There has been a dark toughness to much of the London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2009 collections thus far. Whereas New York designers took this idea the sexy La Femme Nikita route with spiked heels, leather pants and zippers zippers zippers, London young influential designers have conjured a vision for Fall that has been far more brooding and sometimes tribal. Predictably, the Central Saint Martins alums came out particularly strong: Louise Goldin, known for her innovative knits, used a mostly black palette with riffs on futuristic armor; Mark Fast, also known for knits, sent looks that were tribal warfare meets modern apocalypse.

New Generation winner Mary Katrantzou, presented her first runway collection with graphics and color, but the pieces were more often than not grounded by black which lent itself to further brooding. We may have issues with the worldwide doom and gloom, but even London’s young talented things are telling us to toughen up.

Louise Goldin, Fall/Winter 2009

Mark Fast, Fall/Winter 2009

Mary Katrantzou, Fall/Winter 2009