Graduate Fashion Week 08

Our new bumbling Mayor, Boris Johnson has vowed to get rid of the bendy buses that were introduced by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone and bring back the old double decker Routemaster. Along with many, it took me a while to warm to the new bendy buses and I was very sad to see the Routemaster get phased out. Bold, bright, retro and highly fashionable, the Routemaster epitomises London in full effect. So how befitting is it that the ingenious lot from University of Westminster have hired a bus to show off their final year student's work at Graduate Fashion Week (GFW). While other Universities stuck to exhibition stands and tables, this establishment that boasts Vivienne Westwood and Christopher Bailey as former students stood out from amongst the trainee fashionistas. The bus is not just popular with me because it has also been turned into a restaurant aka bustaurant in Shoredicth. Rootmaster is a quirky eatery that serves tasty dishes and scrumpy snacks.

Now back to Graduate Fashion Week which is now in its 17th year. This magnanimous event was launched to celebrate the creme a la creme of the graduate fashion talent in the country. The event is on par of London Fashion Week (although not as snooty) and attracts scouts from the corner of the globe who are in search of the next Stella McCartney and Julien Macdonald. I took a trip down to Earls Court over the weekend to check out GFW 2008 and I was not disappointed. As usual it was mecca of creativity and talent which left me feeling very inspired and excited.

Lagerfeld Confidential

Even though the fashion season is coming to an end, I am still in haute couture and ready to wear mode. So when an invitation arrived to attend the screening of Lagerfeld Confidential, the documentary about Karl Lagerfeld, I could not turn it down. Partly because I needed another injection of fashion and also out of curiosity. Designers such as Donatella Versace, Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs have some sort of media presence but very little is know about the man behind the ponytail and sunglasses. Lagerfeld Confidential is an inside and intimate look into the life of one of the most enigmatic and iconic fashion designers the world has ever seen. Lagerfeld is famed for his work for Fendi, Chloe and Chanel. Mr Lagerfeld whose real name is Karl-Otto Lagerfeldt (he changed it because he thought Lagerfeld sounded more commercial) opens up his home, work and heart to director, Rodolphe Marconi in this remarkable documentary. Over 90 minutes he shares with us stories about his childhood in Germany, his relationship with his mother and their move to Paris when he was 14.

Filmed over two years, we are treated to the sight of Lagerfeld preparing for his collection, collaborating with Nicole Kidman and relaxing and maxing with his friends and chilling amongst his beloved books. The German native will always be known for his shower dress, car dress, his wide collection of eccentric hats and more recently his diffusion collection for H&M. His love for music is demonstrated in him designing pieces for Madonna for her Re-invention tour and also for Kylie Minogue’s Showgirl’s tour as well as owning around 70 iPods. As well as being an amazing designer, he is also a talented photographer and there are a lot of scenes in the film showing him shooting for an ad campaign. The film was not the glossy show piece that I was expecting and is probably more suited for TV as opposed to the big screen but it is irreverent and funny and a must see for all fashion enthusiasts.

Check out the site to view the trailer.
http://www.lagerfeldfilms.com/

Lagerfeld Confidential is released on October 26th

Graduate Fashion Week

On Monday I woke up with a migraine and had the sudden urge to stay in bed all day. I had planned to go down to Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) to see the collections but my head was saying different things. However, temptation got the better of me, I figured that the fresh air as long as the innovative ideas that I would see at the event would do me the world of good. I was not wrong, a few hours and two paracetomols later I was at Battersea Park Arena along with my press pass and goodie bag feeling revived and very inspired. I did have to pinch myself that I was at the right event because the last time I went to GFW it was a low key affair with a few portfolios on display. Today GFW is a huge event that attracts high profile sponsors such as River Island, Revlon, L'Oreal, Pringle and magazines like Cosmopolitan, Company and Glamour. In fact the event is highly acclaimed as one where you find the latest talents in fashion; Stella McCartney got her break here a few years ago along with Alexander McQueen, Julien MacDonald and John Galliano.

At the exhibition what I saw before me were magazines, business cards, posters, brochures, bags and other promotional merchandise that were produced to an amazingly high standard. Battersea Park Arena was filled with a buzz of excitement, expectation and amazing energy and I am so glad that I made it down. The first show I saw was the University of the Creative Arts which featured everything from hoodies, monochrome designs and tailoring. After that I grabbed Nwannie who was working hard backstage dressing the models for that show and we headed to the press office for some lunch. I must admit I was very impressed with the press office at this function, they served non stop food and plenty of drinks. It was also decked out with cosy sofas, fancy tables and wifi where the grande dame of fashion journalism, Hilary Alexander was seen looking rather stressed. In fact the treatment of the press at GFW was commendable; we were ushered into each show without having to queue and were allocated front row seats. This is a far cry to London Fashion Week where we have to queue for ages in the cold and even when we get in we have to stand. It will certainly be a shock to go back to that. As well as seeing vibrant and wonderful collections we met some characters along the way such as a young man from a glossy magazine who was taking pictures with his camera phone. In the press room we got chatting to a journalist from menstyle and we also met some great guys from Disorder magazine who were lots of fun. It was a truly gratifying day and I am still blown away by the amount of talent that is produced in this country and I just hope all of them find jobs in the area that they wish. Picture taken from Graduate Fashion Week website

Moss Definately Not

Now you will have to be blind or dead not to realise that a certain Kate Moss has just launched her 'so-called' collection at Topshop. The media has gone completely crazy; the anticipated launch is being covered in all the newspapers and it was on the BBC this morning. Nice to know where our TV licence money is going to. I even heard a PR lady cancelling a product launch for tomorrow because she did not want it to clash with Katie's day. Jesus, what is the world coming to? Topshop are certainly hyped up for the grand occasion and even though the launch is not until tomorrow, the flag ship store in Oxford Street opened its door at 8pm to day till 12pm so Mossettes can get their little mitts on the garments and just so everyone can get a fair crack at Kate's little gems, buyers are only limited to five items. And there I was thinking that we lived in a free society.

The media fascination with Croydon's finest bemuses me, I can take or leave Kate Moss but I do wonder exactly what her input was in creating her line of clothes. There have been comments from snooty fashionistas that the collection is just a rehash of her own wardrobe and some people have even said that the stuff looks like something from cheapo shop, Primark. Ouch!! Check it out for yourself. Well celebrities 'designing' their own collections is becoming de rigour with Madonna hooking up with Hennes and flopping and who can forget the mayhem that Stella McCartney caused when she launched her stock at the same store a couple of years ago. Still at least McCartney was a bonafide designer but one thing for sure you will not catch me spending my hard earned cash on Kate's 'so-called' designs. I have better things to do with my money and find the idea of buying items from her wardrobe very boring. I wouldn't say no to the Sainsbury's bag that was designed by fashion designer, Anya Hindmarch. Dubbed 'I'm not a plastic bag,' the ethos of the product is to encourage recycling and cut down the usage of plastic bags. Take it from me, that is one cool bag and it is no surprise that people queued up in the morning to get one. The bag was sold for £5 but there were rumours of the bags being flogged on eBay for £500. Not bad eh.