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2008
January
2007
January
- 09/21/07 A Stella Performance to End Fashion Week
- 09/21/07 Purple Reign
- 09/20/07 Clothing with a Conscience
- 09/18/07 The Fashionistas are Out in Force
Posts: 6
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Who Said the Royals Aren’t fashionable?
14.Feb.08, 08:45 EST
You’ve gotta hand it to Betty Jackson. She’s got chutzpah for sticking King Henry VIII’s mug on the crotch of her catwalk model’s hotpants. This act of impudence pretty much sums up the attitude reflected in the veteran Fashion Weeker’s show on Tuesday: flamboyant, colourful, unconventional, fun.
The BFC tent was packed to the gunnels on Tuesday afternoon with Jackson’s old skool front row fashion set: Jennifer Saunders, Victoria Wood, Laura Linney – all looking relaxed and understated, despite the large scale event. Expectantly the odd ex-pop star and supermodel loitered around, and the papz had an overwhelming presence, but it wasn’t a pretentiously glam affair, which made for a welcome change.
The collection was chock-full of contrasts: the classic and contemporary, the casual and elegant, with clashing colours and differing fabrics/fits: a ribbed polo neck with a satin dress; an oversized jacket with tights. The models donned sequinned bonnets and strutted down a catwalk blanketed with patterned rugs.
Knitted jumpers and cardigans were beautifully crafted for everyday wear; the evening dresses were divine. One little strapless number threatened to fall off the tiny frame of its fragile model, barely concealing her cleavage as she worked the room of expectant fashionistas.
So what’s next for Jackson? Will she bring her Royal-wear to the present day? Prince Chuck handcuffs? Queen Betty’s face emblazoned across bare breasts? Watch this space. In the meantime Jackson has designed an exclusive campaign t-shirt for the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), which is 100% organic and fairly traded.
The EJF’s residence at the London Fashion Week exhibition at the Natural History Museum forecourt is again thanks to estETHICa, London's sustainable fashion initiative. This acclaimed platform is entirely devoted to the best in eco-sustainable fashion, and this year welcomes some fresh newcomers to the fold including Mark Liu, Pibiones, and Green Knickers.
Wednesday’s highlights included Afshin Feiz at On/Off, The Royal Academy of Arts venue. Shiny fabrics, frills, flowers, puffs, ruffles, and metallics prevailed throughout the audacious collection that boasted bold colours, sharp suits, and feminine jackets and dresses.
Models wore tribal eye make-up and black daises in loose hair. Pounding house music bounced of the four walls of the venue that was totally white bar for a giant butterfly projected onto the wall at the catwalk entrance.
London Fashion Week autumn ‘08/’09 is drawing to a close, with the Godmother of punk, Vivienne Westwood, showing off her Red Label tonight, her first appearance in eight years. It’s being billed as the highlight of what’s been a week of an exciting and eclectic mix of influences and inspirations, and some unexpected Royal glamour.
By Abbey Stirling/MOLI -
Round One to Modernist
11.Feb.08, 19:03 EST
London Fashion Week is back. And before we mere mortals have even contemplated pedicuring our indecent claws and exposing those pasty hobbit feet to the world in time for the forthcoming spring/summer ’08, the powers that be in Fashion Land are prancing about in wool knits for autumn/winter ‘08/’09.
Oh it’s hard keeping up with the style set. Just when you’ve finally St Tropez’d those neglected wintery bits, and psyched yourself up for the chiffonny, floaty, floral tea dresses of the here and now (or the ever-so-soon), those scrawny Kate Moss wannabes are donning high-waisted denim bootlegs and cosy cashmere-wear. Bitches.
But all is not lost. Despite the seasonal confusion Feb fashion week is currently kickin’ ass, and it’s about to kick even more butt in anticipation of Luella Bartley, Vivienne Westwood (for her first appearance in nine years) et al’s shows this week.
On Sunday I saw Modernist in Mayfair where big hats and bad hair ruled the queue outside clambering to get into the Music Rooms of South Molton Lane via a back alley and a fire escape (all those princesses in platforms having to scramble up the stairs – priceless). Inside a single beat pulsated throughout the entire show as androgynous models with scraped back hair pounded the floor with slow, deliberate steps (there was no actual catwalk in the warehouse space) in anti-aesthetic, slightly punky, almost Gothy, kinda rocky ‘80s-inspired style clothes.
