SS12: TEN THINGS TO BUY RIGHT NOW

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

While most of the fashion world had their eyes fixed on Milan this weekend, London Fashion Week's main venue at Somerset House was transformed into a shopping mecca for London Fashion Weekend. This is the consumer antidote to the press/buyer event earlier in the week. I was representing FEAL in the Vodafone Lounge on Thursday and Sunday, giving a little talk about being on trend for SS12. It was great fun and lovely to meet lots of the shoppers.

Here are the ten items I told them to buy to be right on trend for SS12...

1. SILVER
We blogged about silver just before LFW. We spied a lot of silver around fashion week- usually in shoe or bag form, as well as a brave few in silver jeans. Anything with a silver sheen ties together two of SS12's biggest themes- Under the Sea and Sporty- very nicely.

Silver trousers £560 Alexander McQueen  at Matches

2. SOMETHING LACY
More specifically, white lace. Lace is always in but it's having a particular moment right now. Contrary to its usual reputation as delicate and super pretty, the thicker your lace is the better for SS12. That's why broderie anglaise (white cotton with a cut-out, lace-like pattern) is a good alternative if lace isn't quite your thing. The picture below is a rather classic example of how-to-wear lace from the lovely Erdem. But the couture tee from Oasis is super versatile.

Erdem SS12

White daisy lace tee £40 from Oasis

3. A CRICKET JUMPER
I'll admit these aren't all over the shops but in my opinion a cricket jumper would be a solid addition to the SS12 wardrobe. I love the way Christopher Kane's were styled with silk mini skirts, it's like the most luxe school uniform you could imagine. However, the cricket jumper is also a nice nod to the Olympic spirit without being too literal. And the best thing? They are readily available in the wardrobes of any boys in our lives and/or charity and vintage shops. Score.

Christopher Kane SS12

Vintage Cricket jumper £30.50, from a selection at Beyond Retro

4. A DIRNDL SKIRT
We're not telling you to dress up like Austrian peasants but we are loving the shape of their traditional skirts. One of these, especially in a lovely print, will be a mainstay of your SS12 wardrobe and is super-versatile, dress down, dress up, be girly or tomboy it with a t-shirt and converse. This Warehouse one is not quite so pouffy as many of the catwalk ones but carries the same idea.

Yellow floral £38 from Warehouse

5. PYJAMAS
Ok, not just any PJs but luxurious, silky head-to-toe print, especially paisley, is the idea here. Get the set and wear altogether with heels for evening cocktails. Alternatively, wear separately for a less full-on vibe.

J.W Anderson SS12

Whistles take on pyjamas: top £85, trousers £125

6. BRIGHT TROUSERS
This is a pretty open field- if you're brave enough go for some fluoro/ pastel jeans (the styles below are from Christopher Kane's J Brand collaboration). Alternatively, there are lots of really cute print jeans about, think palm trees and pineapples. My personal choice will be these Topshop chinos.

Christopher Kane for J Brand

Pink chinos £28 from Topshop

7. FLATFORMS
Mrs Prada started this off and there's no sign of the trend abating. In fact, SS12 sees a branching out beyond the styles with brogue uppers to a sandal look. These are a definite move on from the wedge. I love these with a painterly floral panel but ASOS have plenty more, including Nicholas Kirkwood for Pollini's rope ones and more sporty versions.

Floral flatforms £50 ASOS

8. HI-TOPS
Thanks to Isabel Marant's Bekket hi-tops- complete with massive tongue and hidden two inch wedge- the hi-top has gone from street wear favourite to fashion's darling shoe. The Bekket might be the ultimate combination of all the possibilities but there are also plenty of styles which give a sleeker look, as well as those which are more authentically sporty, like the Nike ones below which I will be purchasing shortly.

I spotted the Bekkets at Berlin Fashion Week.

Nike x Liberty £74.99 Office

See by Chloe at My-Wardrobe £262

9. MANOLO BLAHNIK HEELS
The FashEd recently wrote about the resurgence of love for a timeless Manolo Blahnik heel. In September it became clear that Marc Jacobs had been hugely influenced by Manolo's Mary-Janes and Mules- he used the style in his own name and Louis Vuitton collections. Every girl should have an elegant yet run-for-the-bus capable pair of heels in her wardrobe and Manolo is the first man to call. Especially poignant as it is the designers 40th anniversary.

Red heels £280 by D&G at My-Wardrobe

10. RUCKSACK
Sporty, cute and easy- rucksacks are already proving popular according to our very scientific survey involving looking at people out and about. If that sporty bit  repulses you then plenty of designers/ stores have done more grown up versions in more structured shapes and expensive leathers.

