After an absolutely exhausting London Fashion Week, followed by illness (I’ll spare you the details) I’m back at my desk and I’m dedicating the whole week to fashion.

First on my list is one of my favourite shows of London Fashion Week SS16, CCUOCO.  You may not have heard the name yet, but I think that you will, with her mix of sexy determination Candice Cuoco took to the runway for the second time at LFW to present CCUOCO’s SS16 collection, Persephone.

The collection draws its inspiration from the darker side of romance. Named after the Greek goddess Persephone. Homer described her as a formidable, venerable majestic princess of the underworld, who carried into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead.  Ok, so you wouldn’t want to meet her on dark night, or would you?

Candice personified her take on romance in this collection, the darker more sorrowful side love and beauty. Love is not always a fairytale and sometimes leaves a scar but scars can be beautiful. The collection shows the chaos that can come out of love and the passion that can produce something beautiful from something dark. The collection is a reflection of a woman in love, every woman’s story looks, sounds and feels different, this collection represents one small story of many.

Many of the silhouettes were cut to flatter a woman’s shape as Candice loves to play with lines on the woman’s body. The silhouettes are a reflection of CCUOCO and have remained a strong core of the brand from its launch in 2014.

This season saw a more feminine side of CCUOCO, still using the CCUOCO statement material of leather but adding softer romantic fabrics including organza, silk satin and silk chiffon. Colours included maroons, navy, creams and black, the introduction of sheer fabrics gave this dark inspired collection a Spring/Summer edge.

I loved the collection, strong, sleek, classic, but ultimately wearable.  Did I say sexy as well? The fact that the models nipples were on show throughout and two female models paused for a lingering kiss mid-catwalk was sexy, mysterious, cool, rather than shocking, this is fashion after all.

Candice Cuoco’s personal favourite of the collection was the finale dress, a black long sheer gown that through its shape, material and colour embodies the entire collection. Dark and mysterious but elegant and feminine: the perfect combination of the qualities of the female race.

I loved it….I leave you Candice Cuoco.

DSB X