Milan Fashion Week SS13: Fendi's Fluffy Dice

Of all the accessories in the fickle world of fashion, none get a girl more excited than a good handbag. I'm an absolute sucker for anything by Alexander Wang but for SS13, Fendi's fluffy dice and bold studded totes have come up top trumps.

Whilst I wasn't overly enthralled by the collection as a whole, the accessories really stood out as being the potential 'It' pieces of SS13. The fluffy dice are hilariously cute but the vast array of textures and varying styles that have put Fendi up there with Mr Wang; studded heels, bright geometric designs and the combination of leather and fur makes the whole collection really desirable. It's been a while since we've had some sexy handbags to covet, no?

photos from style.com

London Fashion Week SS13: Battle of the Prints

It seems that we're either going to be embracing a mishmash of colours and designs or keeping it simple next season; monochromatic-minimalism has already dominated several of the SS13 catwalks but head-to-toe prints aren't all that far behind...

 Temperley London

Erdem

Michael van der Ham

For SS13, prints have been given a bit of a grown-up makeover; knee-length pencil skirts, high-necklines and classic shapes inspired by Dior's 'new look' were all transformed by various forms of print. Michael van der Ham and Erdem are among my favourites from the London catwalks so far although I'm not convinced I'll be wholeheartedly embracing the trend next season; I'm much more of a black and white kind of gal:

Christopher Kane

As much as I love the colourful and aesthetically exciting variety of print, I feel comfortable in a monochrome palette; it requires much less thought in the morning and you know you'll always look half decent. What are your thoughts on the London collection so far? Have any designers already caught your eye for SS13? 

photos from style.com

New York Fashion Week SS13: Minimalist Modernism

I've not had a lot of time this weekend to poperly submerge myself in New York Fashion Week coverage, however, from what I have seen, there is a distinctly modernist aesthetic running through a lot of the collections. 

Alexander Wang

Prabal Gurung

Alexander Wang, New York's cool-kid and king of sports-luxe, went down the metallic and monochrome route with bold cut-out panelling and simple, clean cut lines whilst Prabal Gurung used light silk-chiffon and silk-satins to create deconstructed biker jackets and sports-inspired shorts. Both collections, though extremely different, are tied together by a sense of elegant feminine modernity.

Derek Lam

Honor

Helmut Lang

Derek Lam's collection championed the one of the fashion packs outfit staples: a simple (and occasionally baggy) jumper paired with a knee-length pencil skirt of heavy embellishment/detail. Honor, much like Wang and Gurung, used a lot of white in the collection though instead teamed it with candy-coloured tulip skirts and sheer chiffon tops; the monochrome palette really cleverly emphasised the neat silhouettes without looking dull. 

Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham was probably the bravest of the minimalist New York pack in terms of colour - though it was still fairly conservative in comparison to the sorbet-shades that dominated many of the SS12 catwalks. Chic tailoring and sharp design defined Beckhams SS13 collection, the black cut-out jacket (seen above, middle) is particularly beautiful.

New York Fashion Week never really appealed to me as a whole but some of my favourite shows in recent years have been New York based; Karen Walker, The Row, Marc Jacobs and Proenza Schouler - to name a few. What do you think of the collections so far and who are you most looking forward to showing this season?

photos from style.com

Model Off Duty

I officially have a girl crush on Frida Gustavsson. There are few people whose personal style I'm interested in keeping up to date with but Frida consistently looks amazing; last week she embraced classic tailoring and looked super chic, this week she's whipped out the Air Max and denim shorts and still looks incredible. What a babe.

From left to right: Jil Sander sweater, Kenzo sweater, Thom Grey varsity jacket, vintage varsity jacket from Rokit, Nike Air Max 1 trainers, Adidas Zx 500 trainers

I absolutely adored Kenzo's AW12 collection and have been dying for an excuse to post about this sweater - isn't it amazing?! Varsity jackets are fairly unknown territory for me but I'd really like to invest in one - Frida's jacket is a New York Yankee's jacket but there are millions of vintage options about, it's just finding one that fits! I'm a huge trainer (sneaker, whatever you want to call them) fan and bought several pairs when I was in New York so this whole look appeals to me massively; whack on a decent pair of denim cut-offs and you're good to go!

What do you think of Frida's look; are you more of a 'classic tailoring' or 'sweater and sneakers' kind of person?

photo from Altamira

Glamour US vs. Glamour UK

It's a case of Glamour US vs. Glamour UK as Emma Watson covers both editions October issue. Looking fantastic in an off-the-shoulder dress with simple pulled back hair, Emma's UK cover is miles ahead of the US version (below left) which looks fairly dated and a tad cheap...

Ignoring the cringe-worthy subheadings ("good sex and loved advice from bad men," oh dear) the UK cover is much more elegant and 'fashion forward' when compared to the US one. It's nice to see the magazine doing something more chic, especially with a gorgeous Brit actress like Emma; unfortunately her US cover just falls a bit flat when it comes to the styling and pose.

It's quite unusual to see the Glamour franchise using the same actress on their October issue but it's interesting to see how she has been portrayed; the Emma that goes to school and dates boys (US) versus the Emma that has become a fashion icon and found love amidst the madness of fame (UK). What do you think of Emma's October covers and which edition do you prefer?

photos from thefashionspot.com