AW 10 PARIS FALL-OUT: FROM BALMAIN TO CELINE

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

We're all home from the fashion weeks now. Hope y'all enjoyed my Tweets from the shows!

The Haider Ackermann finale

Yesterday I gave myself a day off. Lounging in a navy Juicy tracksuit (I know...) I watched Cash in the Attic and Bargain Hunt before cooking a wickedly hot and delicious fish curry. Good times.

While enjoying the mundane motions (or rather lack them) of a Duvet Day, the back of my mind was still whirring with what Had Gone On At The Shows. With more people blogging, tweeting and reporting straight from the catwalks than ever before, it felt more appropriate for me to bring you the fruits of some prolonged throught.

Paris clinched the change that has been occurring and manifesting since last season. For your information the DNA of the way we dress has already changed; you just don't feel it yet. The fashion media of which I am part are calling it - new minimalism, grown-up dressing, modern elegance, the return of elegance - all sorts. And it is all of that, but more than anything after all the craziness of elevated platform heels, enormous shoulders, and the tyranny of bodycon, this change is, in my opinion, a pressing of the reset button. Somewhere we can start again from. Phew!
Hopefully you will  understand what I am getting at by the end of this post.

I feel these fashion changes more than most. Like a fisherman who can sense a weather change, I've got a sixth sense for fashion future and it can be rather personally affecting. Eg. I can no longer wear jeans. Just can't bring myself to do it. Also, was wearing my old Chloe and Helmut Lang tailored trousers in lieu of having no decent trousers to wear for London. Then Oh! I bought myself a pair from Celine and Ms Mower donated to me a pair by Ohnetitel...... Happiness!

The fashion reset can be summed up pictorially by showing you what is considered the height of zeitgesity fashion for this, the Spring/Summer 2010 season, and then what makes it look wrong...

BALMAIN SPRING/SUMMER 2010.

So, how do you feel about these images?  For me they sum up what is not fashion now. If I see another sequin legging, big-shouldered blazer, aged, ripped T-shirt or worn-in jeans I will scream. Just like that I cannot stand the sight of them; and it is officially not even Spring yet. When I saw the French Vogue women out in Paris at the shows still working a vaguely Balmain look (these women heavily support Balmain as a brand, and work on the shows and campiagns) I felt they were so out of touch with the new mood of fashion. And when Nicolas Ghesquiere of Balenciaga banned them from attending his show for their various corporate consultancies with labels such as Balmain, Marant and some sort of issue related to a stylist in his employ - it seemed that their time as arbiters of taste was up for now, at least.

So, lets move onto what feels right. I'm not saying this is what we will be wearing tomorrow; but the reality check that is correcting our notions of what is thought of as modern style is contained within these images.

CELINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Looking at these images makes me feel better. Already.  These clothes are sexier than Balmain; aimed at women with style and self-respect. It isn't just Celine that represents this change in the pace of fashion from trashy to lovely. Chloe and Stella McCartney are also redressing the notion of fashion - no doubt spurred on by the bar set by Celine designer Phoebe Philo's debut at Celine last October. This week belongs to Phoebe Philo, the British designer who is my age and lives up the road from me. As a designer she is very closed-off to the press, talking only to the select few journalists she has known since day one. I have so many questions to ask her.....

For now, though I leave you with THE JUMP: from Balmain to Celine in six months. Can it be done? And how?

PICTURE CREDITS: CHRIS MOORE/CATWALKING

KATE MOSS, MARGHERITA MISSONI, ALEXA CHUNG - THEY'RE NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM YOU AND I AFTER A COUPLE OF DRINKS...

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

So, I might be really slow off the mark here but I only just discovered Purple Diary - the blog of Olivier Zahm, editor and founder of Purple Fashion magazine.

