Charlotte Olympia London Fashion Week showcase is a fruity spectacle with a chorus line of girls dancing with giant foam bananas

The showcase was staged In London's Sheraton Grand Hotel ballroom
Emma McCarthy19 September 2016

A fashion show for the woman who goes bananas for shoes and handbags closed the third day of London Fashion Week.

With Carmen Miranda as her muse, the socialite's accessories brand Charlotte Olympia ensured statement shoes made for dancing were planted firmly in the spotlight, in a fruity spectacle which showcased towering platform sandals and stacked wedges festooned with bananas, birds of paradise and tropical flowers.

Bags, which were carried by models wearing airy linen sundresses and jumpsuits, included wicker fruit baskets, vintage luggage trunks and evening bags shaped like parrots.

In London's Sheraton Grand Hotel ballroom, decked out to resemble an 1940's cabaret bar, guests of honour watched from their places at lamp-lit tables as models paraded Charlotte Olympia's latest collection and Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto played a live set.

Charlotte Olympia SS17 at London Fashion Week

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In what was undoubtedly the most uplifting spectacle of yesterday's fashion week festivities, a chorus line of girls sporting sequin swimsuits dancing with giant foam bananas also took a turn on the stage. They were joined by a whole fruit bowl of models who appeared as watermelon slices, strawberries and pineapples.

Typically, for Charlotte Dellal who launched her label Charlotte Olympia in 2008, the objective was to put on a show to remember. She delivered that and then some. But shoes played a key role too.

Jeff Moore

Dellal's USP is for sky high stilettos and there were plenty of those on offer in this collection. One towering pair of gold lame wooden platforms, which bore Carmen Miranda's face on the heel, looked set to delight even her most adventurous customer.

But there was something for the vertigo sufferer too, with flat sandals embellished with leather palm fronds and toucans.

Jeff Moore

Dellal's take on high end event-ready glamour with a healthy side order of humour has long-appealed to London's It-girls. Accordingly, Poppy Delevingne and Jade Parfitt sat front row yesterday before joining the designer for post-show cocktails at the venue.

Charlotte Olympia is a relatively new addition to the London Fashion Week schedule - the designer made her debut last season with a burlesque-themed collection staged in Camden's Roundhouse. But last night's carnival of colour suggested she's here to stay.

While footwear and accessories have traditionally been poor understudies on the fashion week schedule, brands such as Anya Hindmarch - who also unveiled her spring/summer 17 collection yesterday - and Charlotte Olympia are an increasingly important inclusion and serve as a pull for buyers and attendees from across the globe.

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