A FEW FAVOURITE THINGS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The FashEd and I have been busy skipping about London town, going to some of the myriad of press days which are taking place at the moment to showcase what will be in the shops next Spring. Before I pop out to another, I've got a minute to share with you some of our favourites from what we've seen yesterday and today....

1. BROWNS- BAGS BY SOPHIE ANDERSON

Sophie has lived and travelled a lot in Colombia and that shows in the bright pops of South American weave and traveller vibe of her bags. She stays faithful to the roots she has put down by employing four indigenous Indian tribes from around South America to weave her bags. The sleek finish and neon colour ways make these so much more than something reminiscent of a gap yah souvenir. We love.

2. STARWORKS- LULU & CO/ FASHION EAST

The Starworks Press Day was a complete treat- full of collections by some of the most exciting young designers London has to offer right now. In their midst is Lulu Kennedy's Fashion East, which is one the best ways for talent to get a leg up on the fashion week schedule. Her own label, Lulu & co works in collaboration with the designers which Fashion East supports. Lulu told the FashEd this morning that the line is about to become a whole lot more accessible, with lower prices so more people can get a slice of the action from Lulu's brood. Just the right time then to fall in love with this very elegant palm print dress with the most awesome raffia bow.

Maarten Van de Horst, one of the Fashion East designers

Cartoony fun from the Lulu & co label

Togue in cheek elegant by Lulu and co.

Raffia Bow

3. MATCHES- ANCIENT GREEK SANDALS

As you may know from the FashEd's summertime blogging, she is one of Greece's biggest fans so it's a shock she didn't actually walk out of Matches in a pair of these Ancient Greek Sandals. 

Matches told us: 'The Designer behind AGS, Christina studied shoe design at the prestigious Cordwainers College in London and then moved to Paris where she designed shoes for Iris, Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. Taking her clue from the classic Greek sandals, which have existed since ancient times she works with respect to that heritage, adding a more personal and playful interpretation, which give the collection a fresh and contemporary appeal'

We have a sneaky feeling you'll be hearing a lot more about Ancient Greek Sandals. I love the fun references to Greek mythology in the wing details.

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CURATORS, THE NEW COLLABORATORS?

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Towards the end of the Kate Moss for TopShop collaboration, you could almost feel the braincells at the Arcadia Group (which owns TopShop) head office exercising over what to do next.

Designer collaborations are one thing.  A collaboration with a "stylish person" quite another. A "stylish person" is not and will never be a designer (except for Kanye West, showing at Paris Fashion Week in September so I hear), and there is only so much steam to generate before it all peters out.

So, what next?  Curators, of course! Every major fashion boutique has a curator, a custodian who manages and oversees their institution, your Mrs B (Browns), or Carla Sozzani (Corso Como, 10) figure. Strictly speaking the term should apply to someone who manages a library or museum, as has been pointed out to me on Twitter, but fashion has nicked the term for its own ends.

On the world stage of high street retailing TopShop were first past the post with the idea. Earlier this year they set up their "Edited by" space at their flagship Oxford Circus store, a normal room-sized area for the design team to put their selection of what they consider to be the key fashion pieces. That idea was OK, (though I would always just head to the Boutique section of the store for my Top-shopping) but they really hit pay dirt a few weeks ago when "Edited by" got its first curator in the shape of the visionary young stylist Katie Shillingford from Dazed & Confused. (I still sigh with happiness everytime I so much as think about the divine wedding pictures from her August 1st nuptials.)

Katie Shillingford (via Hanneli.com)

Katie Shillingford's Edited By..(from insideout.TopShop.com)

Instead of creating a collaborative collection, just get someone with an amazing, unexpected fashion insider's eye to edit what's already out there, across basics and higher end product, down into an easy to digest package. Eureka! Not only do you get the vision of one unique person wrapped up, it also means you don't have to trawl the entire shop to find something that will jolt you out of your own fashion and style zone into a fresh new area. Katie's edit re-framed micro-mini dresses styled with Quentin Crisp jaunty coloured hats and animal prints, as more high fashion than high tart.

It makes so much sense, you wonder why the high street haven't done it before. “We needed to update the collaborations idea – mostly because everyone from Debenhams to Asda are doing it,” says Andrew Leahy, head of press at TopShop told me. “People are getting bored of collaborations. We even found with our designer collections that people – especially through our .com - are buying into key pieces, the add-on elements that are not signature pieces from the designer don’t sell because they don’t resonate with the customer.” 

