Henry Holland Talks Us Through His Urban Safari SS16 Collection

Plus Alexa Chung's got a brand new bob...

SS16 is on the horizon and the fash pack could literally feel the sand between their toes at the House Of Holland show this evening, as Henry shipped tons of actual sand into his London Fashion Week venue.

Alexa Chung (sporting a brand new crop), Poppy Delevingne, Daisy Lowe and Nick Grimshaw turned out to support their friend, who showed his neo-safari collection in a deserted Camden amphitheatre.

Here, the designer himself talks us through what happened... The Collection Borrowed Prints From A Tacky Vegas Hotel Room But made them gorgeous, obviously. ‘The film that inspired me was Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, and also Hunter S. Thompson and the original novel itself,' says Henry. 'It’s about this late 60s desert road trip to Vegas. There are lots of trippy acidic references in the prints and all the textiles like the jacquards are quite heavily influenced by the interiors you see in the film – mostly tacky psychedelic hotel rooms.’

See every single look in the gallery above.

Alexa (Almost) Walked Off With The Lot ‘10 VIPs were given what were essentially credit card rings, loaded with £500 to spend and then they were just able to walk right up and pick their favourite things and shop right there. That’s the future. The pieces they picked will also be available for everyone to buy from tonight. Alexa picked a striped top in look 15 – I’m not surprised, she loves a Breton! I was taking bets before the show on who would pick what…’

Johnny Depp Has Started An Accessory Trend… ‘This hat was crucial. This Johnny Depp / Hunter S. Thompson bucket hat is what it’s about for SS16. And tube socks. It’s all about tube socks.’

Henry Hired A Rapper ‘We opened the show with Lady Leshurr who’s a rapper from Birmingham because I recently became obsessed with her song ‘Brush Your Teeth’. We were playing it so much whilst we were working on the collection that we were like why don’t we just get her to perform it and get everyone in the mood before the show starts! The venue [The Collins Music Hall, London] is like a Coliseum / auditorium and as soon as we picked it I thought we needed to look for a performer.' 

Everyone Got Sand In Their Louboutins...  ‘Yes, I covered the floor with sand for our desert road set. I did see a few people earlier in the week and tell them to wear flip flops – don’t say you weren’t warned!'

With thanks to Mercedes Benz.