Fashioning February: Goody Bags Galore

No decent fashionista leaves a fashion show without a goody bag. These are mainly placed in the front row (sometimes second and third depending on how well off the designer is) for the creme a la creme such as top editors, buyers, celebs and certain bloggers. The idea of the goody bag or swag as they are now being referred to, is so you buy into the brand and give it a favourable review. They come in the form of fancy designed cardboard bags or recycled cloth ones and they can contain anything from perfume, tshirts, gift cards, make up to bottles of water. The quality of the bag really depends on how rich or generous the designer is feeling at the time or whether they have been able to find a company to sponsor them. Some bags can often be more style than substance with nothing more than a bottle of water and a mere magazine inside. However due to the recession it is no surprise that goody bags lack the lustre that they used to have in more buoyant times. Some designers do try their best though; during my adventures at London Fashion Week I managed to collect several goody bags and this is what was in them.

The Look Show
Bottle of Water
Look magazine
H&M magazine
H&M leopard clutch
New Look chiffon scarf
LMS Spotlights active cell regeneration
Marks and Spencer sunglasses
Monsoon jewellery
Rimini eyelashes
Label M sea salt spray
Natio rose water camomile skin toner
Kleenex tissues
Urban Decay eye pencil
Nails Inc nail polish
Next just pink lip balm
John Galliano perfume sample
Natio facial cleanser
L'Occitane hand cream
Natio moisturiser

MAC
Press releases and look books
Notepad
Lipcreme
Skin Base
Eye Creme

Jazzkatz
Vauxhall Fashion Scout notepad
Bottle of Vitamin Water
Label M fizz control serum
Label M mesh styling

Jaeger London
Bazaar magazine
Bottle of water
Bar of chocolate
Label M split end sealer compact

Paul Smith
Optimistic perfume
Paul Smith notepad

Bunmi Koko
Cupcake by Louise
2 cans of Red Bull
2 packs of Ferrero Rocher chocolates
2 packs of Borders cookies
2 packs of No7 colour eye palette
Sanctuary shower gel
Cargo concealer and foundation
Pen
Cargo mascara

All in all not bad at all and much appreciated.

Check out this hilarious video about goody bags at New Zealand Fashion Week.

Fashioning February: Enya Patricia

Enya Patricia from ondolady on Vimeo.
Every good lady needs a clutch for those occasions when you are out on the town. Right now I am enjoying a love renaissance with fur - ok faux fur, I mean I don't want a bucket of blood thrown over me like poor Samantha did in Sex and the City: The Movie. At London Fashion Week I kept seeing fur everywhere as jackets, gillets and satchels and they looked really cool in a luxurious way. So when I came across a faux fur clutch at Enya Patricia's stall during the exhibition of Fashion Mavericks I was taken by it. Enya Patricia is a brand owned by Enya Patricia Mooney who started designing in her spare time while she was studying Child Psychology. She also showed her lovely collection at Fashion Mavericks which was feminine with a dash of sexy, we saw elegant dresses draped with leather or fur accents. I grabbed Enya for an interview so she could tell me more about her classy collection.

You can check out Enya Patricia's website.

Fashioning February: London Fashion Week February 2011

I wasn't planning on doing a round-up post for London Fashion Week AW11, I was just going to post reviews of certain shows and events but as I have had such a crazy few days I decided it would a shame not to tell you about it. LFW 2011 was definitely the best I have ever experienced, from the moment I went to pick up my press pass in the congested registration area of the British Fashion Council (BFC) tent it was go, go, go.

Friday
First of all it was the obligatory pop in to the press room to pick up press packs and do some people watching. I forgot that it was BYOL aka Bring Your Own Laptop and the room was packed with journos and bloggers tapping out their copy. I rushed over to Holborn for The Look Show (review over here) where I bumped into fellow bloggers Archna from PunchBowl Blog, Nneoma from twentyteneightyfour and Muireann from Bangs and a Bun.

Sunday
I planned to spend the day hopping between Fashion Mavericks at Strand Palace Hotel and the BFC tent but before that I had more important matters to attend to, such as getting my make up done at the MAC booth. After that it was the Jasper Conran show which offered us a monochrome feel with sleek A line dresses and skirts with jersey tops and blazers. I made my way to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to see Jazzkatze where I saw loads of floaty, chiffon material in the form of blouses, shorts and cutesy dresses. What I loved most about this collection were the hair which were lovely up dos with a string tied round sections of it. Then it was onto Fashion Mavericks where I saw up and coming designers such as Enya Patricia (interview with her coming up shortly) and Hamra Alam. There were both great but I was gutted that I missed Kiki Kamanu because she had some brilliant designs including handbags made out of Ankara cloth. Watch out for an interview coming out with her very soon. I managed to catch the Jaeger London show which was a special event for Vodafone VIP customers. It was hosted by T4's Jameela Jamil and displayed what the line does best; smart structured tailoring but this collection had splashes of vibrant colours interjected amongst the muted ones. Then it was off to my final show A La Mode at Charing Cross Hotel. The event had been running since Friday so Sunday was the last day. I was treated to collections by Lunar Skye which was a selection of wedding dresses, Omar Mansoor which comprised of some glorious evening dresses, Zed Eye which was more directional with fantastic mix of different fabrics and Eveae West by Egypt which were a treat of short sweet dresses.

