On the first day of London Fashion Week I had the pleasure of joining Fashion Scout for this season’s Anissa Aida Outre-Mer collection show.

Anissa Aida is founded and created by Anissa Meddeb, a graduate of New York Parsons School of Design. She was born in France but has Tunisian heritage - the Evening Standard once noted that “Anissa Meddeb’s sleek sophisticated designs draw on cultural and sartorial influences from her own Tunisian heritage, blending them with those of Japan, China and the Far East.”

The French name of Anissa’s latest collection ‘outre-mer’, translated, means ‘overseas’ or/and distant lands. One can assume Anissa Aida’s aim is to merge the diverse cultures of different distant lands of the East and the West through the use of a mixture of fabrics, prints in shades of blue and white, and patchworks. Individual garments are designed to represent the union of these different countries in a way that they portray and preserve cultural customs and sartorial influences in the fashion industry.

This season’s show was both brave and fascinating.
It displayed determination, comfort, sophistication and embodiment of different ideas and style. I admired the fact that not only did the garments highlight a mix of prints fabrics and cultures, but also the models also had different backgrounds and origins. The models had subtle metallic makeup of different shades of blue complementing the blue theme of the show, and most hairstyles were simple, gelled back. The simplicity of the hair and make up look made the outfits standout more.

There was a certain boldness about the collection; from bottoms and tops to jumpsuit, dresses, patchwork trench coat with removable sleeves and stripes. These were mix and matched with different accessories to match the different looks. Accessories include straw hats, square shaped bags of different sizes, platform sandals and low loafers. The model catwalk was followed by a tribal instrumental song which I assume were chosen appositely to symbolise the designer’s Tunisian heritage and influence on her designs.

The collection certainly achieved its aim of symbolising “cultural inspirations from East and West, creating a language that reflects traditions and modernity”. With the models’ hairstyles, looks and posture, the catwalk highly displayed the designer’s “mission statement to achieve sleek sophistication together with timeless classics” to her audience.

Images Courtesy of FASHION SCOUT