Spotlight: Lady Gaga 'Born This Way'

You've got to hand it to Lady Gaga because she's only gone and made another beautifully bizarre video, this time for latest single Born This Way. Released earlier today, the Born This Way video has got everything from graphic vagina references to dancing skeletons - I wouldn't expect anything less, especially as it was directed by the wonderful Nick Knight.

I know she splits opinion but I think she is a genius; no other female artist is making such great pop songs or brilliantly controversial videos and she deserves credit for that alone. The video also exploits the unusual face and shoulder implants that Gaga has been sporting during promotional tours - I can't say they're even remotely appealing to me but I can almost guarantee that scenesters around the globe were searching 'horn implants' as soon as they saw them. Weird.

Anyway, you can watch the full Born This Way video here; even if you don't like her music, it's worth a watch. What do you think of Lady Gaga? Are you a lover or a hater?

Photos from youtube.com/Lady Gaga/Nick Knight 

Milan Fashion Week: Missoni AW11

If you've been reading my Fashion Week coverage (or if you just happen to know that I like wearing black) then you'll probably be surprised to hear that I actually quite liked Missoni. In fact, I'm surprised that I liked Missoni. For starters, I stay away from colour as if it were the plague, especially pastel-shades that make candy-floss look tame. Secondly, I'm a 90s girl, not a 60s chick - I don't think that needs any explanation? Anyway, here are my favourite looks...

This collection shouldn't appeal to me, but it does. The floral chiffon, the oversized knitwear, the beautiful tailoring - it's all beautiful. Admittedly, I could do without the snakeskin biker jacket and tea-towel maxi-coat but no one's perfect, right? I think the reason I like this collection is because of it's candy-sweet grunge vibe; it might be colourful but the oversized jumpers worn over maxi-dresses and dark lips scream 'grunge'. Milan has been a little lacklustre until now and I really want to see more of this trend on the catwalk for AW11 because I absolutely love it.

Anybody else yearning for a grunge revival as much as me? Also, am I mad to like this collection, what do you think?

Photos from style.com

Milan Fashion Week: Jil Sander AW11

My personal style isn't exactly what I'd call 'polished' therefore I often struggle to relate to the Milan shows; however, there are a couple of designers that I couldn't miss (Prada, Fendi, D&G and Gucci - although this season I was supremely disappointed). Jil Sander is one of those labels that has minimal-chic down to perfection although maybe this is because Raf Simons is at the helm - either way, there's always something really great from every collection. Here are my favourite looks from AW11 that carry on nicely from last seasons simple maxi-skirts...

The first thing that I noticed were the black, pointed, heeled wedges which have been styled brilliantly with bare legs and unstructured dresses. I love the outsize silhouette, especially on the pale grey maxi and teal bubble-dresses - Raf is the master of making something simple extraordinarily beautiful and this collection is no exception. I've noticed quite a few low ponytails on the catwalk this season but I think it's a really difficult style to pull off unless you have the bone-structure of a skeleton. 

This collection isn't for everyone but then not everyone could wear it - you need great legs and even better shoulders to not be drowned by these looks. What do you think, would you be able to wear these looks as they are or would you mix it up with black tights and a pair of statement boots?

Photos from style.com

Borderline Obsessive

That's how I would describe my love for Abbey Lee. I was really rather sad that I didn't see her at London Fashion Week (to be honest the only remotely exciting people I actually did see were Janice Dickinson and that dude from Dragons Den) and I still haven't recovered from the whole thing so I apologise for the cop-out post. Until I get back into the swing of things, here's a beautiful photo of Abbey leaving the Fendi show earlier today in Milan...

The dress, the insanely amazing stacked gold platforms, the leopard jacket - I have serious wardrobe envy right now. Only Abbey could combine all those things without looking like a hooker, right?

Who has the best street style of all the models? I'd usually have to toss between Freja and Abbey but this ensemble is putting her in 1st place at the moment...

photo from http://altamiranyc.blogspot.com/ 

London Fashion Week: Katie Eary AW11

Men's Day at London Fashion Week is like a whole other world: there's no fussing or flapping when it comes to shows because everyone just gets on with it. Today was a nice wind-down after a hectic few days and some of the menswear designers really stood out, especially Katy Eary. I love Katy for her insanely cool accessories and this season she didn't disappoint - check these babies out:

The New Era hats were one of my favourite details from AW10 so I'm really excited that she's bought them back again for AW11. Inspired by a twisted notion of the American Dream and Frankenstein imagery, Eary's fluorescent collection included soft leather biker gear, bright feathery knits, leather spiders-web t-shirts and her signature leopard print design featured in a variety of different forms.

For AW11 Katie also delved into womenswear which I'm super happy about. The green sequinned maxi-dress was absolutely stunning and had all the girls backstage swooning. Bonnie Wright of Harry Potter fame was enlisted as one of the female models and she did a great job walking in the ridiculous (but also amazing) heels. Her Twilight actor fiancée Jamie Cambell-Bower was in the front row to lend his support and he was obviously very impressed with his lady, how adorable!

As you can see, very impressed. I'm an accessories girl through-and-through so this show was like a dream for me. My favourite piece's were definitely the stacked Nike Air Force One's, the New Era hats and this little beauty...

How fun is that?! I'm kind of glad that Fashion Week has finished here in London because I'm absolutely shattered but as always, it's been a great experience. What do you think of Katy Eary AW11, will you give it a thumbs up or down?

Photo's taken by me, do not use/copy without permission!

