Harvey Nichols fashion: Spectrum of bright ideas

Burberry, Guuci, Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabbana, Balmain, Alexander McQueen – just a few of the stellar and global fashion names to walk the catwalk in Leeds’s Victoria Quarter for the new spring season of fashion.

Featuring 15 top UK and international runway models, the Harvey Nichols seasonal fashion show is always a surprisingly eclectic affair, and this spring ‘14 episode was attended by around 600 style lovers of all ages, tastes and pockets.

So, on to the all-important trends, with a series of five scenes showcasing 15 head-to-toe looks, styled from the Harvey Nichols’ spring collections by HN head of personal shopping, David Rowley.

Colour is the key mood creator for spring/summer ’14, and there are some intriguing choices and combinations. For women, rich red-based shades came in the form of silky, long, tapered trousers from Sportmax, here teamed with a long-line jacket from Maxmara in salmon fuchsia, and a long tunic tee – all long, fluid lines, showing the power of bold colour and silk layering combined, a key look.

There’s a great amount of play with print and shape. At Gucci, a Japanese flavour emanates with beautiful flowing tendril prints on kimono and voluminous, A-line tunic shapes, gently flaring from high collarless necklines in blends of purple, gold, peach and burgundy, more usually associated with autumn.

The jumpsuit also takes on a fluid edge, and comes in all lengths – the silvery, languid luxe of Gucci’s long halterneck jumpsuit was a key season moodsetter.

Tailoring made great use of colour – witness the intense powder blue of the leather top and skirt from Whistles.

Meanwhile, for both men and women, sporty, street-wise but upmarket looks dominated off-duty trends, with shiny bombers and cropped coloured skinny jeans and baseball caps.

According to Harvey Nichols, this season’s best wardrobe weapon for men is a pair of standout trainers, so look for McQ Alexander McQueen, Givenchy and Pierre Hardy. Look out too for floral sandals, monk-strap shoes and then brightly coloured suede loafers and plimsolls, plain or patterned in print.

This season, you wear your style on your back, as back-packs are the bag of choice, while the sports cap takes on an old-school, squarish baseball shape. A slight military edge is introduced with camouflage print, which you can mix in to your wardrobe, teaming especially with black. Men get in on the print trend too with opulent tees especially from Versace, to wear with blazers.

Footwear for women is all about sneakers, mules and the summer boot.

It can be hard selecting hair and make-up to go with a complete show, and Nars gave a strong look, with heavily lined and winged lids, silvery eyeshadow teamed with orange-red semi-matte lips. Hair by Sassoon Salon for women was smooth, long and loose, and for men smart and sharp, with volume on top.

Twitter: @yorkshirefashQ