I recently read an interview with him on Style.com (in which he opined that 'The internet is a medium for interaction. Not for creativity' and that the economic downturn was ficticious - 'There is no crisis. I don't see the crisis') and he explained that the blog functions like a journal for him: 'An intimate diary mixing intimacy and privacy with my public life and creating a contrast between what's really private, sex and love, and what's really public, a party, a fashion show an exhibition.'

The result is a string of photographs - some Terry Richardson style titillating girlie shots, others after hours parties with the fashion crowd - that made me feel like I was having a nose on a friend's Facebook page. Only instead of pictures of my friends looking drunk and silly in Yates (I joke - they very rarely go there) it's photos of Daisy Lowe and Stefano Pilati looking drunk and silly at a PFW after party. Voyeuristic heaven!

Check out this small selection from the past week and a half....

Alexa Chung sitting on the pavement having a (niftily cropped-out) fag. You can take the girl out of East London...

Margherita Missoni - This is inevitable if your namesake is a lethal tequila cocktail.

Daisy Lowe and Terry Richardson. Uh-oooooh!

Olivier with a demurely tipsy Kate Moss (having a good sniff of her hair by the looks)

Sonia Sieff and Stefano Pilati (REALLY) enjoying that 4am smoke.

Pixc credits: Olivier Zahm - Purple-diary.com

IS THE INTERNET ENABLING 'STYLE THEFT' ON A GLOBAL SCALE?

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

'The Internet does for fashion what the mircowave does for food'

 Take a look at this very trendy older gentleman shot by Scott 'The Sartorialist' Schulman. Judging by his clothes where would you guess he is from? Paris? Florence? New York? Milan maybe? Let's be honest, he could reside in any stylish city in the western world (Apart from London. The weather is a bit too sunny and the gentleman a little too jovial to be London). 

This was the analogy Ben Beaumont-Thomas of Bad Idea Magazine used to introduce 'Fashion's Microchic Shake-Up' - a talk held in the basement of Shoreditch's The Book Club. He wanted to demonstrate the profound affect the internet - street-style blogs, social networking and all that jazz - has on the way we dress. Welcome to the age of 'Microchic'; the global homogenisation of hyper-personal style.

Phew big words! Maybe it's best we stick to Ben's street style example for simplicity's sake. On the first day of London Fashion Week I was stopped by WGSN who wanted to photograph me in this outfit:

(Velvet Jacket: vintage, Leather Jacket by Topshop, Bag: Jimmy Choo for H&M, Trousers by French Connection, Shoes by Office)

 For those who are not familiar with WGSN, it's a trend forecasting website. The world's biggest fashion brands subscribe for a hefty yearly fee and in return they get a constant stream of information and inspiration to feed their creative vision (this kind of explains why all designers seem to miraculously agree on the trends each season). 

One of the resources they provide is street style reportage. One individual's style might inspire a designer who then shows, for example, patterned satin trousers in their next collection. Those trousers are then copied by high street stores, and eventually feed back down to the consumer on the street. It's one big marvelous cycle! This tool also means that a t-shirt worn in a Tokyo club could be emulated by Topshop and end up on a Londoner's back within a matter of weeks. Virtually instantaneous global style!

Street style blogs have a knack of celebrating subjects with a flair for individualistic or slightly unusual dressing (like our trendy older gentleman above). Our access to these sites allows us to cherry-pick influences from the wardrobes of stylish people across the world - establishing a uniform of global cool which is visible from Copenhagen to Sydney. 

The second part of the talk enlisted the help of Iris Ben Davis (CEO of Style Shake - a site which allows shoppers to design their clothes from scratch), Helen Brown (founder of Catwalk Genius - where fashion fans can buy shares in the businesses of new designers they love), and Ruth Marshall-Johnson (senior editor of WGSN). These are three women who are very much in the business of Microchic and their predictions for the future of fashion pretty much pickled my brain...

Style Shake has made bespoke available to the masses, and even more significantly it has made bespoke affordable (mainly because, Iris told us, being online keeps overheads ultra low). So what does this mean for bricks and mortar stores? Will online bespoke businesses eradicate fast fashion? Or will our penchant for social shopping prevail?

