Valentino: Artist for the Aristocracy

Google Image

Know your nervature from your pagine? Unless you have been to the Valentino: Master of Couture at Somerset House recently, or you work on the designer's dresses or you are in fact Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani himself then these terms may have passed you by. 

Pagine refers to the organza specific to Valentino's couture gowns. Oraganza is used in piles to create a page effect unique to his atelier. Impressive is the intricacy of his work and the sheer amount of beading used to create one of these ostentatious one off pieces alone. But to be aware of never having the amenity to own one makes you feel that there is a point where fashion balances on the shoulders of the upper eschelons of society. 

136 dresses are exhibited on a long converbelt, purposely built to showcase the Italian's artistry to the general public. In some respects I could have been at Madame Tussaud's surveying a recent waxwork sculpture or looking upon Dante's Inferno at Tate Britain. Something sinister, awe - inspiring even, yet allowing for a certain amount of detachment. It never fully engages the onlooker. The outfits are even more lifeless when displayed on a mannequin. I truly believe woman maketh the outfit rather than the other way around. 

As I will never go to a ball or meet the Obama's or marry the next King I feel all I can do is gaze at the gowns as one does through a snow globe, peeking entry to a world that is covered in mikado silk, tulle and paillette disks- one I will never set foot in. 

Red Valentino, Google Image

Shine bright like a diamond or other jewel

It is said that in times of austerity we become much more conscious of our appearance. Glamour and opulence come to the fore. Men wear suits and women don their finest accessories. Just look at any period of history when a recession has peaked, for example the Prohibition era. Most women would not look out of place in those times wrapped in a fur stole with diamond earrings of an evening.

It is difficult to be cautious and beautifully attired. I have tried to resist the allure of the cheaper high street store and found myself succumbing like a kid in a candy store. But with true testament to the saying: "All that glitters is not gold", I have had to learn the hard way with green fingers, holes in tops and splits in heels after only two months of wear.

For those of you looking for adding extra dazzle to any outfit which is worth the investment, then discover Lydia Courteille's handcrafted gems.

Google Image

One time designer for Dior you know you are buying something very special indeed. From skulls to roses there is a piece to suit your mood and the oversized rings will ensure you are way ahead of next season's trends.

Google Image

Google Image

Alexa Won

There has been an unprecedented occurence. I am prempting it as I mean to say there will be an unprecedented occurence: featuring Alexa Cheung twice on my blog in one month. Credit where it is due she deserves an award for her versatile style. The crown has been passed (unofficially) down from Queen Kate at the British Fashion Awards as she won the Style Icon award. In this post I am going to select my favourite outfits of the chung in the last year, seeing as it is very nearly 2013.

Who would have thought a buttoned shirt with leather dress with echoes of dominatrix would work? The Chung rocks it at the Met Ball. The Fifty Shades of Grey generation of sexy secretary.

Google Image

Leopard plus fashion multiply Alexa equals a very cool holiday outfit. I wish I was reclining by a beach location in those cherry sandals and not de-thawing my toes whilst watching I'm A Celebrity.

Instagram image

Who said in the summer that you cannot wear long sleeves with shorts? Just as I was about to throw out my Converse, Miss Chung gave me a reason to make them stay in the wardrobe.

Google Image

And let's face it she made and owned the androgynous look.

Google Image

She is the reason we own a leather biker jacket, a pair of loafers, trench coat, a chainmail bag and a polka dot playsuit. I cannot wait to see what she will pull out of her hat next. But one thing is for sure is a copycat of that hat will be on the shelves of every high street store in the land.

Ginsburg is still God

Two things I learnt last Friday night: Bella Freud was an assistant to Vivienne Westwood and Ginsburg is still God. This was at an evening hosted by the V&A in which Hadley Freeman, the Guardian writer interviewed Bella about her career which now spans over thirty years. It was an intimate affair and made me feel that the V&A is a tardis due to never realising there were so many rooms and lecture theatres at the back. Away from the main entrance and the throng milling in for the Hollywood Costume exhibition were a tight - knit core waiting for the youthful and sparkly - eyed fashion designer.

Kate Moss wearing 'Ginsburg is God' jumper

Freeman's interview went as far back as her childhood and growing up with having a world - renowned artist as a father, she said: "He treated it like an other professional job and worked those same long hours." When Bella told her father she wanted to pursue a career in fashion and attend art college, he replied: "But I thought you like doing nothing." This was relayed with humour as Lucien Freud designed the dog icon which can been seen on many of her knitwear pieces, showing his support for his daughter's chosen path.