The atmosphere was electric; the crowd a mixture of your prerequisite glam gals, Hoxtonites, and electro kids. The collection, by duo Abdul Koroma and Andrew Jones, was dominated by stark shapes, long columns and block colour – mostly black with the odd splash of scarlet. It was a dark and beautifully tailored collection with an exceptional knitwear range.
Earlier in the day the Sloaney ponys were out in full force at Caroline Charles where a classic collection prevailed throughout to a jazzy live string quartet. Neatly tucked away behind a white mesh veil near the catwalk entrance, the Dylan Howe Quartet entertained the relaxed crowd with their moody swing, lending a distinctly sophisticated ‘country on Sunday’ air to the proceedings.
Charles’s show was carefully divided into six themes: Trophy Wife, City Slicker, Country Gig, El Morocco, Mood Indigo, and Jazz Age. It commenced in bright pink, ended with a bridal gown, and featured power suits and bead work in between.
Ben de Lisi appeared next at a tighter controlled BFC Tent. There was a big international crowd, and some recognisable faces, with a collection that was sharp, glossy, classic, and commercial.
Core looked like it was going to steal the show on Monday. I was most grateful for the champagne and the ostentatious surroundings of the Landmark Hotel, but all this build up made for a greater fall when the collection itself proved to be cheap and lacklustre.
By Abbey Stirling/MOLI -
A Stella Performance to End Fashion Week
21.Sep.07, 11:29 EDT
Stella McCartney wrapped up London Fashion Week last night with her spring/summer sportswear collection for Adidas, and shunned the traditional catwalk. She chose instead to convert a cavernous west London fitness centre into an astro-turfed miniature golf course to flaunt her flirty fitness compilation to the fashion elite.
Party revelers - including a throng of celebs, stylists, press, papz, and inevitable hangers-on - congregated at the culmination of the six-day style event to clock models lounging about in swimsuits, tennis skirts, jogging bottoms, and shorts, adopting yoga poses, and practicing their golf swing. Along with pop poppet Prince’s surprise performance at Matthew Williamson’s show earlier in the week, this was a surreal but winning moment.
Allegra Hicks, Asprey, and Biba all unveiled their latest collections throughout Thursday, as well as designer duo Antoni and Alison, whose show featured a surprise guest appearance from Nicole Kidman in a special short film for their spring collection.
But it was the host of promising newcomers, such as Gareth Pugh, Marios Schwab, Duro Olowu, and Osman Yousefzada that truly transformed London Fashion Week from international underdog to celebrated success story. Thanks to the achievements of the capital's new student design clique from the principal fashion colleges (Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art), Britain’s bright young things have proven that good old English eccentricity is undeniably alive and well.
By Abbey Stirling/MOLI -
Purple Reign
21.Sep.07, 06:48 EDT
The Purple One stole the show at Matthew Williamson’s hotly anticipated style parade at London Fashion Week on Wednesday. The pint-sized pop star Prince, donning a black suit and top hat, slipped into the fashion venue virtually incognito, and sat meekly near the start of the stage. He launched into his performance from the front row where he’d sat quietly as an apparent guest, until his double act backing dancers-turned catwalk queens ‘The Twinz’ began gyrating on stage in their spring 2008 plum Williamson attire.
The diminutive singer, currently staging an extended series of concerts at London's 02 arena, was a bona fide hit. British designer Williamson, whose label is now celebrating its tenth anniversary, then sent his boho-clad models down the runway in vibrantly coloured richly embroidered kaftans, heavily-beaded tops, pinstripe blazers, cropped khaki shorts, and skirts.
His multi-ethnic, eclectic hippie designs featured tribal beading and textiles heavily inspired by global influences from Indonesia, India, South America, and the Sahara, with clashing orange silks, hot pinks, green sequins, and flowing chiffons prevailing throughout. Feminine and exotic, Williamson’s latest collection is a cultural mish mash of sparkling creations and beautifully crafted gypsy clothes.
By Abbey Stirling/MOLI -
Clothing with a Conscience
20.Sep.07, 06:37 EDT
Green is the colour of the season at London Fashion Week (of the eco variety, not the envy kind). As the au courant crowd jostled into the entrance of LFW’s Design Exhibition for its final day on Wednesday, “eco-fashion” was the word on everyone’s lips. Yes, the sunglass-clad über-tanned clan really do care about more than Cristal-fuelled parties, carb-free meals, glitz, glamour, and glossy magazines.
