Wednesday 5 October 2011

Kanye West's KW S\S 12 collection

There has been much speculation and talk about the Kanye West S\S show, yet once it hit the runway it did not hit the spot for the fashion gliterati. The reviews have been extremely poor and seems that all he offered was a sparkling front row rather than a glitering and full of prospect collection. At a first and very quick glance I thought that it was a interesting and rather chic ensemble, however once paying more attention and having the time really inspect the designs my opinion quickly changed. Each piece I felt really had no connection with the next, I felt it to be a very disjointed and fragmented collection. The US superstar didn't really seem to stick to the brief that he was designing a Spring/Summer collection. Unless you want to wear fur stoles, fur back-backs and leather in the summer? Well if you are living in Britain you may need to wrap up warm in your fur back back on a cold and normally rainy British summers day, but I for one will not be wearing fur and leather in summer, even in a British one. I'd much rather a gorgeously light and delicately floral Erdem maxi dress. The clothes fitted the model nearly as well as they would fit me which isn't saying much, a poorly fitted outfit really isn't a outfit at all. On a slightly more positive note I did enjoy the cream open toed bead encrusted shoes, they were clumpy yet quite elegant. The whole collection wasn't a total loss, as in may eyes as I thought the 'white' outfits that consisted of quite a nice mix of textures and shapes worked well when used in juxtaposition with one another. The use of soft and sheer fabric's such as chiffon made a nice opposite to stodgier and more structured ones like a warm woollen knit. These white and cream in colour and loose in fit designs offered a more summer vibe which I appreciated. The white shiny snakeskin trousers caught my eye, I felt they were rather glamorous until once again there were not properly fitted and far too baggy. Over all this collection by the so called designer was a bit of a wash out. It proves that if you are a celebrity with lots of money and gorgeously famous friends you can create a your own fashion line and have a front row full of famous faces and even show your poorly fitted clothes at Paris Fashion Week. However no matter how much dosh you through at it and no matter how many beautifully made faces you line up along the front it is not going to make you a credible or talented designer.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

London Fashion Weekend


The day after LFW ends a new kind of fashion extravaganza begins on the Thursday, the Vodafone London Fashion Weekend. It can only be described as a mini fashion week for the slightly less important, well far less important fashionista's such as my self. Along with thousands of other fashion hungry girls that would give anything to hold an invite to one of fashion's most prestigious events, but sadly can only attend the easily purchased ticketed event that is Vodafone's London Fashion Weekend. The event put on by Vodafone is meant to emulate the goings on of the 'real' LFW. However after being lucky enough to attend the 'real' event the differences are endless. The catwalk show was nowhere near as heart pumpingly exiting as James Long show, that I was able see. The excitement, the buzz of worming your way into a LFW show knowing your not really meant to be there and that you are witnessing garments that are privy to biggest eyes in the industry, is a feeling that cannot be overshadowed by a last season Jager collection. Those that were milling around at the weekend event were dressed to impress, they made an effort to fit in rather than effortlessly stand out like those during the week. There however was an upside, the shopping and the gorgeous men at the Juicy Couture stand. Models hired to serve and draw in the girls with just a look and they did. The Elizabeth Arden stand was a hit, make-up tutorials and advice along with a talk from the head make-up artist. As a make-up and beauty enthusiast this was a major plus for me along with talk a from Sarah Owen about her label Lucy in Disguise with sister Lilly Allen. Kat and Bee has to be mentioned a gorgeous jewellery stand which showcased their intricate and delicate yet bold designs. The skull shape was a running theme in their pieces; the darkness of the skull worked beautifully with delicate craft mans ship of each piece. This event may not be as prestigious as the 'real' LFW but its a start, it gives a small insight to what its like to be part of a highly lucrative industry but with lots of girly fun and Champagne guzzling activities.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

A Fashion Journalists first ever LFW.

Today seemed the perfect time to start my first ever blog as today I attended my first ever London Fashion Week and saw my first ever catwalk show. VERY EXITING INDEED!!! Yes I know its hard to believe as a aspiring fashion journalist that this is my first blog, but we have to start somewhere and today is my start. My new start. Since beginning my new course in Fashion Journalism, [after a few other attempts at other courses that tickled my tastes buds but sadly never satisfied my hunger], I feel a new lease of life within me which has given me confidence. A confidence that I have never felt before. So today I took my first step to unleashing my new found confidence and made my way across the bustling streets of London to Somerset House for the last day of London Fashion Week. I was going to see a show even though I had no idea how, as I had no invite or ticket but all I knew was that I was going to have utterly fabulous time brushing shoulders with some of London's most cutting edge and stylish fashionista's. It was like another world inside those  stone walls, everyone had a passion for fashion.  A million different outfits rushed by me, I'm still trying to take it all in. Leather seemed to be fabric of choice today, trousers, skirts, shorts, T-shits, shirts, jackets as long as it was leather it was deemed acceptable and along as it was smothered in studs or spikes some one with a impossibly large camera wanted to take a snap shot of you. Me on the other hand my outfit just wasn't wiled enough, my uber tight black jeans, snake skin shirt, mega black wedges and fur stole was just not what they we looking for. Even if no one was shoving a huge camera in my face my day was still everything I hoped for and I still felt gorgeously glamourous. I managed to worm my way in to my first catwalk show, standing at the back staring down at the bright white runway and the smug faces of those on the front row [ which one day I hope to be], I didn't care that I was at the back, I was there. The excitement rushed around my body with a warm and tingly feeling. The lights went down and music came up and out they came, strutting down the catwalk quickly but with perfect precision. James Long's collection blew my mind, it was menswear that every woman wanted to steal [especially me]. Sequins, sparkles and snakeskin was on the cards along with some beautiful loose knit and textured jumpers paired with above the knee shorts. My heart pumped with every foot step and my eyes gleamed with every sparking sequin that waltzed by. Suddenly with a flash and a roar of applause it was over. I couldn't believe it, my first show was over in the blink of the eye but what a beautiful blink of the eye it was.