Alexa Chung in 'J'taime Jane' an adage to Jane Birkin

Other anecdotes littered the conversation including Bella recalling the early burgeoning of success in the nineties with her 'Ginsburg is God' sweater. She told the audience that one day she heard a knock on her door and when opening it there was an excitable Japanese fan who could barely speak English but kept repeating: "Ginsburg is God!' Instead of being galled by this occurence Bella said she loved the fact that her fans were so determined to buy her line that they would turn up on her doorstep. Of course in the English tradition she invited the exciteable youngster in for a cup of tea.

The dog icon designed by Lucien Freud

And her fans were not just the fashion lovers in the Far East but she managed to accrue a cult following amongst the celebrity set in England. Very much a designer proud of her roots it was only right that Kate Moss should be seen with the slogan: 'Ginsburg is God' emblazoned across her chest, which by Freud's own admission created more of a buzz than any of her catwalk shows. Another time Bella recalls Jane Birkin calling her on the telephone about this design and personally congratulating her on re - focusing everyone's attention to the poetic genius. This conversation led Bella to feel she should create a phrase dedicated to Jane and hence: 'J'taime Jane' was born and worn by another well- coveted style guru, Alexa Chung.

Google Image

Bella Freud has worked with many British stalwarts in the past including Vivienne Westwood who she used to make lunch for in her flat and designed colletions for Miss Selfridge and Jaeger. Coming out of the lecture theatre I felt that Bella Freud has slightly been hidden away as an English charm and there should be a revival.  We should not be chanting 'Viva Forever' but 'Ginsburg is God.' 

Such stuff as dreams are made on

Lily Cole, Tim Walker, Google Image

Stand back, make way, roll up roll up.. the genius that is Tim Walker is in town. In each epoch or era there is a unique person who strikes out to tell stories which are head and shoulders above the rest. Before the invention of the printing press Shakespeare allowed his to unfold on the stage, Dickens sought celebrity through monthly periodicals, Roald Dahl, in the form of a paperback and Tim Burton projected his onto film.

Photographer Tim Walker's does not use words but his tales are just as powerful. His visual spectacles are the equivalent of triple chocolate treacle sundae that you feast upon until it dribbles down your chin. His fashion shoots encapsulate many different mediums: performance, literature, art and photography which leave you reeling like you have just dismounted a roller coaster ride from a freaky world.

Mulberry, Where The Wild Things Are A/W12 Campaign

His latest campaign for Mulberry has totally metamorphised the fashion giant from one that lay like a dormant bovine to a beefed up beast you would not want to mess with. In a similar way to the artist Dali, Walker plays on the idea of humanity's fragility, showing models dwarfed against a gargantuan ice cream cone, craddled next to a alligator or entangled in a tree's branch. There is often a clear and ever present sense of danger in his photography.

Models are in the thick of the action unlike a passive clothes horse their poses are suggestive of a fantasy world of dress up. His pictures emphasise the idea that you are a protagonist in your own fashion story and another outfit is a chance to play act.

Tim Walker: Storyteller opens tomorrow at Somerset House and runs until 27th January 2013.

We have some making up to do

Carine Roitfield, Google image

Smashing and boxing Carine Roitfield the MAC daddy out of the park is the US heavyweight, Smashbox for Boots. 

Sounding much like a voiceover for a movie blockbuster, which means you will forgive it as I have mentioned it, this autumn two cosmetics giants go head to head for most innovative beauty products to hit the British market.

I must commend Boots for unburdening women of the UK from watching QVC to order the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer by transferring it to its shelves and thus making it more accessible to all. But does that make it less desirable? I will admit to looking at the stand in the shop and not feeling the frisson of excitement that comes over me when a new make up line is released.

Boots Smasbox 'wish list', Google image

If the packaging did not have Smashbox written on it you may be forgiven for thinking it was a re - funk of Boots economy range Collection 2000, which by its name alone is outdated. On closer expection (of the price tag) you will find the most exciting aspect is the name, it therefore better deliver some miracles.

Ok maybe you do not need to be all kitsch and glittery pink to get people to sit up and take notice of your new concession but it does not hurt. It certainly works for aiming at the magpies of the world (i.e. me).

In the other corner of the ring is the Carine Roitfield, former editor of french Vogue and therefore the harbinger of chic and cool who has collaborated with MAC. She joins a new cult following emerging of Vogue editors who edge it up like constantly papped, Anna Dello Russo, editor of the Japan edition of the style bible.

