brb continued

Something amazing has happened. I am in New York City!

The fact I am in the Big Apple to work combined with the fact I have a dissertation that refuses to write itself means blog posts will be few and far between. I won't completely abandon the it but I can't promise that I will be posting as frequently. The good news is that NYC should provide me with at least a few good anecdotes to share with the world wide web.

See you in a New York minute...

you said it sister

image courtesy of twelveofour

is it chic thirty already?

The most concise LFW round up I have come across...

london fashion week, bitches

“You will be stood in the cold for 11 hours a day and you will probably be very bored, so are you still interested in working with the British Fashion Council?” - Dumb question.

Yes it’s true that by the end of the week I had developed a pretty severe cold and was deliriously singing “love machine” by Girls Aloud on repeat due to sleep depravation, but working at London Fashion Week was an experience like no other. It was an opportunity for me to make some amazing friends, see some incredible people from the fashion industry in their natural habitat and of course be part of an event that is usually only privy to fashion insiders. In my interview I was promised some pastel Levi’s jeans as part of my uniform, but due to alleged health and safety reasons myself and the rest of the team ended up wearing a rather hideous white lab coat so that we would stand out in a crowd of well dressed people (I was sweet talked into liking it when the devastatingly handsome head of marketing announced “they wear them at Margiela”). I was working as a ‘Wayfinder’ which meant I was essentially an encyclopaedia on all things LFW. I needed to know which designers were showing in the various exhibition rooms, when the next show was starting in the Courtyard show space and even where the nearest toilets were located and I needed to know it all off by heart just incase some self important fashionista got lost in one of the many identical corridors of Somerset House. We worked in shifts so that we didn’t get too bored if we were positioned in a quiet area or die of hyperthermia stood out in the courtyard or on the terrace, which meant we got to see all aspects of what goes into running an event of that size and importance. Working out in the courtyard was the best spot for people watching (and celeb spotting) but it meant I also witnessed some very strange sights. The majority of people were exceptionally well dressed and looked so impeccable that I wanted to crawl into a hole and set my lab coat on fire. There were however people wearing the clothing of nightmares for example a very interesting man in a yellow and flesh coloured PVC gimp suit accented with PVC red lips and inflatable yellow hair and of course matching yellow stilettos. The most desirable position, in my eyes anyway, was on the registration desk. There we were guaranteed to be rushed of our feet,  but it also meant that we held the power to hand out passes to the designer exhibitions to the thousands of buyers, bloggers and members of the press that strutted in and out of the registration hall in their fashion week best. I went a bit power mad to be honest. Along with the passes we were instructed to hand out goodie bags, which were made by Mulberry, to press and buyers but NO ONE else. I think the fact that by simply uttering the words “sorry, no you can’t have one” to the unlucky bloggers, visitors and exhibitors who were not permitted to have goodie bags suddenly turned them into fashion weeks’ most coveted item and at one point we actually caught a woman trying to stuff no less than six bags into her handbag. Safe to say I took a bag or two for myself; let’s call it one of the perks of the job.

on the street: london fashion week

London Fashion Week was a completely new experience for me this season. Having spent the Spring Summer shows working at the Topshop show, spening Autumn Winter with the British Fashion Council opened my eyes to the wider reach of fashion week. Spending one hour shifts dotted around various areas of Somerset house meant that the extent of some fashionistas 'personal style' had the potential to become overwhelming on the eyes. Most of the editors, bloggers and buyers that I was interacting with were so well dressed that I had to surpress the urge to ask them where every item they were wearing was from and I was overcome with delight when, on my day off, I found the exact pair of shoes a lady from Vogue was wearing and was even more overjoyed when I realised they were from Office. The street style ranged from bloggers that were so put together I doubt there was even a hair out of place, to a gentleman dressed in a PVC gimp suit and black stilletos carrying an Hermes Birkin bag. People would literally stand around in the courtyard (the only area where those without a pass to the exhibition or an invite to a show are allowed to go) for hours on end in the freezing cold just to get their photo taken in the hopes that they would appear in a magazine or style blog. Here's hoping these snaps will make someones day...
 

newgen

This has been playing pretty much on repeat on the big screen in Somerset House throughout London Fashion Week. For those of you who haven't seen it the film is a collaboration between Topshop, the NEWGEN designers they have worked with over the last decade and the wonderful photographer Nick Knight. It stars Karlie Kloss strutting her stuff in 10 years of Topshop NEWGEN designs. It is incredible how many of these once up and coming designers Topshop has boosted to fashion stardom.

lfw

Guess where I am working...