Monday
I was going to take this day off to rest but an impending interview and more scintillating shows lured me out of my house. At Somerset House I headed to the screening room to catch the short film by Fred Butler Style and was taken away by the wonderful cinematography. After that I headed off to see Todd Lynn in the BFC tent where I saw some really lovely fur stoles in the collection. This was the first collection I had seen that contained both men and women's wear and he did it very well. There were a lot of muted colours here with a couple of bright red outfits, cool knitwear as well as biker jackets. Then it was back to Fashion Mavericks where I saw designers Susana Bettencourt, Sarahi House of Fashion and the end of Fabryan. Then we popped across the road to The Savoy to see Paul Smith; the lavish surroundings of the venue was perfect for what is regarded as one of the country's finest brands. Tinie Tempah may have kicked off the black thick rimmed glasses trend but Paul Smith was definitely legitimising it when he sent his models (male and female) down the catwalk rocking the preppy come Englishman/lady look. From the understated style of Paul Smith to the flamboyance of Bunmi Koko who showed at Vauxhall Fashion Scout later that evening. All I can say is wow! Out of the shows that I have seen that was the one that blew me away in terms of creativity, vibrancy and the use of colour. Bunmi Koko is one to watch for the future. My last stop was Samantha Cole London which was just upstairs and this was a dark slightly Gothic collection of dresses made in leather, velvet and jersey. This was a really dramatic and powerful collection which was exacerbated by the fact that the show took place in two different rooms with the models flowing from one room to another.

Although LFW is scheduled over six days I am afraid I only lasted three. I know it sounds like a cliche but rushing round to fashion shows is such hard work darling!.

Fashioning February: Behind the Scenes at London Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week comes to an end today and after seven days full of fun, frolics and fashion, tomorrow the fashion pack descend upon England for London Fashion Week. Over the next five days we expect to see collection after collection being displayed at Somerset House and various trendy venues around the capital. However, behind every show is a team of stylists, PRs, hairdressers and make up artists who make sure everything looks uber perfect. Thomas Walker is a make up artist who will be working hard backstage making the models look absolutely flawless.

I have been a freelance make up artist for two years however I have worked in the industry for 10 years now. This year I will be keying the make up for the Thomas Tait show which I look forward to working on every season because Thomas like myself is a perfectionist, so we always create something wonderful. I adore working with him. This year I am working on other top secret projects. Even though I'm only working on the one show this season a lot of time is spent prepping, researching looks; the side to my job I love. Along with the other top secret project I'm working on I'd say life over the Fashion Week period will be pretty hectic. I adore the backstage vibe, some find it stressful however I love it. Everybody is just working towards creating art at the end of the day so we all just wanna get our work down. I am an extremely calm person so it takes a lot for me to get stressed I love it. I always look forward to Ashish, Vivienne Westwood and of course Thomas Tait. However all the shows are great as they create trends that I can incorporate into my work.

To keep up with Thomas's movement during London Fashion Week follow him on Twitter

Fashioning February: At Your Liberty

Being a fashion blogger can be quite contentious at times but being an anonymous blogger has got to be pretty tricky. But this is exactly the role that Sasha Wilkins held on and off for a good few years before she decided to come out around this time last year with a brand new spanking website. Sasha wears many hats such as style journalist, editor, broadcaster as well as social media consultant and divides her time between London and New York. During her time in blogsphere she has become one of the big guns in fashion blogging and gathered a lot of media clips in newspapers and magazines; you will meet very people in the industry who have not heard of her or come across her blog, Liberty London Girl (LLG). So I just had to have her as my Blogger of the Month for Fashioning February and I was ever so delighted when she obliged.

What made you start blogging?
I started LLG in September 2006 as a place for personal writing. I only managed a couple of entries, and re-started it when I wanted to keep a journal of my life in New York for my family and friends when I moved to Manhattan in January 2007

Describe the concept behind LLG.
For the first three years of LLG there was no concept, no grand plan. I just wrote…I didn’t speak to publicists; I didn’t plan my posts…it just happened. Now that LLG is my full time job, I describe the site in two ways now: beyond the personal blogging about my life, firstly I see it partly as an insider’s guide to all manner of things, taking readers to places they might not necessarily either have access to, or the means to explore themselves, be it backstage at a fashion show, on the road with a rock band in America or inside an extraordinary hotel room.  I also describe it as, “What to read when you want to know where to go, where to stay, what to do when you get there, and what to wear whilst you are doing it all.’

Over the last year bloggers have really made their mark at fashion shows and in the media, how do you think they will continue to push the boundaries over the next few years?
I don’t know that that many bloggers have really made their mark at fashion shows. Access is still pretty limited, and it’s a small band of bloggers that really gets to see it all. (I don’t think any access I get counts as I’ve been in the fashion industry for years.) But I do think that blogging has changed the way we look at news gathering. The immediacy and personal voice of blogging have changed the media landscape forever. It is certainly true that bloggers are one of the main reasons that we no longer perceive print journalists as the gatekeepers to news and information, and I am sure that bloggers will continue to set the agenda for change.

You have a huge following; do you ever get stressed about maintaining such a high standard?
I’ve written for publications like The Wall Street Journal, which has an audience in the millions, numbers which I don’t even dream of for LLG, let alone aspire to, but the difference between print journalism and blogging isn’t about numbers: it is that it is so personal, so direct. I know how strongly I engage with the blogs that I read and I presume that readers do the same with mine. That is an enormous responsibility and one I don’t take on lightly, but I just continue doing what I have always done, and hope that my brilliant, funny, engaged readers stay along for the ride.

