Chelsea Girl is Back in Town

The main message from The Look Show which took place in February was that the 70s were going to dominate the Spring and Summer season. This is even more resonated by the re-launch of Chelsea Girl which is something of a fashion icon. For those of you who are old enough (side eye) Chelsea Girl was the stomping ground of many a trendy lass during the 60s, 70s and 80s who badly needed her fashion fix. The store was the first UK boutique store and stood out from its counterparts such as Topshop and Tammy Girl because of the boho and quirky feel the shops held. The mantra was affordable clothing that was on trend but also fun and exciting. In 1988 we said goodbye to Chelsea Girl as River Island took its place and made their stamp on the High Street amongst the likes of Miss Selfridge, Warehouse and Topshop.

So kudos to River Island who are bringing the brand back with a blast starting with a pop-up shop in Selfridges. Fans both old and new will be able to get their hands on the capsule collection which comprises of 40 pieces for the Spring and Summer. The new range is designed by National College of Art & Design student, Lucy Moller who joined the River Island team after winning an internship and Brand Director, Farida Kaikobad who worked on Chelsea Girl in the 80s. Lucy used old pieces from Chelsea Girl that she found in the archive, ebay and in her mother's attic. Well you cannot get anymore vintage than that can you? Fashion enthusiasts can look forward to mini skirts, shorts, crop t-shirts, wide leg trousers and printed maxi dresses in florals, geometric-inflected prints and wispy fabrics. The clothing line is being pitched as the younger sister of River Island which I think is kind of cool as we all that teens are huge influencers in fashion. Look at Madonna and daughter Lourdes's fashion range, Material Girl which seems to be doing well not to mention teen stars such as Selena Gomez, Emma Roberts, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Momsen whose style is often copied by teen girls.

The Chelsea Girl pop-up shop will be open in Selfridges from Thursday 24th March to Thursday 31st March,.

The collection will be available to purchase from selected River Island stores next week and is also available to buy online here.

Styling by Arieta Mujay and image by Nick Haddows. 

The Westfield London Car Boot Fair

I heard rumblings about The Westfield London Car Boot Fair  on Twitter about a week ago but never really took much notice. I assumed that it would be an average car boot sale with knocks off in a grubby car till I read a post on Coco's Tea Party' about it. The pictures looked amazing with the shiny, sexy looking Hyundais. So on Friday when I went to see Eat Pray Love in Westfields I decided to have a browse. Over 20 retailers such as Bobbi Brown, Myla, Swaroski and Wolford have taken part in the event and each car has an exciting design as well as being filled with bargains galore.

Each day features different shops showing off their wares and on Friday I saw brands such as Whistles, Foyles, Topshop, Oasis, Ted Baker, Reiss and Donna Ida. Topshop went the whole hog and even had retro suitcases on the top of their car, There was even some lovely cupcakes from Buttercup Cake Shop and of course the Mary's Living & Giving car which is the baby of Queen of Shops, Mary Portas. All the shops have really used their imagination on this project; all the displays are wonderful. Some brands have mannequins dressed in the store's outfits dotted around and some have sofas placed alongside the car. It makes you want to shop and shop. The Westfield London Car Boot Fair  started on 21st September in order to celebrate London Fashion Week. It actually ends today but if you missed it fear not because I am sure it will be back next year.

Beyond Biba

Mention the word Biba and you can bet that any decent fashionista will go all starry eyed. This is because along with Mary Quant, Diane von Furstenberg and Twiggy, Biba is right up there as one of the iconic fashion brands of the 60s and 70s. Biba is a store which was created by Barbara Hulanicki, a glamorous Pole who ran the famous outlet with her husband. To be frank, Biba changed the face of UK fashion by making clothes that were seen on catwalks around the world accessible to young women. According to Barbara, typical Biba customers were ‘postwar babies who had been deprived of nourishing protein in childhood and grew up into beautiful skinny people: a designer's dream.'

Wikipedia describes the phenomenon of Biba below:

'The shop's main appeal was that an average woman in London could for less than 10% of her weekly earnings share the look of the most glamorous woman in Europe. What could be seen on the catwalks in Paris could now be bought with a Biba twist for much less money. As the Biba logo became more and more recognizable, the more and more people wanted to be seen in it.'

In 1974 the Biba brand was extended into a mail order catalog and new lines for men and children were created along with a food and book range. Sadly the Biba phase came to a demise in the late 70s when punk was all the range and the brand failed to react to the changing trends. However we had not seen the back of Biba and in 2006 the brand was revived under Bella Freud. A new collection made it's debut at London Fashion Week with plans for a new boutique.

As for Barbara well she continued to work in the fashion business and went on to design a line for children that was very successful. She also moved into the interior business working on projects for a variety of famous people such as Ronnie Wood and musich honcho, Chris Blackwell. Barbara has added another string to her bow by designing a wallpaper range for Habitat and Graham and Brown. She is now collaborating with Topshop on a Biba (esq) creation which are doing very well thank you very much. She lives in Miami where she has made a significant contribution to aesthetics by playing a huge part in the regeneration of Miami Beach. With an amazing career like that behind her it is no surprise that a film has been made about Barbara Hulanicki. Beyond Biba is a documentary gives us a rare insight into Barbara the woman; looking at her tragic childhood in Poland, the powerful impact of Biba, the impact her husband had on the brand and her thoughts on modern America.

Beyond Biba is being screened on Friday 17th July at 7pm at the Victoria and Albert Museum. A Q&A with Barbara Hulanicki will take place afterwards.

Check out the Beyond Biba blog here.

Here is a preview of the documentary below.


Beyond Biba Trailer from November Films on Vimeo.

Also check out this interview with Barbara on mydeco.com along with a really cool video.

Topshop NYC in 24 Hours

Have you ever wondered what Kate Moss was really like underneath all that glitz and fame? Well you will get a chance to find out in a riveting documentary that shows the chaotic build up to the opening of Topshop store in New York. Moss opened the New York branch of the hipper than hip shop in April to much fanfare and media hype. The programme also features Topshop boss, Phillip Green and it shows the manic preparations that took place in order to get the huge US flagship store ready to open on time. You get to see a la Moss in her real form, laughing, joking and taking the piss out of herself. I know we have reality shows coming out of our ears but you have to admit that this one looks a bit special.

I love this picture of her, I think the outfit she is wearing is really glamorous; the dress is very sexy with the split at the side but the leather jacket adds a new twist and makes it it look funky. Love her or hate her, Kate certainly knows how to put an outfit together. I am also loving the British references painted on the box with the Union Jack crown.

You can check out a preview of the show here.

You can catch Topshop NYC in 24 Hours on MTV One on 19 July at 9pm.

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.