London Fashion Week: Ashish AW11

I saw my first Ashish show this time last year and I've been hooked ever since; it was really exciting being back again for AW11 because I completely and utterly adore the label. Not only does Ashish make sequins edgy (as opposed to something that resembles an 80s disco-ball) but he makes such beautiful and playful clothes that I can help but dribble at the mere sight of them. I've not had a chance to catch-up with the rest of London Fashion Week yet but this collection is by far the best I personally saw all season...

I literally thought this collection was ingenious; I'd even go so far as to say that Ashish is the master of sequins - how great are the baggy skeleton trousers?! This seasons heroine (you'll love this) is "perfectly content to sponge off Mum and Dad, yet discreet enough to ensure her flatmates are unaware of her imminent succession to a thousand acres of grouse shooting and a castle that makes Balmoral look like a Portakabin". As I said, ingenious.

Ripped jumpers juxtaposed perfectly with sequinned trousers; great for dressing-down the going-out look and vice versa. I haven't seen the BFC showspace that rammed for a long while which made the whole experience rather sweaty/exciting - especially because of the whole "only one day left to go" vibe. I never thought I'd say it but I'll be glad to see the back of London Fashion Week for another season, I miss having a social life and regular sleeping pattern!
















What do you think of Ashish? Have any shows really stood out to you from London or are you waiting for the big boys in Paris and Milan to strut their stuff?

Photos taken by me, do not use/copy without permission! 

London Fashion Week: Ziad Ghanem AW11

Ziad Ghanem has been the most surprising show I've seen so far this season. It threw me a bit, you could say. Not only was there a mix of female and male models (in full make-up and dresses, might I add) but the some of the dresses were out of this world. Admittedly many of them weren't to my liking but what's fashion if you can't have fun with it?

 As you can see, the make-up was pretty terrifying but it also made it unusually difficult to distinguish the girls from the boys. I thought the face-paint slightly detracted from some of the clothes but all to their own!

This was my favourite dress from the collection - there's only so much avant garde one can take and this struck a great balance between being a bit wacky and being really quite beautiful. I can see this being worn by a Hollywood A-Lister on the red-carpet without looking too vampy because it's so stunning, no?

Photo's taken by me, do not use/copy without permission!

London Fashion Week: Olivia Rubin AW11

I used to think I was quite a dab-hand at photography but judging by the quality of these photo's, it's safe to say I'm not. I'd never been to Jalouse before and still think it a strange venue for a fashion show but Olivia Rubin made it work in her own quirky way.

Olivia is rather skilled in the print-department and as you can see from these (rather blurry) photos, she's not shy when it comes to colour. There were some really lovely pieces from the collection - a brick-print maxi skirt and a purple brick/floral print top were especially cute - but I didn't feel particularly inspired. I think Olivia has a lot of potential as her prints really are great but at the moment her clothes are missing that much needed va-va-voom.

What do you think of Olivia's collection? Being a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to fashion shows, I like to feel safe knowing that I'll see everything with ease, what do you think about watching a show in a nightclub instead of on a catwalk?

Photos taken by me, do not use/copy without permission!

London Fashion Week:Eun Jeong AW11

I'm a massive fan of the good 'ol headscarf but there's only so many ways you can wear one until it gets boring. Enter Eun Jeong. Not only were the head-scarves very beautifully pinned but the collection was really stunning too. Do, excuse the poor quality of my photos - I was perched on a wobbly school bench behind a rather tall man therefore they're not as great as I would have liked.

These images don't do the scarves any justice - they really were beautiful and made me think 'how on earth am I going to recreate that?!' which is always a good sign. There were a lot of geometric shapes and gorgeous  draped-back dresses - it's such a shame that you can't properly see the garments because they too were really crafted and wearable. Even though Eun Jeong wasn't originally part of our LFW schedule, I thought the collection was wonderful - one to keep an eye on!

What do you think of Eun Jeong's take on head-scarves? I've just returned home from the Olivia Rubin show at Jalouse and will post all the photos as soon as possible - what has been your fave London show so far?

All photos taken by me, do not use/copy without permission!

London Fashion Week: Paul Costelloe AW11

 Paul Costelloe is one of those designers whose clothes don't really appeal to me. With that in mind, not only were some of his dresses super cute, I now officially want a sharp, red bob. How insane are these wigs?

There were lot's of a-line shift dresses and easy-going prints which were nice but I wouldn't go so far as to say that they were boundary pushing. I still can't get enough of the wigs - they definitely made the collection a lot more appealing to me.

When working backstage, you usually bump into some that leaves you a bit gobsmacked. Last year the mere sight of Abbey Lee rendered me speechless and I think it's safe to say that Janice Dickinson's sudden appearance had the same effect for all the wrong reasons.

I really, really love this woman and think her obnoxious diva behaviour is totally fabulous, much to the dismay of many readers, I can imagine. Anyway, she was everything I expected her to be and she was really rather pleasant once you got past the whole 'look at me' vibe. Either way, I was speechless. 

What do you think of the Costelloe wigs, do you love them or hate them?

Photos taken by me, do not use/copy without permission!

London Fashion Week: Caroline Charles AW11

Apologies for the delay in posting, I have been non-stop since London Fashion Week began yesterday and have only just had time to upload my photos! Although I wasn't particularly impressed by Caroline Charles, I do really love these imagess from backstage...

The collection was a little bit too Marks and Spencer's for my liking although that's not to say the clothes were bad; they were just miles apart from my own personal taste.

I'll be updating my Twitter as much as possible over the next couple of days so you can stay in the loop too! 

Many thanks to Vitamin Water who have allowed this post and every post to follow. 

Photos all taken by me, do not use/copy without permission!