Carine Roitfield collection for MAC, Google image

Her line is similarly black and minimalistic in uniformity with other usual MAC products however as with all of the celeb inspired ranges it is limited edition. This already helps to give a butterly fluttering. And hark there is something cute and unusual amongst the sleek lip glossies and mascaras, star transfers! Appealing to the sense of teenager in all of us when it comes to dressing up she has added tattoes that you can stick onto you face and outline with eye liner or pencil.

Ingenious! Only one slight problem is that they could be all sold out by the time I publish this post. Darn. Maybe mass produced Boots has its own charm in its ability to help out those less active fashionistas who are not the type to queue up for the new season Kate Moss collection in Topshop and prefer to buy their blusher at the checkout along with their papaya body scrub.

Ding! Ding! That is battle commences or is it the sound of my Advantage card racking up more points?

Free falling for Sky

I have had 'nough of hasbeens - no not the Swedish cool clog variety, I mean these pop stars and presenters who are regurgitated to be at the front of everything around. You cannot turn on the television nowadays without Philip Schofield at the helm and those on the wrong side of forty (Spice Girls) seemed to dominate the Olympics closing ceremony. It makes my teeth hurt.

No Doubt's new album fills me with doubts and just when I became stiffled with predictability so out of the doldrums of mediocre pop comes someone young and exciting. Sky Ferreira. Move over Del Rey who appears to have opted out of the underground circuit for the bright lights of the mainstream. Her collection for H&M has produced some more highly predictable fifties pieces for Autumn. Yawn.

Sky Ferreira at Paris Fashion Week

Ferreira's music is not try hard wacky like Grimes and not too pop to be sickly like Carly Rae Jepsen of Call Me Maybe fame. She does not also fit into the Robyn house music pop artist hybrid and therefore that makes her more appealing. She is just quite good. People like labels but sometimes you just want something to surprise you. It comes out of nowhere like finding an item of clothing in Marks and Spencers that you want to buy and wear. Suddenly it permeates your whole existence and you cannot remember a time without it. Ferreira is some such thing.

Frankenstein is in Vogue again

Frankenstein has follies with fashion. Be it on screen, on stage or in print he comes around cyclically. Now the meglomaniac doctor has unleashed his power on London Fashion Week under the guise of Christopher Kane.

Hopefully Kane will not take the overreaching option and be pecked by eagles whilst being simultaneously tied to a rock.

Daily Telegraph image

His monster appeared on t - shirts in the designer's show whilst other influences of the gothic kind ran through the detailing of the collection as a whole. Even, sometimes, oops, incongruoeusly over a pink dress.

It was as though he was playing off pretty with tough to create a selection of ghoulish masterpieces worthy of many a rock princess.

To pull off such a daring set of design couture proves how much of a stalwart he has become.

Travel a few miles for fashion girl's 9000 miles

Corey Hemingway is showcasing her artist talent in Commercial Street tonight. If you want to be inspired by some original art work check it out.

Girls on Fashion Film

Film appears to be the latest outlet for designer's new season collections. I have always been a huge fan of the two mediums intertwining: The Devil Wears Prada, Tom Ford's A Single Man and The September Issue are all classics.

I am always excited by MinkPink's films as they always keep the motifs of fun and laidback vibes paramount to the action. Clothes are made to be worn. They travel along the bumpy road of life from high points such as your first job or wedding day to the lower points of the break ups and break downs.

In the latest offering model de jour puts the 'juicy' in Juicy Couture as she kicks some chump himbo ass on the beach in some very cool A/W offerings. She is like an edgier Wonder Woman for 2012.

Clothes that reek revenge...served with a pointed stiletto boot heel. A must see.

Official MINKPINK Global Campaign 2012-01-27

I shall go to the ball

rawshoes.wordpress.com

Christian Lacoix took on sleeping beauty, Viktor & Rolf wrote their own fairy tales and now Christian Louboutin has created a glass slipper.

This is one you would not leave lying around for Prince Charming to find, made from white lace and crystal embellishment this is a limited edition shoe.

Made to coincide the re-release of Walt Disney's classic animated Cinderella this autumn they were premiered at couture week in Paris and mean any non princess's are fit to go to the ball.

Now where did I put my cleaning cloth?....

H&M and the house of Margiela

H&M image

A man, phenomenon, designer. Martin Margiela can be all of these in one which makes his latest H&M collaboration to launch in the autumn all the more exciting. It could definitely be a case of expecting the unexpected.

The Swedish high street brand have acquired a comfortable position in the fashion retail market where they have become easily ac-creditable to the collaboration. Their secret is exclusivity. For the luxury designer this reputation makes the transition onto the high street all the more easy especially as most of them sell the limited stock within a few days of hitting the stores.

