Been So Long....Went to Valentino Exhibition...

Been a long time since I made a post. Back in February went to somerset house to see the Valentino: Master of Couture Exhibition. It was really good, manage to get some sneaky pictures and did some quick sketches. Some of the dresses were just so flawless and elegant. It was a lovely exhibition and so glad I went to see it, I do like Valentino dresses a lot. There was also a room which showed different fabric techniques used to make some of the dresses, which was really interesting to see and learn. 

Hopefully will get back to blogging more again :) 

Chanel Autumn/Winter 2013-14 Show at the Grand Palais in Paris!

Karl Lagerfeld revealed his latest designs for Chanel at Paris Fashion Week 2013. The Autumn/Winter 2013/14 catwalk show took place at the Grand Palais in Paris.  A 50ft tall revolving globe was at the centre of the catwalk as models presented the collection from one of the World’s most famous fashion brands. As usual Chanel makes one of the grandest and elegant runways of Paris Fashion Week, leaving their spectators in awe! Celebrities in attendance included Jessica Chastain, Milla Jovovich and Frank Ocean.

Karl Lagerfield does it again with a ultra chic, yet modern with the signature classic tweed Chanel looks. Every detail was spectacular from the hats, to jewellery and the beautifully intricate looking bags. There were lots of classic blacks within the collection but also pops of colour which lightened the runway but Chanel's shows are always very entertaining and full of drama.

Source:Metro

Emilio Pucci Creates Rita Ora’s Tour Wardrobe

Last night Rita Ora The Radioactive Tour, kicked off in Manchester - which brought the collaboration to light for the first time. The costumes were designed to provide the "best possible freedom of movement" in order to allow the performer to execute her choreography fully

Emilio Pucci has designed the dazzling costumes for Rita Ora's new tour, where creative director Peter Dundas worked closely with the singer to create a series of outfits to "perfectly echo her unique take on urban glamour".

The idea of movement became a key creative concept behind the designs, coupled with the re-interpretation of key themes from the brand's spring/summer 2013 collection. The outfits include a metallic armour-inspired bodice, a military camouflage jumpsuit and a flowing golden cape.

"I was thrilled to design the costumes for Rita'sRadioactive Tour, from the moment I met Rita we've had a great connection and doing something like this together felt like a natural progression," said Dundas. "The costumes have impact and flamboyance in a way that feels personal to Rita whilst staying true to the Emilio Pucci aesthetic."

Personally really like these illustrations as well !

Source: Vogue

Chanel hosts another show spectacular in Paris' Grand Palais for Couture Fashion Week

As is tradition, Chanel hosts another show spectacular in Paris' Grand Palais as part of Couture Fashion Week - during which models walked through a makeshift forest, complete with leaves, trees and flowers.

There was plenty of elegance and almost whimsical floor length laced and floral dresses which graced the ethereal runway that is Chanel's signature.

The time and thought can be seen in many of the luxurious gowns and pieces, with the amount of beautiful craftsmanship which have gone into them and truly making them couture pieces.

Source: stuff.co.nz

Bath Fashion Museum Celebrates 50 Great Dresses

 FIFTY of fashion's most beautiful dresses will go on show at Bath's Fashion Museum on February 2, as the museum celebrates its 50^th birthday. The 50 Fabulous Frocksexhibition - which took two years to create - will include iconic names such as Schiaparelli, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, in addition to contemporary labels, including Erdem and John Rocha. (Above the image is off a Tartan satin dress, mid-1860s)

Above: Champagne bottle dress and cream silk ball dress

"The selection of the 50 pieces has been a careful editorial process," said Fashion Museum principal curator Rosemary Harden, who compiled the showcase with fashion writer Iain R Webb. "There were some show-stoppers to be included right from the start, but other pieces came and went - and then came back again into the final exhibition object list. Some of the pieces in the show illustrate a personal wardrobe moment, while others mark an iconic moment in fashion history."

