Kinder A/W ’12

The Kinder show was perfect. The prints were elegant yet playful, and, of course—Katrantzou style—very much on trend.

Cherry reds, bullet greys and grassy greens don’t even begin to describe the wide variety of colour that was enveloped within the collection. Texture, clashing prints and clumpy shoes emanated that of a gaudy schoolgirl. And a very cool one at that.

Nearing the end, the collection took a giant leap into a completely changed look, which oozed regality yet remained quirky due to the wallpaper print.

Shark prints were the highlight and the gold lips added a majestic hint to the garments.The odd hat here and there didn’t go amiss either. A slight Mad Hatter inspiration perhaps?

Photos courtesy of Style.com

Tags: clash, fashion, Kinder, Kinder Aggugini, LFW, London Fashion Week, Mary Katrantzou, prints, Somerset House, texture

Orla Kiely A/W ’12

Orla Kiely’s tea dance was really quite extraordinary. The presentation took place inside Somerset House and was open half the day. A mixture of dancers and models either danced or sat so that onlookers could view how the clothes moved, as well as being very close up.

Champagne flowed, tea and biscuits were also available. There were around 9 outfits in total; all of which were very charming.

The collection was a combination of 1950s meets ’70s fashion, with cute shift dresses, sequin collars, and ruffles. Prints were predominant; especially those of cats and bows on feminine blouses and dresses.

Side pony tails and maroon lips added to the delicacy of the collection.

Tags: fashion, LFW, London, Orla Kiely, Somerset House, tea dance

Krystof Stroznya A/W ’12

Polish based Stroznya created a clean cut, tailored Autumn/Winter collection; ultimately wearable, infusing casual apparel with a seductive twist. Using only Polish models, of course.

The show opened with a batman style cape attached to the model’s dress— both in black, with cleavage present—which flowed very well indeed.

Envisage a wide use of silks and leather, with stunning cobalt blues, but mainly sticking to the safe palette of monochrome.

Hair was slicked back but remained silky and texturised. Black kohl was painted fairly thickly around the eyes.

Glittering black wristbands and sparkling blue chokers added a certain form of elegance to the collection.

Sexy thigh high splits were plentiful, as well as pale rose panels on the trousers. At some points I caught note of a futuristic essence in the asymmetrical cuts and the contrast of the silks and leathers.

Photos courtesy of Sabine Hutchinson

Tags: fashion, futuristic, garments, Krystof Stroznya A/W '12, Vauxhall Fashion Scout

PPQ A/W ’12

Usually with autumn/winter collections comes dark and gloom, but not at PPQ. This season Amy Molyneaux and Percy Parker smashed it hard.

A predominant focus on Dalmatians—as the ticket transpired—I swore that Cruella was somewhere frow (she wasn’t. Pandemonia was.) Large lapels, pinched waists and plenty of pleats; the show exuded elegance and wearability.

Envisage velvet, mohair and the odd spritz of emerald green every now and again. Diamante tights were key to the collection, not to forget the small diamante beauty spots on each of the model’s faces.

Hair was energized with waves and combined with a bright red lip; overall complimenting the collection in a sexy yet refined manner.

My favourite look was the black mohair coat with the wide collar and waist belt.

PS. There were even bikes!

Photos courtesy of Sabine Hutchinson

Tags: PPQ, London Fashion Week, fashion, Amy Molyneaux, bikes, Percy Parker, Pandemonia

Dash Magazine Launch

Prior to the beginning of fashion week was the Dash launch. Dash is a new, bi-annual magazine that focuses predominantly on art and fashion, and reminded me slightly of Tank Magazine.

Sponsored by Absolut Vodka with issues hanging from the ceiling, it was definitely a fun night. Here are some photos:

Erol

Josh and Tash

Naddy

Georgia

Me and Mica

Adiba

Me and Georgia

Tags: Absolut Vodka, Art, Dash Magazine, fashion

Oriol Llahona

Watch out…because your new watch will consume your wrist.

Designer Oriol Llahona, from Barcelona, has created a selection of ultra modern watches with a surrealist twist named ‘Numero 1′.

At the height of impracticality, one can only wonder who will buy these, but there’s fashion for you.

They are only available on request as they are handcrafted individually.

I also admired his ironic H20 glasses (below)

Which play on the way in which one pours oneself a glass from another glass and so on. The simple champagne glass has been converted into a sort of bottle of which you can unscrew the cap. Hopefully something more fitting will be consumed from these glasses.

The glasses were selected for the Luxepack Design Award and appeared in ‘PACK!’ released by Monsa.