What do you do when you are not working on your blog?
I have a company, LLG Media, which encompasses the blog, and my thriving consultancy business, LLG Consults, which helps luxury goods brands and public relations agencies engage effectively with the world of social media. I do still occasionally file copy for print publications as a journalist.

Describe a typical day in the life of Sasha Wilkins.
My blog has become my business, so much of what I do is connected with it in some way. But to be honest, apart from the actual blogging, my working day is pretty much identical to what it was as a fashion editor, as the people I work with and talk to don’t seem to treat me any differently from when I worked on magazines. A typical day would start with a 9.00am working breakfast in one of the places that style PRs like to take press, so in London that’s The Wolseley, Dean Street Townhouse or Cecconi’s, and in New York Balthazar or Café Cluny. After that I will either go home to deal with my giant, headache-inducing admin list, research stories, take photographs, read a vast amount on–line and, of course, blog, or I will stay in town to take more meetings, visit designers and showrooms, probably do a lunch or coffee with a designer or PR and then work in the afternoon at Soho House in either London or New York, which I use as a base and which are very useful for sole entrepreneurs as they have wi-fi and lots of power points, before going (very briefly as I loathe parties) to an evening event, maybe a launch or store opening, or heading to a studio to appear on a news programme for the BBC World Service. I rarely turn off. But I did write recently about making time for a work/life balance and I am trying to keep to that resolution, by going out for dinner with friends or heading to my lovely sister’s for supper with the dog in front of the TV (and not writing about doing either!)

From where do you source your stories?
I write about everything in which I am interested. That could come from off the top of my head, a book I am reading, a comment a friend has made, a press release, a publicist’s phone call, or something I have seen in the street. The simple answer is everywhere.

What are your favourite glossy magazines?
I have every copy of British Vogue dating from 1989 onwards and a huge affection for Conde Nast Traveller as that is where I started my career. I’m very interested to see what both Stefano Tonchi does at W and Sally Singer does at T, as they are clearly both brilliant editors. I do like a good read and The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Red in the UK are perfect for that. And, of course I take Grazia weekly.

Name five blogs that you read religiously
Fashion Editor at Large, Kingdom of Style, Textbook, What Possessed Me and Backwards in High Heels.

Last year you switched platforms from Blogger to having your own website, how do you see LLG evolving over the next two years?
I have lots of plans! Exciting ones, for me anyway. I can’t divulge most of them I’m afraid, but I can tell you that there will be a lot more video on LLG, and that I am collaborating with Mercedes-Benz UK in February at London Fashion Week for the third time on the Voices of Fashion project, where I will be Tweeting at @MercedesLFW from 01 Feb, and blogging for them here.

You can read Sasha"s blog here.

You can follow her on Twitter.

Marie Claire Presents the Maybelline Pop-Up Shop

You all know I love a pop-up store so I had to get down to the Maybelline Pop-Up Shop presented by Marie Claire which is in Covent Garden. The store which has been created specifically for London Fashion Week is the first of its kind in Europe. Maybelline Pop-Up flung its doors opened on 16th September in Covent Garden and they have been inundated with visitors since then. The store is a 600 square feet emporium with a smooth white alabaster exterior and a very light and airy interior. The wooden floors and white walls meshed with the brightly coloured make up and branding materials provide a sense of intimacy without feeling cramped. The treats on offer are complimentary manicures, makeovers and eyebrow threading. You can also purchase the latest limited edition of Marie Claire (you know the one that the subscribers get and we ordinarly folks don't) as well as the latest make up items. Pinned up on the wall are images of models donning the latest make up looks from the catwalk which the Maybelline make up girls are on hand to recreate. It is also a place to go to get lots of advice on the

The lovely Yrsa and I took a trip to the shop and had a very nice wander. The make up artists were very nice and friendly and keen to help. I had a manicure done which was pretty top notch and Yrsa had her eyebrows threaded and she did not feel any pain at all. Now I have been getting my eyebrows threaded for a good few years and always feel it so I was amazed when she told me this. This place is a must for all beauty junkie and for any respectable lady who wears make up.

The Maybelline Pop-Up Store is open till Sunday 26th September so make sure you get in there. The address is 18 Shorts Garden, Seven Dials, (just off Neal Street) Covent Garden, London WC2H 9LD.

Press Lounging

One of the fun aspects of attending London Fashion Week was roaming round Somerset House having  a look at the exhibition and I love having a peek in the press room at the British Fashion Council (BFC) tent. As well as being full of loads of information about the shows and designers, the press room is also a space where journalists and bloggers can bang out their copy while sipping a cup of much needed coffee.

What I love about the BFC press room is the way it always look completely different every season. The look for this season was Scandinavian Modern with wooden floor boards, chic white work desks and benches as well as round sofa's stylishly dotted around.

The media rooms at Vauxhall Fashion Scout and On/Off are always equally stylish and all the press/media rooms are equipped with laptops. The concept for Vauxhall Fashion Scout is the minimalism look with shiny lacquer white desks and white leather sofas. The furniture made a perfect contrast to the classic parquet flooring. I didn't make it down to the press lounge for On/Off which I am gutted about because I heard that it was amazing and contained some funky knitted chairs and decadent lampshades by designer, Melanie Porter which are pictured at the top. They look amazing don't they?

