Spotlight: Mara Hoffman

I'm a little bit obsessed with US designer Mara Hoffman's prints. A native New Yorker, Mara Hoffman first caught my eye a couple seasons back in 2012 and I have since fallen in love with every one of her collections. I'm probably the last person you will see wearing head-to-toe print but there's something about Hoffman's designs that makes me want to embrace the trend; from the bold, acid colours to the effortless silhouettes, there's something about Mara...

Mara Hoffman SS13

Mara Hoffman

The AW13 collection is quite literally to-die-for though it's probably more suited to the English summer rather than winter. Regardless, I'm super excited because Spotted on Celeb stock her designs which means that I can now indulge in my print obsession without the expense of international shipping!

If you're a fan of celebrity style and LA designers, I'd thoroughly recommend you check out Spotted on Celeb - a UK website dedicated to finding the latest celebrity fashions (think ASOS but with real designers, not copies). Not only do they stock Mara Hoffman but they also have great brands like Wildfox, LNA and exclusive to the site, For Love & Lemons.

In an attempt to coax the sun out of hiding and in honour of Mara Hoffman, I'm going to make it my mission to whip-up a head-to-toe print look for work this week so I'll let you know how I get on. Do you know of any great shopping sites? I'm always open to suggestions!

New York Fashion Week: The Prints Prevail

Yesterday I said that Alexander Wang was one of the American designers I was most looking forward to showing at New York Fashion Week and having taken one look at his Fall/Winter 2012 collection, this may have been a mistake.

It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't exactly interesting. Besides some classic Wang tailoring, the fabrics and shapes looked quite clunky and unless you're of model proportions, shapeless jumpers reminiscent of smelly wetsuits just ain't gonna work. Maybe it'll grow on me, who knows, but Alexander Wang Fall/Winter 2012 hasn't quite hit the mark or the standards we've become accustomed to.

Yesterday I said how my fear of colour restricts me to a uniform of black during the winter months but that might be about to change. Enter Band of Outsiders, Christian Cota and Mara Hoffman and their colourful, outdoorsy, printed collections. 

 Band of Outsiders

Christian Cota

Mara Hoffman

These collections probably instil the fear of God in anyone with an aversion to colour but they're so chic and well-styled it's almost impossible not to like them. Floaty peasant dresses were given sheer sex appeal and slouchy printed harem-pants were teamed with super-bright blazers at Band of Outsiders; their men's collections are always great so it'd be hard not the love the women's too. Fur is always a massive trend for Fall/Winter and my favourite variation this season has got to be the long-line waistcoat also seen at Christian Cota. His ethnic inspired collection made me want to travel back to the 70s and explore South America; it seems the printed trouser is fast becoming a serious contender for the most popular trend this season. Everything about Mara Hoffman's collection is doing it for me: the hats, the snoods, the prints, the shapes. Everything. The printed trouser and white shirt combination has to be my favourite look so far - you can just tell that over the coming weeks, there'll be a million and one variations.

I never thought I would favour bright prints over classic monochrome shapes but these collections are undeniably wonderful. I absolutely fell in love with the leather body-harnesses at Hervé Léger by Max Azria (see below) so have my fingers crossed that the high-street is taking note. How amazing would they look over a sheer vest or a contrasting body-con dress?

What are your favourite trends so far and would you like to see the high-street producing printed-trousers and body harnesses next winter? 

photos from style.com