Many may believe the enigmatic Paris - based designer, who has worked for Jean Paul Gaultier, Commes des Garcons and Hermes is selling out by creating a diffusion line for the fashion giant; but I firmly believe this partnership will be more of a sell out success.

The alternative Diamond Jubilee courtesy of Meadham Kirchoff

Zimbio Image

A celebration Grayson Perry would have been proud of was the Topshop hosting the Diamond Jubilee Fashion Spectacular to kick start the party in store on Friday 1st June.

It may not have been the arrival of the Queen that meant people were jostling for space to watch the show models arriving down the Oxford Circus escalator but there was almost as much hype.

Who better than to open up the party atmosphere than the outlandish designers known for their kitsch motif sweaters, fro frou skirts and pastel palette emsembles?

Dancing to Sex Pistols, 'God Save the Queen' and the Spice Girls hit 'Wannabe' left the air filled with a sense of tongue - in - cheek rebellion like the naughty teenage relative throwing an after prom party.

The models romped through the a store in satin gowns and yellow wigs until arriving on a podium in the shop window with 'Rule Brittania' playing in the background covering them in party streamers.

A zany hurrah to a ruling monarch of fifty - five years. My kind of party.

Be seen as a laidback gyspy queen

Jigsaw S/S Campaign image

This year I have mellowed. Everything is longer: my hemlines, hair and days of summer stretching ahead of me. Taking inspiration from a mixture of Stevie Nicks and Florence and the Machine I want to wear cotton smock tops and angle length polka dot skirts that button down the middle; tightened by a skinny belt.

The new Spring/Summer Collection at Jigsaw seems made for my mood. A mixture of seventies nostalgia but modernised to show hints of a noughties style attitude. Don a floppy Birkin hat that flops at the edges, walk barefoot in a meadow, chew on a blade of grass in the romance of the half light. It is not necessary to be accompanied in this reverie. The perfect way to dress for an evening's dreaming.

Diane Kruger looked the best at Coachella

Google Images

The three day festival in California has now become as much famous for its celebrity sightings as it has for its performances. This year was no exception, becoming almost a Brit affair for amongst the revellers were, Katy Perry, cosying up to Florence and the Machine's Robert Ackroyd, Rosie Huntington - Whiteley, showcasing the white shirt and denim hot pant combo, Kate Bosworth, Dita Von Teese chilling out with Kelly Osbourne and Emma Watson.

Google Images

These celebs are as much scrutinised for who they 'hang with' at the event as the style choices they make when faced with a less than glamorous occasion. I have to say that Diane Kruger was an all round winner as her style choices echoed her outward happiness to be with other half, Joshua Jackson. They made a well dressed pair in matching nautical stripes and ear - to - ear grins.

Google Images

The hat choice was on trend and a sensible choice to protect her head. She even showed us all how to wear the new cowboy boot trend with a cute summer dress. No wonder Jackson could not keep his eyes or hands off her. She was the queen of laid back cool by which I will happily rejoice and say: "eye, eye, sailor."

Top Spring/Summer 2012 Trends

It is not necessary for us to determine our key Spring/Summer look this year by colour or number just trust in the letter 'p': paisley, pastels, pyjamas, platform wedge, print clash and plain white.

Jil Sander S/S 2012

Paisley is the new floral for fans of a summer print. It works best as a separate rather than an all over look. Think more along the lines of Megan in Mad Men, a trend that represents freedom of expression and elegance rather than dismiss it as a seventies interior faux pas. Be economical; invest in a paisley pyjama trouser which can be styled up smart with a shirt or styled down to a casual look teamed with your new favourite high tops.

Philip Lim S/S 2012

Wear pastels on your lip and your hip. The candy colour suit is a ladylike alternative to the pencil skirt. It can be an overtly feminine trend however tailoring will give it a more modest and understated look. Soft peach, pink and violet shades will now be featuring in your work wardrobe.

Isabel Marant

Trainers are huge this season; literally. At last we can breathe a sign of relief by wearing a platform that will not leave our feet throbbing at the end of the day. I am not sure whether it is the Olympics that has had an influence over the new footwear choices but I am liking the comfort it brings. If you have not purchased a pair already, Italian designer, Ash are the new byword in high tops and do the best Isabel Marant copy.

Giambattista Valli S/S 2012

White does not necessarily mean boring or plain and it can be as flattering on your summer silhouette as black is in winter. Nor do you need to have a St. Tropez tan. This year's white for summer is about minimal effort. Best to opt for a classic or cult piece that you can wear for more than one year. A dress or sheer top will enhance your choice of basics.

