Harvey Nichols Fashion Show: Exotic animal prints and dominatrix-inspired designs make for a daring display

By Felicity Crease

Harvey Nichols held their renowned Autumn Winter Fashion Show at Manchester Town Hall last night, with exotic animal prints and dominatrix-inspired designs making for a daring display.

The Great Hall played host to an impressive collection of high fashion hits and the opening ladies fashion run adopted an androgynous aesthetic, juxtaposing over-sized slouchy styles with razor-sharp, minimalist tailoring. 

Fashion designer Nadine Merabi attended the event, and cited androgyny as one of her favourite catwalk looks.

 Contrasting a dress of her own design with a pair of mannish brogues, Nadine said: “I went with the boy look!”

Another key ladieswear look drew from a sophisticated collection of statement prints. From tiger prints at Joseph to leopard prints at Céline, patterns clashed yet colour palettes remained complimentary.

This season’s love of fetish fashion was celebrated in a run of designs displaying lace, leather and studded details.

Benjamin Maxfield, Harvey Nichols’ personal shopping manager, was responsible for styling the looks.

He said: “My favourite trend is the S&M trend. It’s dark, it’s grungy, it’s nineties Nirvana. It’s a really strong look.” 

Maxfield also explained the inspiration behind some of the men’s catwalk trends, which ranged from military influenced detailing to layered ‘après ski’ styles.

On the prevalence of sporty looks within the show, he said: “We’ve got such a culture now in Manchester of footballers, and people wanting to emulate footballers. Male customers are becoming more interested in fashion.

"They want to know what to wear down to haircuts, down to whether to wear a patent shoe or a black matt shoe. We’ve been doing Dolce and Gabbana for two seasons now and we’ve really hit on that customer. They want Dolce. They want Gucci. People want the international look.”

The event was hosted by ITV Granada’s Elaine Wilcox, dressed in a stunning Alexander McQueen dress paired with Yves Saint Laurent heels and Annoushka jewellery.

“There are so many things that I would love to have in my wardrobe,” she confessed after the show.

Guests were invited to ‘shop the show’ after the event at the Harvey Nichols store, saving an exclusive 20% off the eye-catching catwalk styles.

HOST: ITV's Elaine Wilcox presented the show in an Alexander McQueen dress