Tags: Barcelona, champagne glasses, fashion, h20, luxepack design award, monsa, Oriol Llahona, watches

Flappity Flap

As you may have already seen, the roaring 20s has engrossed the S/S ’12 catwalks. Including that of Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Cavalli, Etro and many more.

With the release of The Great Gatsby soon to come, fashion and film merge once more to effectively recreate the flapper dress with a modern twist.

The word ‘Flapper’ originates from multiple meanings; one being that of a prostitute, the other being a young woman flying away, as well as a teenage girl’s hair, which has not been tied back, but ‘flaps’ on one’s back.

The Flapper dress in the 1920s involved bare arms, a plunging neckline and a straight, masculine shape. The waistline was dropped all the way to the hips, thus lengthening the body.

2012 however, has revolutionized the flapper dress, recreating it with a modern twist.

Gucci took the low neckline to a new level, yet kept the boyish silhouette, and enhanced it with intricate beading and a darker colour palette:

Ralph Lauren also indulged in 20s glamour, keeping the colours pale and delicate yet juxtaposing the lightness of the feathers with the bolder textures and panelling.

Etro’s collection was beautifully cut, but also included a wide array of patterns and colours that one would not normally combine with the originality of the Flapper dress.

Giles took the Flapper dress to a new level. Modernizing it with metallics and extraordinary volume.

Tags: 1920s, Armani, Etro, fashion, Flapper, Giles, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, S/S '12, The Great Gatsby

GARETH PUGH FOR MAC LAUNCH PARTY

A haven of free drinks, crap music, nibbles and Pugh himself; the launch party took place at the Univeristy of Westminster.

Grazia were wondering around taking photos and there was a guy with a really cool coat which I forgot to photograph.

No one likes to read so here are some photos:

Farid, Shona and James

Free photo from photobooth

Me and Princess Julia

Shona and blurry wall

All of us outside freezing our asses off and craving McDonalds

Purple crowd

Gareth Pugh’s backside

Wow.

Tags: fashion, Gareth Pugh, Gareth Pugh for MAC, MAC, Princess Julia, university of westminster

Hate your body? So does H&M!

Apparently no size is good enough for high street store H&M, who have digitally manipulated model’s bodies in order to create the best size for their brand.

Using real faces (thank God), they have used the exact same body for a variety of heads. Skin colour varies, only thanks to Photoshop, of course.

These floating heads have been digitally manipulated for H&M’s online catalogue.

Maybe it is time we chopped off our bodies and fucked fashion?

SAME BODY, DIFFERENT FACE.

Tags: fashion, H&M, H&M catalogue, online. photoshop

The Door to Dior

Will anyone dare to open it?

The search for the new Galliano began with the likes of Haider Ackermann, Phoebe Philo (Celine), Sarah Burton (McQueen), Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Raf Simons (Jil Sander), Hedi Slimane, Azzadeine Alaia, Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), Alber Elbaz (Lanvin), Oliver Theyskens, Christian Lacroix, Nicolas Ghesquiere (Balenciaga), Riccardo Tiscali (Givenchy) and, of course, Marc Jacobs; the man behind Marc Jacobs itself, and the current designer for Louis Vuitton.

A long list to say the least. A hell of a lot of rumours too. The ultimate recipe for distress. So why do we still not know? Sidney Toledano (CEO of Dior) has stated on many occasions in October that Galliano’s predecessor will be announced in “several weeks”. Well that’s a lie, do we really need another rumour?

To put your minds at ease, those who have been ruled out–either because they are loyal to their own, or feel as though Galliano was depreciated–Ackermann was considered too ‘edgy’ for Dior. Philo, Burton, Tiscali, Alaia, Elbaz, Ghesquiere have all declined. Marc Jacobs has been rumoured to have also passed on the offer.

Leaving Wang, Lacroix, Theyskens, Ju and Simons, but it seems the only man for the job is Galliano himself. Perhaps, Bill Geytten will remain head designer until the return of the par de excellence. Maybe it’s time to introduce a lesser known designer, one which does not need to fret about loyalty.

Tags: Alber Elbaz (Lanvin), Alexander Wang, Azzadeine Alaia, bill geytten, Christian Lacroix, dior, galliano, Haider Ackermann, Hedi Slimane, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquiere (Balenciaga), Oliver Theyskens, Phoebe Philo (Celine), Raf Simons (Jil Sander), Riccardo Tiscali (Givenchy), Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), Sarah Burton (McQueen), Sidney Toledano