After losing the highly coveted Fashion Fringe Award by a thread, young Central Saint Martins graduates Fiona Sinha and Aleksandar Stanik made their debut in the fall of 2005. At the time the gifted duo’s highly focused and elegantly executed autumnal body of work convinced even the harshest critics Fiona and Aleksandar could cut and construct like the pros. However, coming out of the gates for the second time during London Fashion Week, the previously dazzling pair has disappointed eager fashion aficionados.

Sinha Stanik’s sophomore effort on the London runways was simple, safe, and rather bland. Replacing fall’s Empire-waist chiffon dresses, herringbone tweed trousers, and rigorously tailored jackets with a long procession of loose white garments, the designers shot themselves in the foot.

The self-proclaimed fashion devotee is constantly in search of new, surprising, thrilling, and delightful treasures. Even if a collection is referencing the past, the creative mind needs to come up with a stirring and electrifying way to reinvent retro looks. That said, Sinha Stanik’s papery trousers, run of the mill trench coats, and belted warp around jackets in sterile neutrals fail to make a memorable impact. This lineup is most certainly missing that must-have X factor.

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