The panel's coverage of the latest technologies was also beyond interesting. Augmented Reality will let us 'try on' clothing virtually with the use of our humble webcams. 3D printers will allow us to 'print' out our purchases (I don't quite understand this. Get on to Wikipedia for a more articulate explanation), and 3D body scanners will ensure our bespoke designs fit perfectly. Apparently software is even being developed with will allow us to virtually 'feel' the material - emulating the tactile experience many of us value as part of the shopping experience.

Super fascinating (if a little mind boggling) right?


Pic credits: TheSartorialist, Fashion156.com

LONDON FASHION WEEK DISCOVERIES

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

One of my favourite things about fashion week is exploring the exhibitions. You get the opportunity to speak to up and coming designers (with their lovely infectious enthusiasm and perma-smiles) and fondle the pieces to your heart's content. My discerning eye spied these beauties this season, I hope you like them too:

PROSE

PROSE is the label of German designers Sabine Egler and Mirian Lehle. Their AW10 collection 'Blurred Vision' stays true to their slightly avant-garde off-kilter signature style, which I love!

'PROSE garments are a challenge of the senses, sculpturally draped and fluent. The textile prints have an artistic and manual aspiration and the surface is reflected by innovative knitstructures, textures and material experiments.'

Their collection is stocked at Topshop EDIT (an in-store boutique showcasing a collective of new design talent) at the Oxford Circus flagship.

MERLE O'GRADY

The lovely Merle started her own label in 2008 and has had tons of press interest since (when I met her she told me the Grazia girls are all fans)

'Rough natural semi-precious stones are mixed with sleek, almost futuristic Perspex shapes while chunky vintage chains sit alongside delicate Swarovski crystal detailing. With a genuine love of craftsmanship, the juxtaposition of machine-made Perspex elements with London-based handcrafted assembly is an important factor in Merle's design process.'

I love that her designs are capacious and intricate yet utterly lightweight. The day before I'd been wearing huge heavy earrings and my lobes were still sore. Merle has created a solution to one of my biggest fashion problems! Thank you! 

The Kinetic Pendant (above) will be available from July priced at £180. If you can't wait that long head on over to Kabiri and snap up her current collection.

SIMON EKRELIUS

Simon Ekrelius' latest collection 'Stardust' is so beautiful it immediately caught my eye at the On/Off exhibition. He uses several types of fine silk in his work, and his attention to design is meticulous (how does he get the sleeves of this jacket to envelop the arm so effectively?)

His entire collection was made from start to finish in the UK, and you can buy it at My Sugarland in Islington.

PETER LANG

This bracelet reminds me of a piece I found at an antiques market in Brussels.

Peter Lang is a well established name in Australia, but this season he's trying to break into the UK market. His vintage inspired pieces have appeared in tons of films including The Matrix, Australia (of course) and Moulin Rouge. Lets be honest, he's not going to find it difficult to secure a stockist is he? 

 LEYII

I'm so excited about this collection! Seriously, every single piece, without exception, is beyond amazing. SeungHee Lee is a London based CSM Womenswear MA grad (but of course!) with serious talent. Her blend of 'constructive technique and draped silhouettes' is what fashion is about right now.

I couldn't get hold of anyone with regards to stockists but keep an eye on the website for more info.

VIKING WONG

Viking graduated from London College of Fashion last year, and this season exhibited at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue where I spotted his work. I'm really feeling his modern brand of tailoring.

'His eastern upbringing and western lifestyle fuse to create new conceptual shapes, challenging the confines of androgyny with a new elegance. The introduction of detail and embellishment to the preservation of traditional tailoring is intrinsic to his avant-garde signature.'

Viking is currently looking for a stockist for his first collection. It won't be long I'm sure!

    

GET THE PARIS LOOK

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

Some of us didn't make it to Paris Fashion Week - namely me. But that's fine - reading show reports on Style.com is just as good as being there right?...(sob!)

