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

London Fashion Week: Fall Forward with Florals

Unless you've been living in a cave since September, you'll be acutely aware of the amount of floral prints that have cropped up all over the high-street. Everyone from Topshop to Marks and Spencer are having a go which undoubtedly means that there's something for everyone - even the colour-phobes like myself. However, amongst others, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders have been flying the floral flag here in London for Fall/Winter 2012:

Christopher Kane

Jonathan Saunders

Unlike the prints that we saw in abundance on the Spring/Summer catwalks, Winter florals are bigger and somehow more mature. Instead of the familiar pale yellows, blues greens and pinks that came in the guise of small, dainty designs, next season is more dark and brooding with greens, red and purples taking centre stage.

There are millions of different varieties of floral print on the high street already so if you're sensible, you can buy statement pieces to take you through both seasons. Recycling doesn't get much better than that! So if you want to get ahead then ditch the pretty pinks for murky greens and remember, the bigger the print the better. Capish?

photos from gorunway.com via Vogue

London Fashion Week Street Style: Tommy Ton

Not only does Tommy Ton have an impeccable eye for great street-style, but he also knows how to frame a picture perfectly. This image makes me a) want long blonde hair, b) own a scallop-front jacket and c) wear blue. I hate wearing blue (don't ask) so that's quite an achievement, no? The point is, this is a really great photo that captures some fantastic styling. I'd love to know who the woman in blue is and where she got her trousers from because they are really rather super - any help here?

photo by Tommy Ton from style.com

London Fashion Week: Central Saint Martins FW12

I promised myself to try and blog everyday, well, clearly that didn't quite go to plan. Not only did I skip-out the end of New York Fashion Week but now I'm behind on London Fashion week which started yesterday. A big, fat, massive oops. Anyway, I kept a close eye on Twitter for the kick-off of LFW and as usual, the Central Saint Martins show was one of the most hotly anticipated. I half expected the whole show to revolve around the Olympics (yawn) but thankfully only one collection obviously drew reference from the upcoming event. Some collections were fantastic but unsurprisingly, some felt really amateur. There were some that were heavily influenced by the likes of Hussein Chalayan, Aitor Throup, Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo whilst others looked more original. My favourites were not the ones that were outlandish or commercial, but the ones that I would personally like to wear.

Although menswear, Kenji Kawasumi tapped into the whole outsized, rounded aesthetic that appeared all over the New York Fashion Week catwalks. I have no idea what fabrics have been used but unlike the apocalyptic colours and shades seen during NYFW, Kenji's collection was playful and bright. Erna Einarsdottir's collection, although not particularly exciting, had some stunning knitwear and geometric detailing;   I don't know anyone that isn't partial to a cosy grey knit for winter!

If you've ever worked with a computer program where you can print the margins and all that other tech malarky, you'll have seen the colour marks and edges that are then trimmed off. I'm not sure whether this was a starting point for Charlotte Helyar, but her collection was slick, structured and genuinely interesting. Now, I'm not all that comfortable with Burka related design aspects but Petra Metzger's collection would still have been clever without the unusual choice of headwear. Maybe I've got the wrong end of the stick entirely, either way, there was something pretty remarkable about her collection; though I can't quite put my finger on it.

The best thing about London Fashion Week is that designers aren't afraid of being creative, of looking outside the commercial box. The Central Saint Martins show is renowned for it's weird and wonderful collections that constantly remind us of why the school is one of the best in the world. Amongst others, CSM helped launched the careers of Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Barbara Hulanicki, Sarah Burton, Hussein Chalayan, Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou and Stella McCartney - these students are the ones to watch out for.

What do you all think of the Central Saint Martins show and do you think its status of being one of the most hotly anticipated of LFW is well-deserved? Who were your favourites?

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!