The next "Edited by..." curator is Susie Lau who will bring her magpie eye to TopShop from Sept 1. For London Fashion Week, from 16th September, the curator will be my friend and Fashion East impresario Lulu Kennedy. I can't wait for either Lulu or Susie's edits to hit TopShop in both London and Manchester flagship stores and online, definitely a reason to shop.

TopShop are not alone in this though. Second past the post with a curator concept is H&M who have hired MisShapes DJ and all round fashion muse Leigh Lezark to help launch their shop-in-shop at Selfridges next Thursday. The Selfridges store is also an "Edited" concept, and they too have taken on a curator and it's the first time H&M have gone into a store without their name above the door.

Leigh and the Misshapes

Coat: Curated by Leigh

Dress: curated by Leigh

Striped top: curated by Leigh

Jacket: curated by Leigh

If you want, you can even meet Leigh next Thursday, August 25th at Selfridges Oxford Street from 9.30am. Personally I look forward to seeing H&;M's rolling list of curators for this project. Let's hope that between them TopShop and H&M keep this new curatorial chapter interesting.

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THE WEEK IN FASHION 20TH-24TH JUNE

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

This week in fashion has been all about making up, breaking up, love and hate. It's been emotional.  Here's our look at the goings on from the fashion playground over the last 5 days...

 Galliano's last couture collection for Christian Dior. There will probably never be anything like this ever again.

1) The big one. John Galliano's trial took place on Wednesday at the Paris magistrates court. Just in case you were under a rock/in rehab/on the moon when the scandal broke, Galliano is being sued on moral grounds for an alleged anti-semitic, racist, and generally offensive rant directed towards three people in a Paris cafe earlier this year. He also subsequently lost his job at both Dior and his own label. It's a really sorry state of affairs, which has seen a former shining light of the industry reduced to a shadow of his normal gregarious self; hidden away in a rehabilitation program since the alleged attack, his future remaining highly uncertain and bleak.

He appeared in court to explain his behaviour (apparently a consequence of problems with drink, drugs and stress) and the result of the trial will be announced in September. This is undoubtedly a very dark moment for both the designer and the industry, and the case should be given the coverage it deserves - however is the slew of commentary about the outfit he wore for his court appearance really necessary? With that in mind, I won't be posting a picture. If you do crave a blow by blow account, the Telegraph have it covered in their live blog.

 

Tania Fares, Bella Freud and Lulu Kennedy, all in Lulu &Co

2) In a much friendlier turn of events, this week Lulu Kennedy hosted a lunch to celebrate the launch of the latest Lulu and Co collection. According to a certain Fashion editor at Large who happened to be in attendance, "the whole of London" turned out for the fashion feast, proving that there is a lot of love for Lulu. The new collection will be in stores from August.
 
3) Back to the business of bitching, and Azzedine Alaia has exploded with the outburst to end all outbursts, and the subjects of his disapproval are one Karl Lagerfeld and one Anna Wintour.

 Grace Jones and Azzadine Alaia. Who do you reckon is scarier? Read on to find out...

Lucky it was no-one important, eh? According to Alaia, Karl "has never touched a pair of scissors in his life", and "no-one will remember" Anna Wintour. Despite her scary rep, Alaia claims that when the Editor-in-chief of US Vogue sees him, "she is the scared one." Somehow, we're not surprised! 

4) As far as fashion relationships go, this week has been more on and off than Made in Chelsea's Caggie and Spencer (oh! the drama!). After joining in the whoops and hollers that followed the announcement of a Versace and H&M collaboration, the industry was subdued by the news that Jil Sander will no longer be designing for Uniqlo, and the next J+ collection will be the last. There were audible sobs emitting from fashion editor's offices across the city. If you are a fan of the Sander/Uniqlo collab, you better start preparing for the last offering now; it will no doubt be elbows at dawn when it hits stores.

Jil Sander: no longer + Uniqlo

5) Florence Welch 'got the love' from Nylon magazine (sorry, that was terrible) when she hosted a party at the Mondrian Hotel in New York, to celebrate their music issue, of which she is the cover star. Florence can do no wrong in my eyes; she is consistently beautiful, inspiring and unique. Her choice of this quirky Anna Sui dress for the party has divided opinion, but the people who don't like it are, well, wrong.

Flo: it's good to see you back. New music soon please!

