Nicole Farhi is a brand that either pulls out all the stops or just flops. Last Spring/Summer was a pulls-out-all-the stops affair, chic playsuits and jumpsuits, unusual patterns and prints; there was something for everyone. This Spring/Summer sadly did not follow suit.

Whist there were some nice pieces, pretty cotton sundresses and fabulous hats, I was left feeling underwhelmed. Pieces did fall into the emerging trends such as Stepford Wives and those bra crop tops, which seem to have appeared at almost every show. But the majority of pieces were fairly non-descript.

The watercolour tie-dye print looked messy, full skirts with baggy t-shirts swamped the models, whilst an oatmeal shade of linen conjured up images of potato sacks. All models wore strange mesh leggings and tops, these added nothing to the clothes and looked really rather peculiar.

That said, a pair of floral trousers did look fantastic and a floral print mac was fresh and elegant. Some wide leg loose fit trousers created a fine nautical silhouette, whilst some textured shift dresses in graduated sunset colours were pretty. The show did start off well, the floral prints were wearable and nice, but the show soon became dull.

The pieces were fine, inoffensive…ordinary.  But after Spring/Summer 08, this show felt like a step back. 

[Images]