Carven SS12 (Image from lloyd-evans.com)

Printed rucksack £225 by Diane von Furstenberg at Net-a-Porter

Add to Cart More Info

SHOW + TELL SS12 : MANOLO PUMP POWER

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

For those of you too young to remember when shoes were not gimmicky, odd-looking, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink affairs with platforms, wedges, frills, multi-colours and ugly heels, here's a surprise. Once upon a time not very long ago, high-heeled fashion shoes were simply beautiful. They had sleek lines, no gimmicks and were generally a joy to behold. You slipped then on, they elevated the body by a few inches, lengthened the legs pushed out the hips at a certain sexy angle and that was it - good for a sexy sashay, and if needs be, to sprint a bit too.

The go-to man for beautiful shoes was Manolo Blahnik. Then along came the very lovely Mr. Louboutin, Mr. Kirkwood, Prada, Miu Miu, YSL and co adding more and more inches to their platforms until the day someone, somewhere said ENOUGH! Marc Jacobs was one of them. For both his Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs shows, his shoe designs directly referenced Manolo Blahnik signature mules and stilettos, and they were gorgeous, and now much copied on the high street.

The master at work. (Photo:Michael Roberts)

Mmmanolo!

Another was American Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley, who told the New York Times in a very prescient feature last October, "Fashion had to turn on its heel and return to beautiful shoes. They're a staple, something you have to have in your refrigerator like butter, or milk." My favourite line in the story was what the writer, Guy Trebay, saved until last. It was a quote from Sarah Jessica Parker, who should have shares in Manolo Blahnik, or at least a lifetimes supply, after she popularised Blahnik through her character Carrie's obsession with the shoes. "I walked in and looked around and saw all these shoes, and then I spotted the Manolos and it was like water in the desert," she said. "I was just so excited to see a simple black pump."

I'm with them. My latest shoe purchase is the "Opyum" by YSL. A beautiful shoe. Or as the Americans say a beautiful "pump".

Opyum 

The other day I was re-arranging my shoe cupboard so I could lend my little sister a pair for a wedding, and I came across an old pair of YSL platform ankle boots. You know the ones with a gold line around the platform?  At one point in about 2006 or 7 every fashion editor I knew had a pair. At the time, they felt like serious platforms. I wiped the dust off them and slipped one on for old times sake. They felt like wearing nothing. To think they once they seemed so high.

For sure, there is now a backlash in place against gimmicky shoes. Perhaps for now they have scaled their highest heights and reached the weight limit for studs and other hardware. That isn't to say I don't love Nicholas Kirkwood's shoes for Meadham Kirchhoff. I LOVE, but I would look like a clown in them.

Nicholas Kirkwood for Meadham Kirchhoff SS12

Louis Vuitton SS12

Add to Cart More Info

TREND TRASH: "GET THE MARGARET THATCHER LOOK!"

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

If I were a more easily influenced consumer then I might be wearing a twee M & S suit and pussy bow blouse to bring you this blog post. Fortunately, I have thus far managed not to succumb to all the press releases and media stories (newspaper fashion journalists, you know who you are) which insist that, to coincide with the release of Phylidda Lloyd's Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher biopic, The Iron Lady, we should all be forming an orderly queue to buy a blue skirt suit and asking our hairdresser for helmet hair.

Thatcher enters office in 1979 (image from guardian.co.uk)

Last Thursday, The Guardian (admitedly not a likely source of Thatcher loving) asked a number of high profile women that terribly uncomfortable question, Is Margaret Thatcher a feminist icon?  To my mind, she showed girls they can achieve anything they want, but that does not make her a feminist icon.

I was far more interested in what feminist columnist Bidisha had to say:

'Her stiff serge tailoring, boxy croc handbags, patent court shoes, pussycat bow blouses and set hair have been fetishised by a moronic, apolitical fashion industry'

Those words MORONIC and APOLITICAL have stuck in my mind since, and snaps back into focus every time one of those aforemetioned "How To Get The Margaret Thatcher Look!" PR emails pings into my inbox.

I don't want to look like Margaret Thatcher, and I know my friends don't either. Since when has 1980s Tory chic been cool?  I checked with the FashEd, to make sure I hadn't got it all terribly wrong, and she assures me that in no point in the history of time has the Thatcher 'look' been even close to fashionable. Even in the 80s, she looked about thirty years out of date compared to mega glam supermodels, and Comme des Garcons clad trendies or power-shouldered yuppies.  So why should we start 'getting her look' now just because we're seeing the film, in our droves allegedly?

Thatcher speaks  at conference (image from guardian.co.uk)

One of the brands to home in on the hype is Anya Hindmarch. They have dedicated the windows at their Pont Street Store to mannequins trussed up in Thatcher-ish outfits and carrying the brand's Ebury bag (which Meryl Streep and Margaret Thatcher both own). Hindmarch said:
 
'The cleverest thing about Thatcher’s image was how her clothes never detracted from her character. That was quite a feat, I suspect, to look good and still not be talked about for your clothes.’