The picture in the middle is of the BFC tent and the one at the bottom is of Vauxhall Fashion Scout.

Tech Touch Style

Technology and fashion seem to be going hand in hand these days like bread and butter and Abercrombie and Fitch. One of the sponsors of London Fashion Week (LFW) are Hannspree who donated netbooks for use in the Bloggers Bar. Sony Vaio provided laptops for the media room for Vauxhall Fashion Scout and of course there is the relationship that HP has with the industry ie the Vivienne Tam netbook. After having no access to internet during my stint at LFW (left laptop at home and had no time to blog while rushing from show to show) I couldn't wait to get home and type all my posts up on my HP TouchSmart 300 which is in my office. The PC is a multi touch screen and comes with Windows 7 as well as fantastic a 20 inch full HD display screen. So it is one hell of a beauty. As I am not really too keen on touching the screen (I feel that it is too sacred) it is great that a keyboard and mouse included. The sound from the HP TouchSmart is superb and I tuned into BBC Radio 1Xtra while I was cranking out those LFW posts. There is enough speed to store images and videos which is great for when I am selecting which picture to use for a blog post. It also allows me to retouch and crop images easily which is essential as I have been taking a lot of images at LFW. As my office is right next to the bathroom I tend to indulge in playing my iTunes selection while I am relaxing in the bath. So the HP TouchSmart works well for both work and play.

The picture above is taken from the launch of the HP TouchSmart which I attended back in July (you can read my blog post about it here) where Project Runway finalist Emilio Sosa talked about how he uses the PC to work on his designs.

Untold Season VII

I came across Untold during the summer at Clothes Show London and I was pretty impressed with the work from the designers. Untold Design is a community interest company and social enterprise which offers new and emerging creatives who specialise in various aspects of design a space to show their work. Untold pay a lot of lip service in collaboration and collective showcasing where all the designers work together which brings down the cost aimed at the creatives. The Untold story began in 2007 with just three designers and now three years later the collective has seen over 300 designers and creatives go through their doors. On Monday all doors led to The Design Museum where Untold Season VII took place in conjunction with The London Design Festival and London Fashion Week. There was a pop-up boutique on the old routemaster double decker bus parked outside of the venue where you could buy special editions of prints by Victoria Scott as well as a variety of illustrations. On the top deck there were collections by Eki Orleans and Zanaib Vandu-Chikolo. The designers showing off their collections on the runway were Tijana & Mila Popovic, Ross Paul Keenan, Jasmine Howard-Evans, Eki Orleans, Ricardo Ramos and Karla Sabina.

The idea behind the Tijana & Mila Popovic collection is to unite ethics and aesthetics drawing from new age elements and fashion, graphics and interiors. This was a gorgeous collection with chiffony dresses, leotards and lots of PVC. Despite having being trained on Saville Row Ross Paul Keenan wanted to rebel against this and as a result his collection was based on the concept of football and the Brixton riots. Ricardo Ramos's collection was based on his inspiration of India hence the use of saris, cottons, Madras checks and diplomat stripes. This was quite a dusky collection with flashes of vibrant colours on dresses and pantsuits.

Eki Orleans brilliantly uses West African prints on silk materials and turns them into smock tops, floaty maxi and shift dresses. I loved this collection and it was refreshing to see the prints used on silk as opposed to other materials. With the use of two dimensional and three dimensional design, Jasmine Howard-Evans creates her collections with a holistic approach, creating prints and pieces that interact together. I thought this collection was fabulous and I really liked the way the models were sent down the catwalk with a tiny camera where they pretended to take pictures of the audience and the photographers. Very cute. Karla Sabina's collection consists of handbags and jewelley which tells a story of sensibility, experience and maturity of someone who has learned to trust her senses. The necklaces were very elegant and the tiny shoulder bags were tres chic. Untold created a fantastic evening with a wonderful celebration of fashion and it is great to see so much talent in this country. The evening was topped off with a serving of tea and cupcakes. Well what else?

You can find out more about Untold by visiting their website.

Pics are supplied by Untold. Middle pic is of the collection by Tijana and Mila Popovic, the bottom pic is of Jasmine Howard-Evans. 

The Look Show 2.0

Another season and another exciting installment of The Look Show returned in conjunction with London Fashion Week. Once again it took place at The Saatchi Gallery and there were the delights of free champagne and canapes as well as various pamper treatments. There were also performances by Gabriela Clini (in the pic below), Diana Vickers and hip US group, The Like. Apparently there were numerous C-list celebs in tow such as Jamelia, X Factor's Jo McEldery, Shane Ward, Martine McCutheon but I only spotted a bleary eyed looking Callum Best. I met up with the lovely Yvonne from Pretty Stylish London and we indulged in a makeover courtesy of Benefit.