Mary Katrantzou S/S 2012

Mary Katrantzou is queen of the print clash and the way she has earned that reputation is by doing it well. Print clash does not necessarily mean that you look messy or that you lack understanding in basic fashion rules; it is about choosing a theme. Try to pick out the same colours in your top and trouser that will compliment each other or prints that are not world's apart. For example a tribal and polka dot clash would be a no - no yet a busy floral with a busy paisley just might work.

Pimp my phone

Amazon image

One of the reasons I have a mobile phone is to indulge in my appetite for shopping. It is true. Even my anklet has a dainty keepsake box. I am more enamoured with my iPhone case than the phone's operations, ability to contact NASA or deliver take away at the drop of a hat. I jest.

Obviously I have more than one case as I have more than one handbag. I have one to match each of my outfits or mood. Stitch from Disney's Lilo and Stitch fame is an alternative to my pink Hello Kitty case. It is detachable meaning you can take his ears off. He is currently in the sale as he was a seasonal gift. That means he is a bargain to boot. A Disney character iPhone case is not just for Christmas.

The Disney - ing Heights

Asos image

You are either a Disney or a Pixar person and as Pixar was not as popular as the giant, Disney during my formative years I would have to show more allegiance to the company with the castle - in - the - sky iconography.

I think my unfaltering support can be deduced by the fact that I got my debit card stolen as a student in the Bond Street branch of the Disney store buying a Tinkerbell pencil sharpener. I never used pencils on my degree course. And of course who hasn't completed the: 'which princess am I?' competition on Facebook (Belle and I cannot for the life of me remember why, but I will take it as I am not that fond of sleeping or dwarves but properly like beasts). 

The Disney Couture range is like the adult designed Harry Potter books, a bit more expensive but you feel that you are not childish for liking it. This 3D castle ring is £59.99 from Asos but it is trendy, kitsch and gold - plated. It taps into the fantastical of fashion where you feel you have special powers. When I was nine I had a pair of Clarks shoes which came with a key to unlock into the sole of the shoe. They were actually called Magic Shoes. I felt I could enter a special portal of a princess land and overcome treacherous and dangerous quests. I even remember the advert, the girl saves a fairytale land from a wicked witch. The Disney couture range at Asos is the 2012 grown up equivalent. 

Pugs away!

Back in 2010 Gladys and Pixie, Brix Smith - Start's pugs were seen on the New York Mulberry catwalk show. At the time I thought, "uh, pugs are they in fashion now, eh?" I just saw another revival of 'It' girls carrying them around in their handbags wearing Juicy Couture tracksuits and that thought filled me with impending doom. Then Louis Vuitton got in on the act and slowly but surely their little faces have endeared themselves onto me and now I think: "pugs - yeah!" And like I always say before taking on board any passing fashion whim: "If it is good enough for LV, it is good enough for me." And I always thought I was strictly a Hello Kitty girl.

Grazia picture

Luisa Via Roma, the online luxury retailer has collaborated with designers, Mary Karantzou, Balmain and Valentino to create special edition teddy bear pugs. They have been auctioned on Ebay to help raise money for the children's charity, Unicef. On further discovery pugs are not just a pretty face. Josephine Bonaparte used her precious pet, Fortune to carry messages to her family when she was in prison before her marriage to Napolean. The breed is said to have flourished under Queen Victoria's reign. This Balmain pug looks ready for his royal close up. It has been confirmed in 2012, it's pugs away, as the pug is now here to stay.

Theretrosphere.com offers the best of vintage in the western hemisphere

Like a good vintage wine a good vintage dress can be rare but a wonder to behold. Wearing it singles you out from all the other girls during festival fever in the latest high street offering. For Florence Welch worthy style status at Glastonbury this year have a look at the range at the Net – A - Porter for vintage, theretrosphere.com.

Just like most of our favourite style icons no two of our looks are the same. Sometimes we can feel in the mood for Rhianna’s edgy mod look in We Found Love and at other times we want to be an upper East girl in a twinset and pearls aka Olivia Palermo. At theretrosphere.com they have carefully selected the best second hand pieces ranging from 1940’s cocktail glamour right through to early 90’s grunge. It will readily indulge your style mood. You will be able to track down an original pleated midi skirt without burning a hole in your purse. Most of the dresses range from £20 - £40. The website also suggests ways of achieving the key trend in top to toe vintage under their ‘Get the Look’ feature. It is not only a store but invites you into a kitsch vintage world where the cartoon character, Lottie, laments her latest fashion dilemma in her ‘Retro Diaries’. 