Anya Hindmarch's window tributes

The irony of this comment is blatant. If we admire someone for the fact that their clothes are not the first thing we think about in relation to them then putting faceless mannequins in said clothes flys in the face of your theory doesn't it?

Launer, whose bags are carried by the Queen, suspect their 59% sales increase over Christmas is down to The Iron Lady effect. Well, I beg to differ. My predecessor wrote last year about the revived interest in Launers, mostly down to a prevailing fashion mood which values ladylike elegance and is not in any way confined to Maggie fever.

Meryl Streep as Britain's first and only female Prime Minister

Given that Thatcher owns Launer and Anya Hindmarch bags, the brands can almost be forgiven for taking the opportunity to underline the link. Bizarre, however, is Peacocks, purveyor of cheap and barely cheerful fashion for 30-40 year old women who are suggesting that we go to them to for our Maggie makeover.

Why any woman of that age would want to frump up Thatcher style is beyond us. Oh and before you go believing the Evening Standard's theory that the reemergence of cobalt blue is down to the Tory associations, may we just say Yves Klein to you and suggest that the roots of that colour trend are a result of a deeper exploration with colour referencing which fashion has embraced for several seasons now. You only need to watch Miranda Priestley (also played by Streep) give her monologue on the emergence of cerulean blue in that fictional fashion world in The Devil Wears Prada to know that it is far more complex than a designer googling a picture of Thatcher entering Downing Street.

So, a FEAL warning... Thatcher style is not to be copied. In fact, it is shit and the sooner it disappears from our inboxes and magazines the better.

Add to Cart More Info

THE WEEK IN FASHION: DECEMBER 19th-23rd

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

I may have said that last week's fashion news was the last of the year but then stuff happened and we agreed that it wouldn't be right if we didn't tell you all about it.

Despite the rest of us winding down, the week has been full of pre-fall collections and SS12 campaign imagery. We'll bring you pre-fall news later in the festive period, for now here are the major campaigns which have been unveiled in the past seven days.

NINA RICCI: Raquel Zimmerman shot by Inez and Vinoodh

VALENTINO: Zuzanna Bijoch, Bette Franke, Maud Welzen and Fei Fei Sun shot by Deborah Turbeville

Very beautiful. I love Deborah Turbeville's work and it's nice to see a major label using a photographer outside the usual band of names called upon for the ad campaign job.

VERSACE: Gisele Bundchen shot by Mert and Marcus

YVES SAINT LAURENT: Mariacarla Boscono shot by David Sims

PRADA: Natasha Poly, Meghan Collison, Elise Crombez, Ymre Stiekema and Katryn Kruger shot by Steven Meisel

This is so much more prim and grown-up than AW11's surreal campaign. It underlines the observation that this is Miuccia Prada's most commercial collection for some time.

GIVENCHY: Gisele Bundchen shot by Mert and Marcus

Gisele also stars in the Versace campaign. Funnily enough, Givenchy and Versace were two of the labels whose SS12 made us think of Under the Sea. For their campaigns, they've gone super modern, super sexy mermaid- the water is there but it's in no way whimsical or mythical.

CHANEL: Joan Smalls and Saskia de Brauw shot by Karl Lagerfeld

Similarly, this could have been so mermaidy, but is instead very riviera. Mademoiselle would surely approve.

BALENCIAGA: Laura Kampman shot by Steven Meisel

All campaign images are from fashiongonerogue.com

In other news...

Marques' Almeida (image via catwalking.com)

The AW12 line-up for Fashion East has been announced this week. The panel decided to stick with the success of SS12 and so there are no new names to report. James Long, Marques Almeida and Maarten van der Horst have been given a chance to build on the success which their collections shown in September have achieved. Panel member and FEAL favourite Sarah Mower said:

‘Fashion East’s 2012 cohort of designers excelled so remarkably that all their Spring collections have already been picked up by stores. So having them back to show together again for Fall 2012 will give buyers and journalists a second chance to spectate as these contenders take off in [the] Olympic year.’

James Long (image via catwalking.com)

Maarten van der Horst (image via catwalking.com)

Giambattista Valli has been officially admitted to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. The label showed in July as a guest at Haute Couture week but has impressed so much that the usual five year process for acquiring membership has been fast-tracked. President of the Chambre Synidcale, Didier Grumbach said:

“It was clear from his show [in July] that he has caught the attention of a new generation of customers, and he immediately took important orders for his couture ... it’s true that the haute couture appellation gives him legitimacy, but objectively speaking, he is already part of the system.”