6) Fashion doesn't get much more friendly than bestest buds Leith Clark (Ed of Lula) and Kirsten Dunst, who are rarely seen at events without each other, and have obviously been having a bit of a girly week out and about in London town. These two are so close, they are even co-ordinating outfits like schoolgirl best friends do - but you know what? They are so cool, they can get away with it.

 Leith and Kirsten looking demure yet achingly stylish at Wimbledon  (nice sunnies, Ms Clark!) ...

...and just a little bit naughtier as they skip out of The Box in matching trenchcoats. Kirsten&Leith4Eva!

7) And finally, a little bit of eye candy to put a spring in your step this sunny Friday afternoon. The SS12 Menswear shows have been happening over the past week and yesterday's offerings from Paris were causing ripples all the way over this side of the Channel. Friend of the Fash Ed, Kim Jones, sent his debut Louis Vuitton collection down the catwalk to rave reviews, with critics hailing his arrival as the best thing to happen to the label since Marc Jacobs.

 Louis Vuitton SS12

However, before Kim Jones took Paris by storm, one other designer had got everyone hot and bothered. Twitter exploded, pictures were being sent round the world, journos who normally pay no attention to the menswear collections were suddenly clicking onto Style.com like there was no tomorrow.

Five words: Nicola Formichetti, Mugler, ARMOUR BOY.

Mugler SS12

Images: Splash, Getty, AFP, Style.com

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THE AW11 FASHION EAST LINE-UP

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

It is a little known fact that way back in 2000 when Fashion East was still a great idea without a name, it was little old me that came up with the name"Fashion East". I was at a meeting with the PR's of The Truman Brewery, and being a die-hard east london fashion girl about Hoxton (we didn't call it Shoreditch then) it seemed only right that if the publishers of The Face called themselves Emap East then this should be called Fashion East.

Back then it was the Truman Brewery's owners, the Zeloof brothers, specifically Ofer Zeeloof, who wanted to help some of the talented young designers lliving and working in the area. Many of the designers rented space at the labyrinthine Truman Brewey and it was Ofer Zeloof and his then girlfriend Lulu Kennedy, (now queen of Fashion East), who were the driving forces.

I was on the selection panel for Fashion East for a few years back then, and have always been immensely proud of the designers it has shepherded from obscurity into the limelight. These include Jonathan Saunders, Richard Nicoll, Roksanda Ilincic, Michael van der Ham and Gareth Pugh.Sticking around long enough to seeing these guys and gal grow from stressed out first-timers into internationally known designers is one of the joys of this job.

Lulu announced the new Fashion East line-up today, and its looking real good. Simone Rocha, yes she is John Rocha's daughter, has been a confident and impressively professional designer from her St Martins days and is dedicated to her craft.  Judging by the pedigree of the other two designers, catwalk newcomers both, this show will be a home run. Check them out, below.

Elliot Atkinson SS11 collection

Atkinson gained a BA in womenswear at Edinburgh College of Art, where he received the Waterman Fashion Illustration prize. Atkinson describes his signature as “tough but feminine, sexy yet nonchalant” and his debut collection was snapped up by Browns Focus. Tailored clothes use fine, luxurious materials; delicate fabrics are punctuated by tougher textures such as metal fastenings, hardware, leather and shearling. For AW11, eclectic influences include ritualistic body piercing, Native American culture and the Scottish Highlands.

 

Simone Rocha SS11 collection

For AW11, Simone has been inspired by her Portuguese family portraits from the 1920's, and Louise Bourgeois’ metal and textile sculptures. She is exploring new textures and fabrics and introducing knitwear to her collection for the first time. Her AW11 show will be styled by Celestine Cooney, fashion director at Twin.

James Long SS11

Long is launching his new womenswear line at Fashion East. This decision follows the high demand for his menswear pieces from buyers and female fans. His debut collection fuses gypsy and grunge with Arran style tasselled knits, layered to create a punk mountain style look. Ecru, camel, chestnut and midnight base notes are injected with sharp colour accents. 1970s gowns are teamed with alpaca knitwear, boucles with macramé detailing.

Long debuted in 2007 at MAN, the Topman and Fashion East menswear initiative, to glowing reviews and support from leading figures Alister Mackie, Creative Director at Another Man and Style.com’s Tim Blanks. Long has gone on to become a NEW GEN‐MEN award favourite and consultant for leather specialist Jitrois.

The bio information has been kindly supplied by Fashion East

Fashion East has been sponsored by TopShop since 2003.

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