Above: Alexander McQueen white cotton lace dress and moulded leather collar, spring/summer 1999 collection

The collection showcases ancient pieces which dates back to the 1660, while the most recent is taken from Burberry's autumn/winter 2012-13 collection. (shown below)

 

Source: Vogue

H&M Has Today Announced Plans To Offer A Global Clothes Collecting Service

 Swedish retail giant H&M has today announced plans to offer a global clothes collecting service. H&M strive to reduce the environmental impact of clothes on landfill sites. In selected stores from February 2013, customers will be able to discard of unwanted garments into H&M shops - regardless of their origins, in exchange for a £5 discount voucher for each bag donated. The voucher can then be used against a transactional purchase of £30 or more. The collected clothes are then handled by H&M's partner, I:Collect, which provides the infrastructure in which consumer goods are repeatedly reprocessed and made available for new use. "Our sustainability efforts are rooted in a dedication to social and environmental responsibility," explained Karl-Johan Persson, CEO H&M. "We want to do good for the environment, which is why we are now offering our customers a convenient solution: to be able to leave their worn out or defective garments with H&M." The scheme is similar to the 'Shwopping' initiative launched by Marks & Spencer this April. Hiring the glamorous Absolutely Fabulous actress Joanna Lumley as the face of the campaign, the scheme encourages customers to swap any old or unwanted items in return for a £5 voucher; the clothes are then recycled or resold by Oxfam. In October M&S unveiled the first product to be manufactured from Shwopped items - a limited-edition, double-breasted jacket made from recycled wool, priced £89. It is awesome how these retail giants are also concerning themselves about the environment and being socially responsible rather than just be aiming at gaining profits. Hopefully more companies will join onto the bandwagon in the near future !

Source: Telegraph

Making Of the Louis Vuitton Miami Design District Store Facade by RETNA

 Watch the video below of renowned street artist RETNA transforming the Louis Vuitton Miami Design District store facade into a work on art. The artist has applied his usual font based designs to the entire exterior of the store front. Which you can see the final outcome above and I think it looks awesome, fun and a quirkier approach for the French luxury brand, with the bright and bold use of colours it fits perfectly for the Miami store. Rumors of RETNA collaborating with Vuitton have been floating around for a while already. We have even heard that he has worked with LV on product as well, including the scarf that he is wearing in the above video, but we cannot confirm that yet.

Tom Binns Teams Up With Lisa Hoffman to Create Scented Luxury Jewellery

 Ever feel like you lose your perfume scent during the day now there's a wonderful solution for it, with a new design innovation of scented luxury jewellery collection by Tom Binns and Lisa Hoffman, two artisans at the height of their craft. The collaboration of a special collection that marries Lisa’s ground breaking fine fragrance with designs that reflect Tom’s unwavering devotion to avant-garde aesthetics. A sublime combination of form and function, the collection is destined to become a cult favourite — and a personal obsession.
 
 Hoffman, who’s had a professional role in the beauty industry since 2007, became a fan of jewelry by Tom Binns when her famous husband, actor Dustin Hoffman, gave her one of his pieces as a present. It was about a year ago when Hoffman visited Binns in Los Angeles to discuss her idea of a fragrance jewelry line, which she told WWD that he loved because of the idea that jewelry and fragrance are worn on the same places on the body. “What was so wonderful and thrilling for us was the organic connection between jewelry and fragrance,” she said. The result is stylish scented jewelry that is designed to be as fragrant as possible in the most efficient way.
 
 What Hoffman and Binns came up with is an equal blend of both professionals. Using eco-friendly materials, Binns created pod-shaped curved pendants that encase fragrance beads and effectively emit them through small vents. The scents are creations from Hoffman’s beauty line, including Japanese Agarwood, Madagascar Orchid, Tunisian Neroli, French Clary Sage and Tuscan Fig. One challenge of creating the fragrance beads’ wood flour-based formula was finding a medium that didn’t react badly to the jewelry’s materials. Ultimately, Binns chose five metal varieties that correspond to Hoffman’s five scents, including bronze, rhodium, gold, rose gold, and brushed gold— all at $250 (Approximately £167). Cuffs for $300 (Approximately £188) and earrings for $200(Approximately £125) will be available in November and January, respectively. The designs are beautiful and to have second functionality of spreading a wonderful scent just makes them all that more special. So definitely could consider these as a great Christmas gift, also there are more scent luxury jewellery at Lisa Hoffman Beauty.