A look from Valli's July show (image from nymag.com)

Duchess Kate's five-outfits-in-a-day for Christmas at Sandringham may be causing hysteria among certain sections of the media, but here at FEAL we're slightly more interested in the announcement this week that Princess Diana's dresses are to be displayed at Kensington Palace from 26th March next year. Proper fashion history.

Diana meets Princess Grace of Monaco (image from telegraph.co.uk)

Tempted to dress like a panto fairy? Take this Christmas fashion advice from Karl Lagerfeld, via Courtney Love, backed up by Karl's muse Lady Amanda Harlech:

"One time I was standing at the Mercer and Karl Lagerfeld goes, ‘What are you doing in this tutu?’ and I say ‘I have a record coming out.’ So Lagerfeld says to me, 'you are not getting laid in a tutu.' And Lady Amanda Harlech, who I adore who works for Karl, goes 'Courtney, you’re really not getting laid in a tutu.' And I realized, you know, that I did look like Baby Jane Hudson."

Karl says NO (Image from telegraph.co.uk)

Everyone seems to be holding their breath for a challenging 2012. This week, Paul Smith announced a 36% rise in profits to £34 million despite the fact that Japan, one of their biggest markets, has had a turbulent year. More pessimistically, Prada's share price has plummeted by 32% since July. Analysts predict that even Chinese consumers will be cutting back on spending in the New Year. Given that over 40% of Prada's revenue came from this market in 2010, that forecast paints a dim outlook for the label into 2012. Hence the commerciality of SS12 perhaps, clever Miuccia. 

We may be awaiting news of Chanel's SS12 campaign but it was revealed this week that Alice Dellal will be the new face of the Boy bag campaign. After spotting Dellal at a photoshoot several months ago, Karl Lagerfeld apparently couldn't get her out of his mind. Chanel said: "Alice Dellal represents the perfect incarnation of all that is unique about the Boy Chanel handbag collection, which strives [to be] far from conformist notions of femininity." In the teaser image which has been released, Alice is looking super girly- where's that undercut?

Image from Vogue.co.uk

Bruno Guillon has been recruited by Mulberry to take over from current Chief Executive and Chairman Godfrey Davis. Guillon is leaving his position as Managing Director at Hermes to take up the position. Mulberry's growth has been nothing short of jaw-dropping but this move makes it quite clear that label has no intention of slowing down. There is plenty of room for Mulberry to expand with more stores abroad. It seems that with Guillon working alongside Davis (who becomes non-executive chairman) there will be the know-how in place to one of Somerset's finest exports a properley global brand. 

Finally, in case you've been living on Pluto then you will know that fashion's favourite TV show, Absolutely Fabulous, is back with new episodes for Christmas after a hiatus of more than seven years. Edina has apparently embraced blogging and tweeting and has replaced her love of Lacroix with a Stella McCartney obsession. Be sure to have the Bolly on ice for Christmas Day at 10 sweeties. 

A sneak peek...

For old time's sake...

. 

Add to Cart More Info

ADVENT DAY NINE: THE NEW T

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

  American Retro lace T-shirt (with 30% off) £140

Today I bring you a modern and elegant lace T-Shirt by the French brand American Retro. T-shirts made using luxury fabrics are big fashion news for Spring/Summer 2012. They form a key component of "New Easy" one of the biggest themes to emerge from of the catwalk shows. Basically if its easy to pull-on and wear, it's in. The twist is the garment which could be a simple T-shirt, tank, jogger shaped trousers,  shift dress or little flared skirts are all created with luxury fabrics and often in highly decorative form with embroideries, sequins, digital prints, or simply great textiles. It is great to see a move away from the obsession with decades as reference. This new mood in fashion is a marriage of the divine and the practical to create something fresh and modern.

The American Retro T-Shirt is from DonnaIda.com


"I loathe narcissism, but I approve of vanity"


Diana Vreeland 


I leave you now with a slice of beauty and heart-wrenching sadness from the ever-wonderful natural history department of the BBC. The show Frozen Planet finished airing in Britain this week, for our international readers YOU HAVE TO SEE IT.  This short video is the talk of Twitter today.

Add to Cart More Info

PAISLEY, FLORALS...WHAT WE DID TODAY....

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

It's all go here at FEAL towers but fear not, we haven't forgotten you dear readers. It may be short and sweet but we wanted to share some rather awesome prints we saw today at Jonathan Saunders and Stella McCartney. Suddenly all the work we're doing on the trends for SS12 seems to have come to life and we can actually imagine wearing them- or dream of it,  more realistically, in the case of Saunders and Stella.

At Jonathan Saunders

The indescribably divine Jonathan Saunders, with models

At Stella...

I thought I could never love a nude shoe...

Add to Cart More Info