Fashioning February: The Look Show

For the third season I attended The Look Show last Friday. There was a change of venue, instead of the lavish Saatchi Gallery on Kings Road it was held at Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square. I guess this made sense as it is only throw stone away from the Fashion HQ of Somerset House. The event is organised by Look magazine and the idea is to celebrate the best of the UK's fantastic High Street and to also show the trends that will be hitting our streets next season. So unlike the major designers who are showcasing looks for this Autumn and Winter, this event will show us looks for the pending Spring and Summer. In previous years I have enjoyed myself at The Look Show so I was really looking forward to this event. Before the show there was the usual champagne reception with nibbles as well as various stands offering beauty treatments and other activities. There were also a splattering of celebs such as Keisha Buchanan (stood right next to her thinking to myself that she looked familiar till I saw her picture in 'The Daily Fail', Lucie Jones from X Factor, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and IT Girl, Olivia Palermo. We were treated to a performance by Jay Z's protege, teen sensation, Alexis Jordan. Now onto the clothes - I hope you like the 70s as much as I do because this summer the High Street will be full of it. I warn you, you won't be able to move due to Saturday Night Fever and Studio 54. Shops such as French Connection, River Island and Mango are working their inner Bianca Jagger and Fleetwood Mac by using bold colours like bright orange, sunshine yellow, pillar box red, electric blue and bright purple.

These are the key pieces that will dominate the stores:

Jumpsuits
I love jumpsuits - they provide the perfect combination between glamour and comfort. Dorothy Perkins made a statement with their range of bold jumpsuits, French Connection had some classic black ones and New Look had palazzo halterneck jumpsuits that were divine.

Shorts
Start getting those thighs into shape because shorts are going nowhere. Next had brilliant white shorts on display as well as some fab short dungarees and French Connection are unleashing some seriously sexy tailored white shorts to go with a tuxedo blazer.

Maxi dresses
You could not move last summer without seeing a maxi dress and it looks like the summer of 2011 will be the same. Monsoon had really gorgeous maxis and there were floral maxi dresses from French Connection but Warehouse really out did themselves with their offer of really feminine maxi dresses.

Hats
Get one! A large floppy one - not only do they save your life when you are having a bad hair day, they also look fabulous.

Also corsages are back in a big way, no longer regarded as a hideous item reserved only for prom nights, corsages add a lovely touch to a large hat or a dress. Overall the girly girly look is still in and this was exercised very well by French Connection with their Parisian chic and 70s Riviera feel.

For more information about The Look Show check out the website where you can not only see clips from the show but you can also purchase the items.

In the top picture is Olivia Palermo and editor of Look magazine, Ali Hall.

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.