 

Rihanna is American Vogue's Latest Cover Girl!

 Rihanna is the November cover model for American Vogue and looking hot in red doing so. Sporting her black pixie hair cut and a very sultry facial expression the singer is looking stunning and featured in a full beautifully artistic fashion editorial within this issue. Rihanna dubbed by the fashion mag as 'The unstoppable artist" and the images are photographed by Annie Leibovitz.  You can have a look at all the stunning pictures below:

Just absolutely love these editorial shots they are telling a story and in each photo she makes the clothes look amazing! 

Rihanna really channels her inner high fashion model in this editorial, if she wasn't a singer then she definitely could be a full time model but she is a singer and will be promoting her newest single 'Diamonds' and her newest album 'Unapologetic' which you can have a look at the sexy album cover below if you haven't already:

Source and to read the article on the international superstar visit: http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/rihanna-unstoppable/#

Raf Simons’s prêt-à-porter debut at Dior

 Dior faced difficult times with their brand image after John Galliano slightly tarnished by sweeping himself in controversy.  But Raf Simons was here to save the day and rebuild the classic brand's image. He previously worked for a smaller brand Jill Stuart but didn't stop the talented designer from picking up the pieces and taking on the challenges of designing the couture collection only six week prior to him joining Dior. The most recent collection shown a Paris Fashion Week was interesting as I personally felt parts of it embodied the true Christian Dior timeless appeal but also had a mix of contemporary movement.
Some of the looks included strapless sheaths worn over slim trousers in the show, honed and polished. But there was much more: the famous peplumed Bar jacket worn as a dress; New Look skirts slimmed down, lengthend to the ankle and doused with metallic roses, inspired by Christian Dior's flower gardens and worn with stretch tops taken from swimwear; short-sleeved silk T-shirt dresses with asymmetric trains, some veiled with tulle tunics and a line satin dresses, again a nod to 60s Dior. There was plenty of lightness and movement, courtesy of the organza layers, sometimes as many as six in a single dress, and the bias cut pleats which featured on peplumed jackets and mini skirts were inspired by Christian Dior's architectural pleating from the 1950s.
 

Source: The Telegraph

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Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013

The Fashion Weeks are still going and now Paris Fashion Week has landed and being the so called 'Inventor or haute couture' Paris has a lot of fashion standards to meet up to! Also there lots of exciting brands showing of course very well known designers/labels such as Chanel and Dior who are gearing up for Raf Simons' first ready-to-wear collection for the brand. Let's have a look at some of the PFW collections which I personally liked:
 
 Whitechapel-based designer Nana Aganovich delighted with her collection of split hems and giant vegetable prints. The designer uses a bold print of sunflowers and the rich colour of teal. The collection was quirky and sweet, the silhouettes was interesting which had no sexy vibe but showed a more cool laid back appeal.
Marcel Marongiu for Guy Laroche showed a youthful and baring quite a bit of skin collection. Silhouettes showcased clean lines with a bit of a structured feel which could be becaues the collection is said to be inspired by architecture and Frank Gehry. Use of very cute prints and bright turquoise mint blue with black and white colour palette also the bare midriffs the Guy Laroche show was sure on point with trends.

 Probably one of the most popular shows people look forward to after Chanel and Dior respectively is Balenciaga who is designer by Nicholas Ghesquiere sent out slender, precise-cut pantsuits that alternated with gypsy-inspired black skirts and dresses, cut on the knee with a curvy, pink or yellow flounce at the hip or the skirt. The collection was shaped with sharp lines and ruffles also bared some skin and midriffs which I think came together very well to present a elegant but very sexy aesthetic. Personally my favourite is the ruffled asymmetric skirt!

Be sure to stay tuned for the Chanel and Dior Shows which are bound to be magnificent!