The Look Show is organised by Look magazine and the aim of the event is to showcase the new season's trends from high street stores. The event made its official debut last February and was a huge success (read my previous blog review here) and as LFW concentrates on what we will be wearing for next Spring and Summer it is refreshing to see what the trends are for this season. High street brands such as M&S, Oasis, French Connection, Mango, Dorothy Perkins, River Island, Warehouse, H&M, Office, Monsoon, New Look and Next all showed their wares for this autumn and winter. The looks that I saw were the inevitable camel shades and aviator jackets; I wouldn't throw those ankle boots or shorts away just yet as they are still going strong. There were still a few capes around and jumpsuits as well as maxi dresses. Office employed the use of dancers to show off their 60s sci-fi themed shoes. I did see some really lovely pieces; such as the gorgeous crepe shifts, floaty tunics and jersey dresses from French Connection and Dorothy Perkins had a selection of wonderful prints on maxi and midi dresses and vintage florals. Monsoon never fail to impress me with their exotic colours, beautiful fabrics detailed finishing and their a/w 10 range has not let them down. It is full of lots of delights of quirky prints, wonderful hues with draped chiffons, fluid sheers and sequin embellishment. The fashion show takes over just under an hour but it is well worth it, with great models and a thumping soundtrack, this is one of the most fun fashion shows I have ever been to. To top that off we were given a goodie bag rammed full of beauty products and accessories. Not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Keeping up with the blogging trend, Look magazine also ran a blogging competition where they invited several bloggers to come down and review the show. You can read all about the comp and all the reviews here.

Fashion Diversity

London Fashion Week kicked off last Friday with the usual glamourous fashion shows, after parties, celebrities on the front row and various launches. Over six days there has been a huge plethora of designers showing their offering for next Spring and Summer but the catwalk shows have not just been restricted to the BFC tent; other partners such as Vauxhall Fashion Scout and On/Off have been drawing a huge crowd with their shows. However, LFW was given a huge boost with the announcement that the British fashion industry is worth nearly £12 billion (yes billion!) proving to be the one of the most creative industries. The irony of this statement does not escape me  as life in the Brit fashion industry is far from rosey. I was having a BBM discussion with Janice from Mad News about the position of London Fashion Week in comparison with the other fashion weeks such as New York, Milan and Paris. Jan was under the impression that LFW was up there in the echelons when in reality the event is very low down the ranks. LFW is seen as the quirkier and edgy sister and the place to go for ideas and trends but in terms of sales that is all done in New York, Milan and Paris. Most of the top editors skip London after New York and head straight for Milan along with most of the top models. Reason being? Well simply - cold cash or rather lack of. As slick as the British Fashion Council may appear to be there is a serious problem with finances within the British fashion scene. A lot of new designers in this country struggle to get their business off the ground and even when they do it is a constant struggle for them to get the next collection out. Initiatives like On/Off and Vauxhall Scout Fashion were set up to provide new designers with a platform to show their work which would hopefully lead them to bigger and better things and have done a fantastic job and now there are other collectives that are set up to promote up and coming designers.

Fashion Diversity, Fashion Mavericks and Untold are just a few organisations who are showcasing new designers. Fashion Diversity has been running for two years and their objective is to re-addrress the balance of diversity during London Fashion Week by raising the profile and supporting designers and models within the UK fashion industry. This took place in the form of a two day celebration of fashion which consists of a press launch and a VIP gala show, a fashion show featuring the work of students and graduates as well as a fashion show for the public. Last Thursday I went down to the press launch and gala awards which took place at Islington Metal Works. The event was a collaboration between Mahogany Model Management and Untold Design CIC and featured the works of Mong, Nias World, Aaron Purean Khan, Arif Khan, Aamaa Couture, Bibi Grafitti, Chichia London, Blaq by Sasha James and Kevin Patrick. The designs were a mixture of modern designs with shells and embellishments as well as African prints. Designers, Adebayo Jones, Jolaby and Patrick Kevin were rightfully given awards to honor their careers and success in the fashion industry and both Adebayo Jones and Patrick Kevin showed off their collection for us to see. I was really impressed with the quality of the designs as well as the elaborate make up and it is great to see designers with a much smaller profile getting their props.

For more information about Fashion Diversity check out their website. 

London Fashion Week September 2010

I was planning on attending New York Fashion Week but well that didn't work out so I decided to make the most of being in the UK and spend a few days at London Fashion Week. Unfortunately I didn't apply for tickets for the main catwalk shows and I wasn't in the mood to gatecrash so I decided to attend the events I did actually have an invite to. All of these events were off schedule (which means shows that are not taking place at the British Fashion Council tent) and darted across different parts of London. On Thursday there was Fashion Diversity at Islington Metal Works, Friday was The Look Show at The Saatchi Gallery, Saturday was Fashion Mavericks at The Strand Palace Hotel and Monday was Untold at The London Design Museum. I will be covering these events during the next few posts and filling you in on all the details.

Fashioning February: TGI Friday

This is the last week of Fashioning February and I have an amazing amount of fun. London Fashion Week (LFW) came and went and yet again there were a fabulous amount of posts. Like two weeks ago it was a very hard decision to narrow it done to five links but I got there in the end. So with no further ado, here are the posts that have rocked my world this week.

Oh Elle
You know you have arrived when Topshop comes knocking on your door. Disney Roller Girl, Coco's Tea Party and Oh Elle were invited down to Topshop's flagship store to host a blogging workshop. The lovely Elle gives us a recap of the day.

Coco's Tea Party
Following the blogging workshop, Coco has kindly put together a list of blogging tips for newbie bloggers.

Kate Loves Me
This week was all about London Fashion Week and Pelayo gives us a pictorial lowdown on his time at LFW. I just love the We HEART KateLovesMe cards that he has all the fashionistas holding up.