At one end Matthew Williamson was punting umbrellas for charity, while darling of the moment Luella’s exclusively designed t-shirts for the Environmental Justice Foundation's campaign were being flogged to help end abuses linked to global cotton production.
On the runway pouting waifs were parading garments woven out of recycled refuse, while mobile phone hazard Naomi Campbell was doing her bit for the Rotary Club's work for flood victims.
Name dropping aside, what earned the greatest greenie points at this week’s exhibition was Estethica: London Fashion Week’s much-acclaimed platform entirely devoted to the best in eco-sustainable fashion. To celebrate its first anniversary Estethica joined forces with sponsors Monsoon and Accessorize to raise general awareness about fair trade, organic fibres and the recycling of materials.
Christian Lacroix and Betty Jackson created pieces, alongside Luella, for the Environmental Justice Foundation's ‘Pick Your Cotton Carefully’ campaign. The fairly traded and organic t-shirts have been produced to promote the selling of ‘clean’ cotton in an industry rife with forced child labour, heavy pesticide use, and environmental degradation.
A company that is carefully considering its carbon footprint is Terra Plana. The Bermondsey-based shoe company employs a pioneering approach to shoe making with its stylishly sustainable soles created from recycled materials using innovative technology and their signature stitching design. They have a number of sub brands which exemplify different aspects of their ethos. One of those is Worn Again which utilises discarded and discontinued stock to create its range of high-fashion shoes, including car matting, tyre trim, and bicycle inner tubes.
Other eco-warriors creating an ethical stir within the mainstream fashion world include Gary Harvey with his couture-inspired dresses prepared entirely from recycled garments; From Somewhere, who provide funky, fresh designs made from reclaimed leftover fabrics from six Italian fashion and textile manufacturers; MUMO which focuses on bringing talent from developing countries into the UK; and Naturevsfuture: a womenswear brand that utilises organic cotton, wool, hemp, soy, bamboo, seaweed, and wood pulp fibres.
Who said fashion was frivolous? Eco fashion is now not simply a trend, but a full-scale movement, and this year’s London Fashion Week has proven that it is now cool to care.
By Abbey Stirling/MOLI -
The Fashionistas are Out in Force
18.Sep.07, 11:36 EDT
Air-kissing, skinny-jeaned fashion queens, London luvvies, and darlings of the style set have once again invaded the capital to celebrate all things aesthetically-pleasing at London Fashion Week. This season several homegrown names permeate the catwalk: Stella McCartney with her hotly anticipated sports range for Adidas; and award-winning Luella Bartley, who returns with her punk rock signature style after a six-and-a-half year absence.
On Saturday and Sunday fashionistas gathered to toast Champas and scrutinise glad rags at the Natural History Museum where British and international talent was breaking the mould. Paul Costelloe, Caroline Charles, Ben de Lisi and Bora Aksu kicked off the weekend’s events at the British Fashion Council tent, the inauguration of a week of scheduled shows, after-gala parties and cocktail congregations.
Sunday also saw the opening of the Fashion Week Exhibition which plays host to London’s most creative talents and established businesses. Row upon row of eclectic jewellery designs, soft textiles, and sophisticated accessories lined the halls, including Makepiece’s inspired new autumn knitwear collection.
Makepiece presents a beautifully constructed fluid and feminine eco-woven collection derived from Shetland Island wool and British-born natural yarns from sustainable farming. The result is a stunning collection of ethically designed and locally manufactured products that are both striking and environmentally sound. Other exhibitors include Stephen Jones Millinery, Sara Berman, Allegra Hicks, Nigel Preston and Knight, Ann-Louise Roswald, Osprey, J&M Davidson, and Madeleine Press.
It was a relief to see some meat on the bones of the models at Jasper Conran’s show on Monday, following a ban on those under 16 strutting their stuff. Floating fabrics, metallics, and gold accessories presided with a nod to chav chic à la the hooped earrings beloved by Londoner Lilly Allen.
As one of the UK's leading fashion designers with a career spanning 20 years, Conran’s signature aesthetic mixes classic British glamour with impeccable quality and risqué barely-there tailoring, which this year has been applied to off-the-shoulder flowing womenswear in autumnal ochres and seasonal favourite electric blue. An exciting start to six days of partying, posing, high-heels, hot-tempers, catwalks and cat fights.
By Abbey Stirling/MOLI
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