The key to retro style dressing is about selecting an item that enhances your own personal style. It is an investment. It fits you well. A second hand dress should not look out of place teamed with a studded leather bomber and biker boots. Everyone loves the thrill of searching for that diamond at a flea market, now you do not even need to leave the house to find the chicest vintage treasures at theretrosphere.com.

My Carrie shaped hole will soon be filled

Courtesy of MSN images

Every time I watch an old episode of Sex and the City (my favourite is season 3, Carrie's affair with Big)) I feel inspired by the beautiful outfits worn by Carrie Bradshaw. The vintage summer dresses are timeless classics, perfectly complimented with dainty gold necklaces or oversized hoops.

Watching the show is a visual spectacle, a treat for the fashion eye and that is why I am feeling excited about the new Carrie Diaries show which revolves around the antics of the teenage Carrie Bradshaw. This preview image of AnnaSophia Robb could been taken at a shoot for TeenVogue. It gladdens the cockles of my heart to see that fashion is a focus of the new series. There are not many shows like Sex and the City that put so much effort into the meticulous styling of each character proven by the several different outfit changes per episode. The show became famous for the designers just as much as the relationship dramas of the four singletons on screen.

For awhile I have found much solace in Gossip Girl however nothing really compares to the ultimate fashionable New York girl, Carrie Bradshaw. Who else can rock a $5 pair of shorts with a $500 pair of Louboutins?

Kiely, she is just in time for a Spring

I 

I know everyone is still mad over Marni (or maybe I am still behind and the trend hunters have moved onto another collaboration, fashion can be so fickle) but I am quite enamoured with the Orla Kiely range for Uniqlo. I find too much of a buzz can dampen the spark of excitement over a new collection. I don't want to have to wrestle another grown woman for a size 6 dayglo print silk top that I will wear twice and decide it is too tight.  I am ready for a Spring overhaul not a shopping spree maul.

Uniqlo are a high street chain that have been savvy in their marketing ploys, most recently by enlisting uber cool teen blogger, Tevi Levinson. They know that a more subtle advertising strategy will have people feeling they are buying into something a bit more exclusive. The combination of Kiely's kitsch sixties pop art prints fit perfectly onto the platform of a quirky Japanese label.

Kiely taps into our nostalgia. She creates designs which trigger those long summer lazy days in the park with a picnic. She makes you want to actually be one of those women, a la perfume adverts who glide their hand along long blades of luscious green grass barefoot in a babydoll. A photograph sepia snapshot of a time when you were most happiest. I think that at around £20 for a vest that is a very reasonable slice of contentment.

Show and Tell

Victor and Rolf, now those guys know how to put on a good show. The catwalk Spring/Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week was no exception. Despite the peachy cream pastels and Disney princess satins sashaying down the catwalk there is a sinister side to the designers' collections. They can tap into the gothic and macabre with black lace trimmed gowns just as easily as they conjure up pretty teen idol pink bandau. This only makes them the more fascinating as fashion designers. They know there is always a dark side to the most beautiful and ornamental.

I remember visiting their exhibition at the Barbican a few years ago and being both absolutely riveted but at the same time slightly repulsed by the huge china dolls dressed in their designs. I thought it was the best fashion exhibition I had ever attended due to my sheer reaction. Many exhibitions can be enjoyable but slightly forgettable, this one however stuck in the memory. They elicit such a strong feeling of a childhood in a epoch of grand opulence set in the face of austerity. They throw in hints to the French revolution and severe Victorian age.

The models were like mini Marie Antionette's attending their prom in 1985. The duo have clearly been influenced by a mixture of the cocktail dress and fifties sweetheart glamour. I liked that the design house have chosen to champion the choker. The 90's necklace is having 'a moment'. A stand out piece from this year's show was a peach trench with frilly a - line detail at the knee. Beautiful tailoring and a sense of the ostentatious make it all the more appealing. And if you are anything like me you enjoy fashion which is sweet but likes to dance in the dark.

Alphabet Pony

Asos Marketplace

Being the fashion magpie that I am I spotted this little bit of cuteness on Asos. She is called Rave Pony. The name suggests she is the kitsch accessory du jour for the more edgy of us out there. The company that makes these wonderful and so-cute-it- hurts trinkets are called Junkonomix. I need a Junkonomix fix pronto.

It is all so pretty...

 

Pile on the sugar, frost with hundreds and thousands, coat with layers of lace and pink icing. Nails are the narcotics of the new millennium and bring it on is all I can say. Don't be shy channel your inner Nicki Minaj and adorn your fingers with the fanciest fun frivolity!