Marian Kihogo
It wasn't just the clothes that got everyone hot under the collar, bloggers also breathing hard over their behaviour at shows and in the press room. Read this insightful and very honest commentary from Marian on her thoughts about the behaviour of bloggers at LFW.

Disco Nap
Sitting on the side of the fence was this spunky blogger who decided to speak up and give her side of the story. It certainly made interesting reading.

Picture taken from Oh Elle.

Fashioning February: My Space by Abby Ajay from High Street Fashionista

The British High Street is certainly having a superb week with Topshop Unique going down a treat at London Fashion Week and of course the huge success of The Look Show, which was a collaboration between high street brands and Look magazine. I am a high street girl who likes to mix pieces from Mango, Zara, H&M and asos.com so I was delighted when I came across Abby's blog. The High Street Fashionista is a blog which documents Abby's shopping life and loves of many bags, shoes and accessories. She started her mouthpiece in 2006 and since then she has graduated onto other topics in the popular culture remit. I caught up with her to find out where she blogs.

Describe the concept of High Street Fashionista.

The High Street Fashionista blog initially grew out of my love of shopping for clothes, accessories and shoes on the high street and the starting concept was to discuss my experiences of high street shopping and my aspirations towards shopping for designer clothes. I also wanted to write something for fun, which was separate from the writing I was doing for my day job (though I do blog about writing at Moody Writer. High Street Fashionista has now broadened to include general comment on popular culture and things that grab my interest as well as cataloguing my experiences of travelling, eating out, living in London, trying and failing to be a recessionista and of course high street shopping. Ultimately the aim is to explore and discuss a range of topics that are aspirational and which will resonate with all the high street fashionistas out there. 

Where do you scribe?
My blogging happens in snatched moments between deadlines for my day job as a screenwriter. Working from home, the lure of the E! channel has often proven to strong to resist and I tend to go out and write at places like the Southbank Centre, the British Library, The Women's Library, BAFTA or my local Starbucks or Costa. Sometimes inspiration comes at home and then I tend to either write in bed or in a comfy old armchair with my Macbook on my knees.

Why that place?

I like writing in public places because between writing, I like to people watch and eavesdrop, which helps me generate ideas for the blog and for my writing in general. But I also like being comfy which is when writing at home is most appealing. I tend to write straight onto my computer - basically I draft my blog posts when inspiration strikes - though I also keep a list of ideas I'd like to explore on the blog at some point. 

What is on your bed and sofa at the moment?

My working area at home is always a mess. My Macbook and Iphone have pride of place alongside, a stetson hat (I like wearing a hat when I write), a stack of DVDs to watch, books to read, magazines - Mslexia and Harpers Bazaar, my various notebooks, lots of post-its with reminders and the script that I'm currently working on.

What form of inspiration do you have on the wall 

I am a great collector of quotes, some more profound than others. Above my desk I have a postcard with the Lady Astor quote, "I married beneath me, all women do." I also have a photo of myself outside Walford East station on the set of Eastenders. I like to write down and keep extracts from books that have particularly touched me and I also tend to collect postcards and images that are particularly striking and which have in some way inspired me. I also have a cuttings book/ ideas folder where I put interesting cuttings from magazines and newspapers.

Do you keep a tidy office or are you a messy worker?

I am a horribly messy person in general (except for my shoes which are all neatly boxed) and often my desk is littered with magazines, books, DVDs, cuttings and other stuff I've collected for inspiration, which is why having a desk in a public space is a good thing for me. However my laptop folders are incredibly well organized.

You can read Abby's blog here.

You can follow her on Twitter here.

Fashioning February: The Look Show

As I mentioned in a previous post, Slave to Fashion Britain has the best high street in the world. With gems like H&M, Oasis, Mango, Zara, Miss Selfridges etc we are really spoilt for choice when selecting high fashion at reasonable prices. So what better way to celebrate this by holding a fashion show that features items that will be available in store and online right after the show. While items shown on the catwalk do not make their appearances in the shops till six months later the pieces featured at The Look are immediately ripe for picking. The show was hosted by Look magazine and took place at the swish Saatchi Gallery on Saturday. It was the first ever high street fashion show that took place during London Fashion Week with Look being the only fashion magazine to be part of London Fashion Week. The fashion stores that took place were Reiss, French Connection, H&M, Dorothy Perkins, Mango, Miss Selfridge, Marks & Spencer, Next, Oasis, River Island, Warehouse, New Look, Zara and Asos.com.

Now I am not really a fan of Look magazine as I find that it is a bit too much like a catalogue; I am more of Grazia girl but they really pulled out the stops for this event. It was a pretty slick operation from start to finish. It all kicked off with a champagne reception with tasty canapes; I am proud to say that I lived up to my so called 'bligger' mantra and stuffed my face silly. My excuse is that I did not have time to stop for lunch so I was famished by the time I got to the event and hey a lady had to eat right? Then it was up to the actual show itself. There were a few minor celebrities in the crowd such as Mollie King from The Saturdays and Beverly Knight. The show kicked off with supermodel, Erin O'Conner opening with Reiss with other stores showing off their wares. The themes were florals, shorts, jumpsuits, blazers with shoulder pads and rolled up sleeves as well as a lot of prints. Pop diva, Pixie Lott performed one of her hit singles and demonstrated why she is being touted as one of the country's finest talents.

