Afshin Feiz fuk@lfw s/s 08

We're delighted to welcome British designer Afshin Feiz for his first season at London Fashion Week. After stints in Paris working for Christian Lacroix Haute Couture and in New York with his own collection, he's finally arrived back home to show his S/S08 collection ‘Dawn' inspired by an Aztec myth that centres around the battle between light and dark, and good and evil.

We saw a series of silk mini-dresses in milky ivory, dove and nude with lightening-shaped asymmetric necklines and armour-like metal sequins embellishing panels of the garments. His collection is dominated by dauntingly short pieces and in some cases modesty is only preserved by the addition of sequin-adorned undergarments.

Close attention to detail is what sets these tiny dresses apart: black, intertwining bands seem to segment the body, a twisted, origami effect on the bust creates a unique texture and shape and tiny cutouts enhance simple surfaces.

Perhaps most evocative of the title is his floor-sweeping gown, dip-dyed to create a graduation from dove grey, through to dusky pink and finally a deep, inky purple which seemed to mirror the rising of the sun. A panel of flamenco-style ruffles make the back of the gown the main feature. Another is banded by bold, winding black piping – a reference to the snakes that adorned the Aztec goddess of life and death, Coatlicue's, skirt.

The collection is definitely romantic and takes its cues from ancient mythology but refrains from being too girly or fantastical by including bold details and warrior-like references that help keep the clothes for goddesses of the 21st century only.

www.fawndesign.com

Words: Selene Pearson
Photos: David Jones