Excuse the horrible lab coat, it's part of my uniform.

droppin' bombs

I am pleased and proud to announce two pieces of news today.

Firstly, I have been offered a job working with the British Fashion Council during London Fashion Week...AHHHH! Obviously I am so excited and I just had to share this news! Hopefully this means I can blog from the front line and bring some really fun bits of info straight from Somerset House to the blog, but most likely it means I will be sleep deprived for a week and have no time to eat let alone blog so forgive me in advance.

Secondly, I have also been offered an internship in New York City with the fabulous Topshop PR team. Told ya I'd be droppin' bombs peeps. So basically I have known about this internship for a while now but have been keeping it under wraps until all the little details were sorted so that I could SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS. I could cry with excitement, New York is my dream and I cannot wait to live it.

How long til graduation?

bombay mix

It was a sumptuous collaboration of Indian luxury and understated Parisian style when Karl Lagerfeld showed the Chanel Pre Fall/Winter 2012-13 collection yesterday at the Grand Palais. Fit for and Indian Princess the show was full of luxurious fabrics and intracate jewelled headpieces that seemed as though they had been created for the Maharaja and Courtesan in the film Moulin Rouge- another excellent example of France meets India. It is clear in the clothing that the inspiration was mostly taken from Indian menswear which is unsurprising seeing as Coco Chanel made a name for herself bringing the comfort and ease of menswear tailoring to the female market. My personal favourite is a champagne silk tunic and trouser combination finished off with a heavily embellished necklace and headpiece. Although the Indian reference was heavy throughout, Chanel executed the perfect balance- and I would expect nothing less. All the classic Chanel elements were still included; the pearls, heavy golden chains, tweed and camellia flowers all found their rightful place among the vibrant Indian styles and yet were not lost in them, despite their beautiful subtlty. The entire collection has rustled up so much excitement for the Fall/Winter shows next year and has left me with no doubt that once I win the lottery I am buying the entire Chanel archive.

Take me to the Taj Mahal, or at least the nearest Chanel.

body beautiful

Probably the most viewed image in the internet this week...Karlie Kloss in her birthday suit. So perfect she could be a statue.



for the full photo shoot by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia see here

balmain's new beau

So, I was aware that the wonderful Christophe Decarnin had been replaced at Balmain after he departed after five years with the label allegedly because of toubles with depression. What I was not aware of was the fact that his replacement Olivier Rousteing, who became creative director in April, is absoloutley gorgeous!

I was reading Elle magazine this morning and there was a small feature on designers to watch and I was left breathless by this stunning black man in a black and white portrait penetrating my soul with his beautiful eyes. Check him out girls and boys he is gay obviously, no man that hot is ever straight.

So not only is he really, really, ridiculously good looking (Zoolander flashback) but, as was seen at the SS12 shows in Paris, he is also extremely talented and has succeeded in continuing the asthetic that makes Balmain such a popular brand. He kept the rock and roll edge yet still staying true to the Balmain girl, super rich and super sexy. I think Balmain may just be the sexiest brand out there both on and off the runway! Olivier is the main man.

Balmain SS12

images courtesy of Vogue.

v day

Versace is officially in H&M stores! Is anyone buying something from the collection or just window shopping like me?

UPDATE: Donatella had a meet and greet with the first person in the massive queue outside H&M. The lucky boy had been queuing since 4pm yesterday afternoon!!!

v is for versace

The Versace for H&M collaboration is unveiled in selected UK stores tomorrow morning and Donatella herself will be making an appearance at the London flagship store get your tents at the ready, I'm betting there will be a queue halfway down Oxford Street. The collection has been much hyped but is it actually the best collection H&M has seen from a designer? Sadly, no.