Unlike catwalk shows where only the front two rows are given goody bags, The Look Show gave goody bags to everyone who attended and these bags which were designed by Olivia Rubin were bulging with products. Inside were a bar of Thorntons chocolates, a scarf from Dorothy Perkins, a small bag from asos,  nail polish from nubar, bangles from DIVA, another one from Tallulah Tu, rose petal salve from Rose & Co Apothecary, moisturiser from Purity,  necklace and earrings from Hannahmakesthings.com,  soft curl cream from Toni&Guy, notepad from Kipling, necklace from Rosie Fox, lipstick from Guerlain, woolly hat from Chelsea Girl, sunglasses from The Laden Showroom, H&M magazine, a bottle of Evian water, a £25 voucher from Next and of course a copy of Look magazine. Basically everything but the kitchen sick. Overall it was a great celebration of fashion from the high street and really exciting to see such vibrant and stylish yet accessible outfits on the catwalk.

Fashioning February: London Fashion Week - February 2010

So yesterday I got my fashion fix by heading down to Somerset House for London Fashion Week aka LFW. This is the second season that LFW has been held at Somerset House and the location works a real treat. The cobbled streets brings out the quainty aspects of British style along with the period features of the buildings that surround the courtyard. I had a very packed schedule ahead of me so I made sure that I got there early so I could soak in the atmosphere of LFW. After picking up my press badge I had a quick look at the press area and a quick chat with fellow bloggers Susie Bubble and Disney Roller Girl. The first show I saw was Kinder Aggugni which was a mixture of millitary chic and vintage flowing pieces. Needless to say the venue was packed and the audience very appreciative.

After I popped into the Vauxhall Fashion Scout media centre (part of the off schedule for LFW) to have a look at their set up. The Vauxhall Fashion Scout crew are always mega friendly and never fail to produce a fabulous press room. In September 2008 they had a Moroccan theme with exotic furniture, silk cushions and throws which was followed in February 2009 with a cosy space filled with bunches of roses and candles. This year they came up trumps with an Alice in Wonderland like theme with bird cadges dotted about on tables and window sills. There were also yummy cupcakes on display courtesy of thelittlecakery which I just had to sample - well it would have been rude not to. Next it was off to New Oxford Street for Romina Karamanea which took place at an underground venue which was jam packed. I spied Marion Kihogo tapping away at her netbook while looking chic in a fur gillet. The Romina Karamanea collection was very gothic like with all black pieces made out of leather, tweed and jersey. After a quick hello to Marion I rushed off to The Look Show which turned out to be the highlight of the day.

Check out Vauxhall Fashion Scout's blog.

I will be reviewing The Look Show tomorrow.

The picture at the top is of Kinder Aggugini.

London Fashion Week - September 2009

As well as a brand new location at the swish Somerset House this season's London Fashion Week will be hailed as the one where bloggers were welcomed with open arms by PRs. Also what impressed me about LFW was the relaxed rules with regarding backstage access. It seemed that there was more action going on backstage than on the catwalks. Interviews with designers, models, make up artists, fashion journos and celebs; it all went on back there. Also the use of rich media in the form of videos, podcasts and audio kept fashion lovers round the world in the loop.

Here are just a few videos that I have come across about LFW September 09.

Daily Mail Online
Deborah Arthurs, from Femail goes back stage at LFW to see the preparations the likes of Alice Temperley and Jasper Conran. 



Very.co.uk
 
Louise Roe looks at trends for the next season that are in the shops right now.




Grazia

Katie Jacobs, fashion assistant from Grazia catches up with Caroline Charles and Sass & Bide and has a chat about their collection.


New York Times

The Grande Dame of fashion, Suzy Menkes pays homage to London and their fashion scene.

Fashionista Magazine

Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) featured the absolute cream of talent in this country as Universities around the UK displayed the work of their finest students. In it's 18th year, GFW is where companies, talent scouts, trend spotters and fashionistas go to check out the up and coming talent. I saw shows by Nottingham Trent, UCA Rochester, UCA Epsom and Manchester Metropolitan University and the collections I saw were pretty much on par with those at London Fashion Week. My favourite part of GFW is wandering round the exhibition and checking out the portfolios, sketchbooks and publications created by the students. There is some amazing work displayed here and more importantly you get an idea of the thought process of the student when they were working on their collection. Wednesday saw the galas take place where Claudia Schiffer, Matthew Williamson, Dylan Jones and Lorraine Candy presented awards to the most promising students. Myrto Stamou from UCA Rochester took home the Gold Award as well as the award for Womenswear. Thursday was the last day and it was Education Day where students who are looking to break into the industry could pick up information about fashion courses and careers. There was also a careers clinic which was hosted by the so cool it hurts, Caryn Franklin with a panel which consisted of established people from the fashion biz; where they answered questions about how to get into the industry. I said hi to Susie Bubble who was blogging away at her stand and I bumped into Disney RollerGirl in the press office.

I picked up a copy of Fashionista which is the official magazine published for GFW and packed with lots of information about getting into the industry. When I was starting out in my career all that was on offer were a few leaflets, there were no magazines let alone a cool and stylish one like Fashionista. The magazine is written by fashion students from UCA Rochester and edited by Hannah Kane and put together by Piers Atkinson, hat maker and editor from Disorder and Dennis Maloney. This gem of a publication features an interview with current darling, Hannah Marshall, a look behind the scenes at Elle, diaries by interns at magazines such as Bliss and Absolute Brighton, Sunday Times Style magazine and TheFashionScout.com. All the tips that are needed for getting into the fashion business are presented in a really cool way that is accessible as well as fun. Information and entertainment mixed together.

