My Fashion Week: Ruth Chapman Of Matches On The Pressure Of Looking Good At London Fashion Week

Do I feel a pressure to look good during the shows?  Yes, of course. I don’t plan every outfit, but I did go and buy a few new bits: a nice McQueen jacket, a Stella McCartney coat and an amazing Christopher Kane padded dress that I wore to our Matches party.   

We’re definitely going to see more of the trouser suit for next summer, and I do feel like the little black dress might be coming back on the scene too.  Platforms are going, but colour is still around, as is sporty luxe, probably still off the back of the Olympics.

My instincts are honed to look for what will sell – it’s as rooted in me as breathing.  At the same time I’m trying to decipher the trends and work out how we’ll make them talk on the shop floor. I also have my eyes on what the fashion set is wearing: there’s so much colour and vibrancy in London and street style is a really good indicator of what’s new.

The big names on the schedule – London’s New Establishment – definitely influence the rest of the world.  They set the pace for new trends; Roksanda, Erdem, Richard Nicoll and the rest have worked so hard to become customer friendly and still hold onto a strong sense of what is creative. 

I spend all of my time either at the shows or in a car in traffic! We did a team lunch at the Delauney, but usually I just rely on my sturdy breakfast of granola, carrot juice and spelt toast with peanut butter to keep me going.

Fashion week is very friendly.  I bump into friends, we discuss what we like, but obviously, if I’ve just found a secret new brand I’m not going to be letting on to the competition!