports throughout fashion week from our backstage team.

Ladies were invited to view the Spring/Summer ’10 collection ahead of Ascot, and piece together their perfect Ascot outfits. On hand, were Amanda and Bridget, our head of Private Clients, to offer their style tips and hints.

Throughout the evening our models, Nina and Lisa, circled the room in a host of looks, ranging from the traditional to the truly sublime. Each outfit was fabulously accessorised by milliner Stephen Jones too. Here are our favourite Ascot looks….

The Traditionalists: Lisa wears Strapless Mikado Dress and Jacket, Nina wears Racer Back Cotton Tailoring Dress with Silk Mesh Jacket. Monochrome: Nina wears Capsleeve Scuba Dress and Silk Mesh Jacket, Lisa wears One Shoulder Scuba Dress and Scuba Jacket.

Contemporary Chic: Nina wears Double Draped Satinised Silk Dress with Long Leather Belt and Suede Jacket, Lisa wears Birdseye Tailoring Sleeved Dress. Second Image: Lisa wears Circle Cut Jersey Dress with Birdseye Tailoring Boyfriend Blazer, Nina wears Scuba and Jersey Dress.

Boho Beautiful: Nina and Lisa wear the Long Draped Degrade Print Dress in Cranberry and Slate.  Jaded: Lisa wears Harness Beaded Dress, Nina wears Contour Beaded Crossover Dress. 

Showered in sequins, the girls stopped tracks in their final looks…

Nina wears: Degrade Sequin Drape Front Dress, Lisa wears: Degrade Sequin One Shoulder Dress and Jacket.

A huge thank you to  our friends at Royal Ascot and Stephen Jones for a wonderful evening.

Photograpy by Uzo Oleh
www.uzooleh.com

Amanda told us herself what the thinking was behind her collection for the coming Autumn/Winter season:

‘’This season is more about a feeling… how women want to feel in their clothes now…wrapped, draped, supported in cocooning shapes…being able to dress with ease and feel luxurious.  These are investment pieces that will stand the test of time”

Our official pictures will soon form our new online lookbook for Autumn Winter ’10, all of which will go on sale this summer.

In the meantime here are some images from the front row..

The full show will be streamed LIVE and in real time directly from the BFC tent at Somerset House onto the official London Fashion Week website, for all you to watch from the comfort of your own computer screens, today at 2.45pm.

The stream will be broadcast here:  www.londonfashionweeklive.co.uk

London Fashion Week has officially kicked in central London, with the Amanda Wakeley Autumn Winter 2010 show scheduled for 2.45pm today (Tuesday 23rd February).  As ever, London Fashion Week brings together the most exciting and talented designers in fashion and with it, fashion’s most critical admirers. The studio here in the Amanda Wakeley headquarters is a bustle of pre-show preparations and real excitement around the new Autumn Winter collection.

Amanda talked her internal team through the full collection and her influences for the new collection, here’s a sneaky peek of our upcoming Autumn/Winter collection, shown by Amanda herself at our Showrooms on Fulham Rd, London:

Also, the much celebrated collaboration between Amanda and Danish shoe designer Camilla Skovgaard, which brought us the Zebra/Chocolate Brown Spring Summer shoe continues for the Autumn/Winter season with a fabulous new ankle boot.  The boot will be available to buy online and in-stores this summer, we will keep you posted!