Source: The Telegraph

British High Street Retailers: Going Up and Going Down

Who’s the king of the British high street? Let’s have a look at the companies who have be thriving forward and staying strong in this economic recession. First comes to no surprise comes from the current largest retailer Inditex is their money making brand Zara. Who have taken over the international retail market, with stores spanning through China and the US giving them increasing sales. The key to Zara is being fashion-aware but never too out there and priced affordably but not too cheap.
Next is a retailer who has probably taken a back seat in the British High Street for a while is Whistles but has come back since Jane Sheperherdson who was the former Topshop director took over in 2008 and creating a mature, minimal but feminine aesthetic. Whistles have then seen in a rise in their sales and by providing their consumer with a balance of clothes which are not too high fashion for the regular folk but at great quality.
 John Lewis is one of Britain’s biggest department stores has also seen a nice increase in sales as we could tell with their lengthy endearing TV commercials. I guess it’s true you have to spend money to make money but it also helped being the official department store of the Olympics & Paralympics. John Lewis also benefited from the Diamond Jubilee but putting aside the nation’s celebrations which have helped them boost sales, they have moved forward with collaborating with London Fashion Week designer Alice Temperley on the Somerset range. Proven much success as the collection became the fastest selling brand launch in the store’s history.
 
Might not exactly be on the high street literally but there is no stopping the internet fashion powerhouse which is ASOS. Only having launched in 2000, the online store has been bookmarked by millions and with a 31% rise in this week sales proves that it’s still going strong and doesn’t seem like it will slow down as they have expanded worldwide shipping. Reason being ASOS presents their customers with affordable to luxury branded products with the mix of entry-level designers brands, high street and their own label. Basically having something for everyone is their success!
Another no surprise is H&M which is Hennes & Mauritz for short (for those who didn’t know) the Swedish brand is the second largest fashion retailer. Reasons being that H&M offers all the bases for the customers from very affordable clothing to then limited edition designer pieces. They keep up to date with fashion trends and have wide ranges to give and pioneer with high-street/designer collaborations which have seen sold out success nearly every time, like this year’s Versace range.
 While Gap saw brighter days in the past seem they are picking it up again by going back to basics. The company are visiting its glory days by going back to their American classics and with the ne creative director coming in Rebekka Bay who was at COS it will hopefully continue to lead Gap back on its right path.
Now sadly brands and retailers who aren’t doing so well are Marks & Spencer who have seen a drop in sales. The cause is probably that they are slightly old fashion and out of touch in what their customers want. But there’s hope as the for Jaeger chief executive will be taking over as the New style director this month also their lingerie collection with model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was its fastest-selling underwear collection ever.
 
 French connection has definitely fallen off the radar and not doing so well due to the fact they aim for the middle age market and clothes are slightly overpriced and not a strong enough brand identity. Take their campaigns for example, FCUK campaign worked well for a cheeky 1990s consumer but new, almost philosophical tone – "This is the collection" – jars with stock that focuses on workwear and partydresses.  Lower prices and a more cohesive ad-to-store identity would certainly help.
 Finally a brand which rose quick might fall quick too, with only distressed hoodies and heavy logoed retro t shirts Superdry doesn’t seem like it can go any other way. It became the fastest growing fashion brands in the world by 2012 but with same designs pretty much maybe just in a slightly different colour just sort of gets boring and seem to have also caused their customers to grow tired of the brand. Not to ass one of the founders Theo Karpathios, left unexpectedly in August.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk

Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013

 London Fashion Week ended and Milan Fashion Week Started. With Italy housing many well know designers and brands such as Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, Prada and Verscae just to name a few, it would wrong to not have a look. One of the famous brand and designer is Armani of course and in true Armani style the collection features a more tone down and delicate look compared to other runways. Emporio Armani has always channelled a easy city chic and does this again with the collection by using a loose silhouettes with gentle 'caffeinated' colours.
 
Blugirl which is a brand under the Italian Fashion house Blufin where the core brand is Blumarine. The Blugirl collection showcases a beautiful modern girl romance but slightly sexy with plenty of sheer looks which didn't cover up much. Even so with a bit too much exposure but the collection still was ethereal and had it's youthful sweetness in some looks.
Ermanno Scervino who has been only heating up the catwalks only a few years ago sure knows how to continue to please with this ultra sexy spring/summer collection of bright hues and long silhouettes.  The opening section was discernibly Cavalli-esque, but drenched in Capri sun the collection is hot in so many ways and exudes confidences in each outfit.

For more on all the going on at Milan Fashion Week visit: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9551251/Milan-Fashion-Week-springsummer-2013-latest.html