Even just popping to the shops I feel tense and sick if my nails are not covered in the newest nail lacquer invention. This season there is so much to choose from that each nail can be adorned with a different design. Leopard, cupcake, polka dot, ice cream cone on one hand, or lighting strike, panda and hello kitty on the other. Being the most girlie of girls I have approached the trend with all the restraint of a seven year old in a Disney Store. I love new but not nasty so forgive me but I will not be investing in a cracked enamel. It is all about striving for a pretty perfection not a look that needs a manicure.

A Fashionable Life: Grace Banks

There is not much this girl does not know about fashion and even has been a consultant and lecturer on the subject. She has managed to fit in an illustrious career in only a few years. As an intern at Grazia, Grace was recommended for the job at the fashion features desk at InStyle and since then her career has only gone from strength to strength. She currently helps to develop brands through advertising whilst being a contributing writer for Aishti, the Middle East’s most prominent luxury lifestyle magazine. Grace shares her secrets with MSL on how to live a very fashionable life.

1.Tell us a bit about yourself and your career.

I’m a fashion writer, stylist and creative. I started my career as an intern for Time Out, New Woman and Grazia. Whilst I was at Grazia I was recommended for a role on the fashion features desk at InStyle magazine and I stayed there for a year. I then moved to a creative agency where I started working with fashion brands doing everything from creating magazines to styling and interviewing designers to fashion consulting. I then went freelance. I now do a mixture of fashion writing, consulting, guest lecturing and fashion advertising.

2. Describe your typical day.

Every day is different! Which is part of the reason I love my job. At the moment I’m working on the spring/summer ’12 campaign for a luxury fashion retailer so a lot of my time is taken up with that. I will choose what clothes the model will wear to the trends and copy to the music in the advert. At other times I’ll be interviewing a designer for a feature, brainstorming for future campaigns or working on trend reports. Fashion week is coming up so I’ll be going to shows during that time.

3.Do you have a treasured piece of clothing that you have kept hold of?

My favourite item is a YSL black oversized chiffon shirt. I was given it after working on a fashion show a couple of years ago. It’s black and bit gothic and it never goes out of style. I wear it with everything – a body con dress with desert boots or paired with hi-tops. It’s really versatile and chic.

4. What is the story behind the item? And why is it special to you?

I was given the shirt as a thank you for the work I’d done on a charity fashion show for the White Ribbon Alliance – Fashion For Relief. I’d helped a lot with the show, and it was a really lovely gesture. It has quite a sentimental value as it was early on in my career and it reminds me of the young me!




5. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I like visiting galleries and exhibitions; the Hayward and the Gagosian are two of my favourites. I also love shopping for vintage and original editions of books. I like to spend time with my friends too. There are some lovely new bars in London that are so fun for an evening out, Happiness Forgets and The Experimental Cocktail Club are two of my current favourites.

6. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice what would it
be?

To be yourself and do what you love. If I was to give advice to young girls, I would say find out what really makes you happy and don’t compromise in getting it. Keep moving forward and be creative!

7. Tell us a fun tip!

Bio oil. It makes an amazing hair mask just leave it on all night and wash it out in the morning!

Caroline Barnes

   
http://www.maggiesemple.com/blog/2012/02/10/fashionable-life-grace-banks/

The Dress That Turned Liz Hurley Into a Pin-up

A dress so special that it managed to propel the one time girlfriend of Hugh Grant to instant celebrity status. She went from abject obscurity to an overnight star. No wonder the black Versace dress she wore to the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral has since developed a cult following. In 2008 it was voted the greatest red carpet gown of all time. In 2010 it came second in an online poll of the top ten dresses of the last fifty years (only to be trumped by Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack Dress). It surely proves how one can dress for success.

A dress held together with safety pins is hardly the most unassuming of choices and the impact on the media was huge. The day after the premiere in 1994 it was spread across the front pages of the press all over the world. It did little harm in promoting the fashion house Versace, so much so in fact Donatella released a newer version of it again in a collection in 2009. This dress has inspired a trend for a ‘barely there’ theme of dresses on the red carpet, for example the green Versace that Jennifer Lopez donned for the Grammy Awards.

An icon in its own right and despite causing controversy for its revealing nature, the Versace gown is now simply referred to as ‘The Dress’. The reason for its resounding success and appraisal by many is largely due to it being quite different from the usual floor length couture. It was daring choice, a guaranteed head – turner. Gianni Versace stated it was punk inspired and termed it as ‘neo-punk’. Elizabeth Hurley has said that at the time she could not afford a dress to wear for the event and was given it to wear for free by the design house. Thirteen years later a copy was sold for £10,690 at Harrods in 2007 as part of an exhibition dedicated to the ‘little black dress’.