Geek Chic

Who didn’t see this video of Pharrell Williams trying to sing his way into getting a big mac and fries at MacDonalds in Paris? He never got his big mac and fries but boy did I love him for trying. The performance was geekery in it’s finest form. There was a time when being called a geek or nerd was a huge insult; the term sums up visions of a social inept person with super large glasses who spends their time delved into computer books and comics. Not a good look. However over the last few years that image has been turned upside down as geeks have risen to the top of pop culture. With gadgets becoming de rigor in today’s society and Blackberrys, laptops, Twitter, Facebook now an integral part of our lives it is now chic to be a bit of a geek.

Take this quote from a character in an episode of the animated series, Freakazoid.
“Who writes all the best selling books? Nerds. Who directs the top grossing Hollywood movies? Nerds. Who creates the highly advanced technology that only they can understand? ...Nerds. And who are the people who run for the high office of the Presidency? No one but nerds.”

You can add President Barack Obama to that list, as well as a Blackberry addict, he admits to being a huge fan of Star Trek and collected comic books when he was younger. Not only that but Obama was the first President to embrace the web by introducing online voting which was instrumental in his historic victory. I am sure he is twittering his way through London at the G20 Summit as well as causing carnage in the capital. Other famous geeks are Kanye West, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook), Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple) and Tiger Woods. On the TV side who can forget lovely, Seth Cohen from The OC decked out in his scuffed sneakers and plaid shirts creasing us up with his quirky observations. His character was based on none other than Josh Schwartz, the creator of The OC and Gossip Girl who is big player in TV.

As individuals have learned to embrace their inner geek the corporate world have cotton onto the act as well. IT companies such as The Geek Squad (who are so cool that they have sponsored London Fashion Week), Geeks on Call and Dial a Geek use the term to display their highly sophisticated IT skills. What can I say - I am a geek and proud! Check out a scene from Sex and the City where Carrie has a one to one with a geek when her Macbook crashes. Very funny!!

My Motherboard, Myself Part 1



My Motherboard, Myself Part 2

London Fashion Week @ 25

Can you believe that London Fashion Week (LFW) has been going for 25 years? I can’t get my head round it; I feel that the event has been going forever and I really cannot imagine a time when it never existed. I was also surprised to hear that LFW was more ore less created by PR guru, Lynne Franks and that the first ever show at LFW in February 1984 took place in a tent in a car park. The launch of LFW also coincided with the introduction of Virgin Atlantic and since then both brands have created a huge splash in the British cultural consensus. 1984 was also the year of Torvill and Dean the LA Olympics, Madonna mania, Band Aid and Thriller was the best selling album. Remember this was the era of the Miner’s strike where hardcore socialist battled with intolerant Thatcher regime and public morale was very low so the launch of a creative hot bed such as London Fashion Week was a breath of fresh air. According to designers such as Betty Jackson, showing at the inaugural LFW was like painting on a blank canvas. “It was really unorganised but we didn’t care because we were all so excited about it,” she enthuses. This is a far cry from the slick operation that the LFW now employ; it is all top notch security, elegant looking staff (dressed in black of course) at the reception and a very classy press area with complimentary hairdressers in the shape of Toni and Guy and MAC stand giving make overs.

The British Fashion Council is commemorating this momentous occasion by hosting a variety of events around London as well as legacy initiatives. The BFC have a brand new spanking website which is set to become an essential industry portal and act as a resource for designers. LFW will be moving to a new home and from September they will be based at the swish Somerset House. These celebrations will culminate in November at the British Fashion Awards where the good and great of British fashion will be honoured. The anniversary has been represented visually; all the publicity material for LFW has 25th logo emblazoned on it, including the corporate buses that ferry the journos and photographers between shows. So after an amazing 25 years what is next for LFW? Well the first thing is to maximise the exposure that the 2012 Olympics will bring to present the energy of the fashion industry. Also to maintain and grow London’s reputation as the birthplace of exciting talent and culturally diverse fashion industries. So roll on the next 25 years.

LFW in 1984

Designers: Betty Jackson, BodyMap, Jasper Conran, Arabella Pollen, Zandra Rhodes, Jean Muir, Vivienne Westwood and Caroline Charles
Venue: Olympia
Sponsors: Murjani
Celebrities: Boy George, Samantha Fox

LFW in 2009

Designers: Vivienne Westwood, Luella Bartley, Ben de Lisi, Basso and Brooke, Jenny Packham, Eley Kishimoto, Betty Jackson, Nicole Farhi, Jaeger and many more.
Venue: Natural History Museum
Sponsors: Canon Europe, London Development Agency, British Airways, Chambourd, Drapers, Evening Standard, Evian, Lavazza, LG, M*A*C Cosmetics, The May Fair Hotel, Monsoon, Moet & Chandon, Red Bull, Renault UK, Selective Beauty, Toni&Guy, TopShop, ToyWatch and UKTI.
Celebrities: Kanye West, Samantha Cameron, Alexa Chung, Roisin Murphy, Peaches Geldof and numerous others.

Images provided by the British Fashion Council