I appreciate the throwback to what made Versace famous way back when Gianni was at the helm, the garish prints and true Italian luxury that translate so well on the red carpet and runway. This however does not translate well when combined with the fact that, even without the massive budget cuts necessary for a designer to translate to high street, the fabric choices from H&M in general aren't the best quality and seeing palm trees splashed across nylon doesn't exactly scream expensive or stylish. There are a few gems hidden away in the collection yet sadly, from what I have seen and heard, Donatella actually cut quite a lot of the best looks from the final edit. Despite this I have no doubt that all those who love a good collaboration and want a slice of Versace for a slice of the price will be queuing in their thousands all over the country tomorrow morning. Elbows and palm trees at the ready.


the best looks from the collection...

and the worst...

for a complete look at the collection visit vogue.co.uk

see choo later

Tamara Mellon has resigned as cheif creative officer of Jimmy Choo. The co-founder of the luxury shoe brand has resigned from the company after 15 years and, more importantly, after selling the company 5 months ago for £525million (now that's alot of Choo's).

She has taken the company from being a small business to a now globally recognised name and coveted brand. She can walk away from Jimmy Choo not only with her head held high and a pocket full of cash, but also with an enviable shoe closet. Lucky lady.

girls on film

This music video is all about the video and nothing about the music even though I do quite like the song. Duran Duran's new video features the SUPERS, I'm talking Naomi, Eva, Helena, Yasmin and Cindy! The video was directed by Jonas Akerland from the Lady GaGa music video hall of fame and was styled by none other than Dolce & Gabbana and although it is nine minutes long the video is spectacular if only for the number of beautiful women that feature. The eternally beautiful and stunningly ageless models take on the roles of the members of Duran Duran and offer up a music video truly...well...super.

got a secret...can you keep it?

The Victoria's Secret Show kicks off later tonight so in the meantime enjoy some of last years show highlights. It's enough to make you want to never eat again...so skinny and so pretty, not fair!

This year is set to be even more impressive with 15 new Angel's taking to the runway and performance's from Nicki Minaj and Kanye West.

Time to hit the gym I think...

the teddy bear's makeover

Even though Pudsey bear has been rocking the white and red spotty eye patch for all these years, even the most famous bear in the country needs a make over once in a while. The iconic bear has been made over by British designers as Children in Need approaches in ten days.

Liberty, House of Holland, Giles, Mulberry, Erdem and PPQ bears.

Which bear is your favourite?

foxy lady

On Thursday night the Mulberry store in Spiningfields in Manchester hosted an event with Stylist magazine and I was one of the lucky few who got to tag along. The event was celebrating Stylist's 100th issue and 40 years of Mulberry and was showcasing the new collection. Some very dashing male models were walking around the store offering up some very lovely looking nibbles (sadly none of which I could eat as I am a vegetarian with a nut allergy) and also keeping the many shoppers fueled with some incredible drinks provided by Hoxton Gin. I got pretty tipsy to be honest, my beverage of choice was the coconut and grapefruit gin with cranberry juice and I think it has to be one of the nicest drinks I have had in a while which is a feat in itself considering I despise gin. Yasmin was there DJing as well as performing a live set and the ladies of stylist were walking around offering style advice. Tucked away in a corner two ladies were close to suffocation because of the number of people crowding around them, after closer inspection I realised they were doing free manicures using nail foils so I dove hands first into the growing queue. Mulberry were also giving away the new Elvina bag, a beautiful soft leather hobo in tan with a metal panel on the handle. Sadly, neither I or my friend Mica heard our name get called and instead a woman named Harriet claimed the prize only to ask if she could exchange it for a bag she actually wanted ungrateful cow. Despite the fact I didn't go home with the bag it was still a fabulous night and the golden balloon, fox mask and goody bag that I got to take home with me definitely softened the blow.

want to be in cosmo?

Cosmo magazine is looking for female university students or recent graduates living in the UK who want to be in a feature in the magazine!!!

They are looking for girls who feel like they have undergone a transformation whilst being at universtiy. It can be any kind of transformation: weight loss? a big break up? going from being a geek at school to a party animal at uni?

All you have to do is comment on this post saying what kind of transformation you had and why you should be in the magazine. Leave your email address and someone will get back to you if you are chosen. Feel free to follow me as well...it could help your chances!

If you are interested please respond as soon as possible! Thanks xxx

happy halloween

Did anyone get dressed up for the holiday?