Left: Mary Katrantzou’s ‘Jewel Tree’ dress, Right: A look from Christopher Raeburn S/S 2012 | Source: Style.com

LONDON, United Kingdom — Luxury casualwear and demi-couture don’t appear to have much in common. You can’t get much further from a hand-embellished crystal crinoline dress than a silk jersey t-shirt or a sporty windbreaker. But in recent seasons, many of fashion’s brightest young talents have been gravitating towards one extreme or the other. Labels like Alexander Wang, The Row and Christopher Raeburn have struck a chord with their easy, upscale styles, while the likes of Mary Katrantzou, David Koma, Rodarte and Jason Wu have attracted a healthy stream of high-end clientele with hand-worked looks that border on couture.

“This gravitating to extremes is a reflection on the way that today’s luxury-wearing women are dressing,” said Ruth Runberg, buying director at Browns, the influential London-based fashion boutique. “Very few are still living every hour of every day in a designer skirtsuit with matching heels and handbag — it is simply too formal and too stiff to be modern,” she continued. “While this client may still demand from designers the more special, high-design pieces for certain times, she also has a need for clothes to wear when she doesn’t need to be ‘dressed.’”

The rise of the dressed-down day-to-day look is also a clear response to the troubled economy. “When the recession hit, we saw demand grow exponentially for designers offering this cooler, more casual luxury look — The Row, Alexander Wang, ACNE,” said Runberg. “Generally, very formal dressing felt appropriate or tasteful at fewer and fewer occasions in the wake of the financial crisis.” But for those occasions when women do need a fancy frock, they are increasingly requesting only the most exquisite, intricate pieces, she explained. “In response to this shift in demand, young designers have gone the direction of offering their clients either very special demi-couture or luxury casualwear.”

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