Entering a whole new ballgame, the Ralph and Russo Spring 2018 collection debuted at London Fashion Week as the design duo’s first foray into ready-to-wear.

Happy Sunday, dreamers! Today I want to skip over the pond to London because there is some exciting news to discuss about London Fashion Week.

Haute couture favorites Ralph and Russo expanded their brand this week when they debuted a Spring 2018 ready-to-wear collection on the London stage. That’s right, creative directors Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo are entering a whole new ballgame of pret-a-porter style, making a more accessible collection that still oozes with all the romance and delicacy of their favorite couture designs.

Ralph and Russo Spring 2018 Ready-to-Wear

For their first chapter of ready-to-wear, the Ralph and Russo design duo focused on the whimsical flowing silhouettes we’ve come to know and love from their couture runways – but with an added utilitarian twist.

Knee-high boots, tailored jackets, metallics and sharp silhouettes add spice to the Ralph & Russo runway. That’s right, for RTW, Ralph and Russo deliver a little more punch than the dreamy collections that float down the runways of Paris. The collection toes the line of beauty with attitude, delivering a color palette that extends beyond dreamy pastels to include cobalt blue and jet black. There’s also ice-cold silver and rose gold metallics, accompanied by rich floral prints.

(Naturally, I mean – this is Ralph and Russo we’re talking about.)

Ralph and Russo Spring 2018 Ready-to-Wear collection at London Fashion Week I DreaminLace.com — This Interstellar look is a fun departure for Ralph and Russo and makes me re-think my stance on head-to-toe metallics.

Metallic Evening Gowns!

While I adore MUCH of this collection, my favorite looks from the Ralph and Russo Spring 2018 designs come in the form of metallic, pleated evening gowns. They float so beautifully down the runway and effortlessly mix metallic blues and floral prints in a way that’s elegant, sexy and seemingly a whole LOT of fun to wear.

(Which is brilliant, right? I mean…fashion is supposed to be fun, after all.)

Probably what is most amazing about the Ralph and Russo Spring 2018 ready-to-wear collection is how strongly it represents the vision of what we’ve come to love from the couture designs.

So often, I feel RTW designs feel like the ghost of couture – but Tamara and Michael have managed to maintain the essence of their couture pieces while adding in more pret-a-porter type styles like the jackets. It’s about as close to a couture collection as I think you can get and I’m so excited to see their top-notch craftsmanship brought to the world of rtw and I hope this new chapter for Ralph and Russo unfolds into many, many more.

The Beauty Look

Of course, I wouldn’t be me without reflecting a bit on the beauty look.

For the Ralph and Russo Spring 2018 rtw debut, models were fresh dewy skin with very little foundation and concealer. To add some drama? Metallic silver eyes added pop to the complexion, creating a beauty look that perfectly compliments the ss18 and perfectly toes the line of traditional and futuristic.

To see the full Ralph and Russo Spring 2018 rtw collection in action, definitely head over to their website to watch the complete runway video from London Fashion Week. It will truly take your breath away watching these designs float down the runway, trust me. (In fact, you might want to sit down for this. Fair warning!)

Runway and backstage images courtesy of Ralph and Russo.