We are now in full throes of the award season, I wonder if there will be many to rival Elizabeth Hurley’s safety pin dress on the red carpet. Hugh Grant may have given a winning performance in the film but it was his one time girlfriend who won over the critics on that night.

Caroline Barnes

http://www.maggiesemple.com/blog/2012/01/31/dress-turned-elizabeth-hurley-pin-up/

Fashion in Motion: Olivier Saillard’s Show

Part fashion, part mime and part dance were the combination of performance styles present at the Olivier Saillard V&A’s Fashion in Motion event on Friday 20th January. The half an hour show, named, ‘Models at Work’ was created by the Paris based museum director, Olivier Saillard. The concept behind the show was how models have posed on the catwalk and how this has changed over time.

Entering the show arena you were greeted by V&A ushers wearing hats illumined with vibrant orange V&A initials on their heads. It added a whimsical edge to the atmosphere and appropriately prepared you for the show. Once everyone had been ushered into their places, (MSL was privileged to be seated in the FROW) the lights went up and five famous French models from various age groups were standing upstage. Saillard had followed most of the usual conventions of a catwalk show such as the music, lights and outfit changes; but with the use of some of his own avant – garde interpretation of the model’s poses and walk.


Courtesy of V&A

During part one a model held her shoes aloft in her hands rather than wearing them on her feet. Bright clothing was omitted from the performance, using only the minimal black and white. In another part of the show the models changed into white coats over a black body that resemble part of a doctor’s uniform. It was evident that the creator wanted the attention to be drawn to the models’ actions and poses as they were almost stripped down to the bare essentials like actors in rehearsal. Towards the end of the show the models performed the act of dressing, making it feel as though you were part of something illicit or private. Sailliard was revealing the undercurrent of the model’s behaviour by revealing moments that would not occur in a designer’s show at Fashion Week. He wanted the backstage to be bought to the forefront of the show.

The model poses of the eighties were fairly easy to spot in the show as the music changed to electric pop and the models walked faster into the transition of a power strut. The models were strategically placed in a conveyor belt style down the middle of the catwalk at all times, in different stages of a particular pose converging into point where art, drama and fashion meet.

I was transfixed throughout the show and bounded out of it reeling on the high of an experience that was fun yet highly courageous.

Caroline Barnes

http://www.maggiesemple.com/blog/2012/01/30/fashion-motion-olivier-saillard%E2%80%99s-show/

The First Lady of Fashion Journalism

Felicity Green is a diminutive person in height but certainly not in personality. The reason I know this is because MSL attended Susie Stone’s In Conversation Event with the good lady herself, last Thursday evening. She was the first woman to work her way up as an editor of the Daily Mirror in a male dominated sphere. During her time there she was responsible for launching the fashion houses of Mary Quant and Biba.

It was an intimate audience, held in the environs of Susie Stone’s studio, who were lucky enough to be parley to Green’s natural wit and words of wisdom. She stood up to reveal her trademark top to toe black and started to tell her story of how she became such a strong influence on a national newspaper in the sixties. She began by telling us that she did not see herself as a fashion journalist; but foremost a journalist who enjoyed writing about style. It was refreshing to listen to a woman with so much prestige being so very self-deprecating about her impact on the women’s movement. When asked specifically about this she responds: “It was nothing.” She feels there is still a long way to go before women are equal to men in the workplace and that we have not even dented the ‘glass ceiling’.

It was quite an eye-opening experience to be given an insight into her job as a fashion journalist in the swinging sixties. Although it was the philosophies on life that left more than a lasting impression on team MSL. Green believes that it is not right to ‘demolish people as you will get the best out of that person’ and she says that the best way to be is ‘honest’ and ‘kind’. In the dog-eat-dog modern world it is good to hear that traditional values are being campaigned to the young. I asked Green what was the highlight of her career. She responded by telling a story of how she gave Mary Wilson, wife of the board of trade, Harold, a perm whilst dining at her Editor’s house when she worked at Woman and Home. Far from Green feeling confident about this task she relates with bathos of how she noticed on the perm packaging it had a helpline number located in Kingston. The story ended happily however with her hairdressing skills deemed a success.

I left the event feeling in awe of someone who has such a strong essence of style from the outside and in.

Caroline Barnes



     
http://www.maggiesemple.com/blog/2012/01/23/lady-fashion-journalism/