Well happily I've found an injection of Parisian style right here, on the great British highstreet. Urban Outfitters is having a bit of a love affair with French brands at the moment: Sessun, Le Mont St Michel, American Retro, Surface to Air, Vanessa Bruno Athe and IRO. Joy!

Je t'aime this sheer, nude blouse and leather shorts (£300). Bang on the money for summer. 

Surface to Air is kind of the French version of ACNE - a Paris based creative collective whose talents span film, photography, graphic design, music and, of course, fashion. The brand has also launched a 12 piece capsule collection by Kings of Leon, who I am utterly besotted with. Buy it here.

How much do you want to be wearing this come June? 

IRO is another brand sprung from multi-talented designers. The Bitton brothers come from a music background originally but branched into fashion because 'It lets everyone be loved'. Awwww bless.

I'm sure you're probably familiar with the misleadingly named American Retro. This season the French design duo were inspired by rockabilly music, American motorcycle clubs and 90s underground fashion culture. Expect signature classics with an edge, like this little black 'retro dot clash' dress.

All the above are available to buy from www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk. Get clicking mon amie!

Also, just for the hell of it, I thought I'd post this clip from the film Paris Je T'aime. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend. It's kind if an artsy movie comprised of multiple short stories about life and love in Paris. In this tale Elijah Wood has a run in with a sexy vampire on a darkened bridge. Oh my!

BEST DRESSED AT THE OSCARS 2010

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

Lets take a break from all the Fashion Week mayhem to talk Oscars for a second shall we? Sandra Bullock - she of the vaguely watchable rom-coms - beat Meryl Streep and our Carey in the best actress category! What a surprise!

But the biggest surprise of all this year was the lack of red carpet mishaps (at worst some of the celebrities looked just ok, which is a shame because I could kinda do with a laugh this morning).

Here are 10 of the best from Oscars night 2010:

It's pretty much a once in a lifetime achievement, so thank god Sandra picked a good dress - Marchesa AW10

Carey Mulligan I applaud you. Usually black is a bit of a tame look for Oscars night but I'm loving this Prada number (a favourite designer of hers it seems). Earrings are hot as well.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Chanel SS10 couture - a fine match.

This is the one everybody is talking about - Zoe Saldana in Givenchy SS10 couture. Love? Or hate?

More Chanel couture, this time on the ever perfect Diane Kruger.

Maggie Gyllenhaal (love her) doing a contemporary Oscars look in Dries Van Noten.

Cameron Diaz in Oscar de la Renta. Beautiful.

Is it fair that Demi Moore (in Atelier Versace) looks better at her age than I do at 24? 

A teeny tiny Miley Cyrus in Jenny Packham 

And last but not least we have Penelope Cruz in Donna Karan. 

EDIT:

Ok girls - to satisfy demand I give you...

The lovely Rachel Mcadams in Elie Saab

Pic credits: Getty Images

SOPHIA KOKOSALAKI AW10 SHOW

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

My first proper Paris post, but many more to come when I can find the time in this mentally hectic schedule of ours. Put it this way - we only get time for dinner at 10pm!

Sophia Kokosalaki's show was, as always, wonderful to behold. Sophia is all about moving fashion forward: new colours, shapes, dynamic cuts and striking shoes with extra ordinary shaped heels, too - this time shaped like rose stems, thorns and all!

As always her show was inspired by her native Greece this time from plant life and architecture. It was a directional new look for Sophia, with plenty of colour and long layers, not to mention beautiful shoes with heels inspired by roses, thorns and all! "I said to myself let this show not be about black," she giggled backstage where I snuck postshow to get the scoop! My seat was too awkward for taking pictures...

Sophia giving an interview

One of the copper wire jackets, which actually was a light-as-air fibre

 

The beautiful ceiling above our heads in Sophia's show venue at the Hotel Westin. Divine!