My better-late-than-never review of London Fashion Weekend

I know London Fashion Weekend happened a few weekends ago now (between 21st-24th of February to be exact), but as I wrote in my last post, work has been ridiculously busy so I haven't had time to give my blog the love that I would like to.

LFWeekend is the commercial sister of London Fashion Week, and is held by Vodafone at Somerset House in London (the very same venue as LFW). It gives us mere mortals the chance to grab some great fashion bargains, whilst waltzing down the corridors of the glamorous Somerset House, followed by catwalk shows displaying either the upcoming trends of the next season, or showcasing a designer show from the previous fashion week.

This was my first LFWeekend experience, and I attended with my beautiful Mummy on the Saturday evening. We had tickets which allowed us into the shopping area for a few hours, and which also included entry to the designer showcase of the Issa SS13 collection, a Radley designed tote show bag, and the latest copy of Elle Magazine. I wore a rather adventurous leopard print coat from Karen Millen, with black jeans, and my black Topshop Chelsea boots (you can read my post about those boots here).

The closest I'll ever get to the catwalk!

My Mum and I had a great time browsing all of the pop-up mini shops in the rooms of Somerset House. There were some beautiful clothes and accessories on offer, mostly bang on trend for the coming season. Unfortunately we didn't quite have enough time to make it to the beauty section, but it did look great, with hair cuts from Toni & Guy on offer! There was also a room dedicated to the launch of the Marc Jacobs Diet Coke illustrations, to mark 30 years of Diet Coke.

After our little shopping session we got in line to watch the Issa SS13 collection go down the catwalk. Excitingly these shows are in the same show space as the LFW ones in the Somerset House courtyard, so it really is a great way of experiencing the fashion industry. 

I was delighted to be watching the Issa SS13 collection as it is based on the vibrancy and exoticness of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as tt made me that little bit more excited about going to Rio next March/April! Daniella Helayel is of course Brazilian, so what better theme for a collection than her native country?

The music echoed carnivale and the rainforest, the clothes were bright and billowy, and the headdresses were reminiscent of the exotic flowers and birds that can be found in Brazil. It was an exciting show to say the least. I just loved the colours and the excitement. To view the original show photos, as archived in Vogue, please click here.

One important thing that I learnt from LFWeekend (and that I had failed at rather miserably the week before at LFW), was how to better capture photographs of fast moving models! The lighting on catwalks actually makes it rather tricky to catch that perfect photograph (unless of course you are a Vogue photographer and have years of experience and thousands of pounds worth of equipment!). 

I really did enjoy my LFWeekend experience (thank you Vodafone!) - and think it's really important for these commercial shows to take place; yes, fashion is often described as "exclusive" but actually more recently it is becoming more "inclusive" and is gaining a lot of inspiration from the hight street itself, so consumer shows like LFWeekend are vital for the industry to show its fans that they are valued. 

Love Lucy x

Mary Katrantzou Showcase at LFW

Last night my boyfriend and I attended an exclusive Mary Katrantzou showcase at Somerset House. He very sweetly said he would come with me seeing as it was Valentine's Day & I love fashion. Vodafone hosted the event on the eve of London Fashion Week as a thank you to some of their lucky customers, and they certainly put on a good show!

I wasn't really sure what to expect before we got to Somerset House, as the only information we got in advance was that it would be a Mary Katrantzou showcase, the location, and the time. When we arrived it became clear that the showcase would be taking place in the British Fashion Council courtyard space, and that we'd be sitting in the same very seats that the fashion elite would be sitting in over the next five days. 

The event was introduced by Caroline Rush - Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council. She quite rightly praised Katrantzou for her innovative, gorgeous designs, and neatly described that the showcase would display Katrantzou's SS12 and AW12 collections, interspersed with a video from Mary, and a peek backstage to see the hair and makeup crews special secrets. Now, I must admit, I was a little disappointed not to be seeing a fashion exclusive, but it wouldn't have made sense for Vodafone customers to see Katrantzou's new collection before the industry specialists. I was just very grateful to be watching another fashion show where I could try to absorb all possible information and experiences. 

During the video of Katrantzou in her East London workshop, she was describing her collections that were shown, and even though the collections had been seen before, it was fascinating to hear her speak about her work. She is obviously incredibly passionate about her work, sassily describing her SS12 collection "nature versus nuture... tulips and under the sea vs manmade metallics", and her AW12 collection as "taking something mundane and turning it into the basis for evening wear". Here are my favourite looks from each collection:

SS12

AW12

Not only were the designs fantastic (although my favourite Katrantzou collection so far is her SS13 one), but Vodafone did make a real effort to make their customers feel like Vodafone VIPs. On arrival we were handed a glass of prosecco, and at each seat was a Mulberry designed LFW tote bag with a special Nails Inc. LFW nail varnish inside, along with Label.M dry shampoo. 

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a great shot of my outfit, but I wore a Topshop marine blue and black print dress, an orange Zara coat, navy suede heels from M&S, along with my favourite Links necklace. Please excuse the dodgy red eye adjustments on the photograph!

Below is a better picture of the dress I wore, and you can get it here for just £26! I'm definitely going to try and get a few better snaps of my outfit for the Issa AW13 show tomorrow - I just get a little camera shy!

Last night was really great for getting more experience being at the side of the catwalk, & I really hope I get the opportunity to see many more shows - I've definitely got the bug! I'm aware that last night's showcase was equally a treat for Vodafone customers as it was a dress rehearsal for the BFC courtyard space. 

LFW got off to a great start today, and I was particularly impressed with Zoe Jordan's collection (she officially opened LFW) - it was fun, wearable, and very marketable. Tomorrow I am of course very much looking forward to attending the Issa AW13 show with my beautiful Aunty, but I'll also be keeping a very close eye on the David Koma show in the evening, as I was lucky enough to see his SS13 show in September. You can read that post here! And of course, I am far too excited to see Katrantzou's new collection on Sunday!

Happy LFW everyone! I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I intend to!

Love Lucy x

Pre-London Fashion Week Hype

LFW has nearly arrived! Only two more sleeps until the fashion elite descend on the capital and make their judgement on what our British based designers have to offer the fashion world. I for one am far too excited! Although I'm not an experienced enough blogger to be part of the LFW "press" (although this didn't stop me from at least trying to get a Press Pass!) - I have once again hit lucky in some of the Vodafone VIP LFW competitions. I really hardly ever win anything, but for this fashion week I am extremely lucky to have won tickets for an exclusive pre-LFW Mary Katrantzou showcase (my boyfriend has been wonderful in agreeing to come with me on Valentine's Day!), and then the Issa AW13 show on Saturday evening.

I really can't wait to go to Mary Katrantzou's showcase tomorrow night. Her SS13 collection was her most exciting yet - more commercial but still with her wonderfully unique explosions of pattern and colour. I am intrigued to see where she's going to go next, and I wish her Sunday show was being streamed live, but alas, I shall have to wait!

I am equally as excited for the Issa show, and have been a huge fan of Daniella Heylal ever since Kate Middleton wore that dress in her engagement announcement photographs with Prince William. I'm interested to see how Daniella can mix it up whilst keeping her signature style of gorgeously feminine fitted dresses. 

Other shows that I'm eagerly awaiting are: Felder Felder, PPQ, David Koma, Mulberry, Temperley London, Unique, Christopher Kane, Erdem, Burberry Prorsum, Anya Hindmarch, Meadham Kirchhoff, and Ashish. Luckily quite a few of these shows are being streamed live; have a look at the LFW schedule to see exactly which ones: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk If you're favourite shows aren't being streamed, then your next best option is to keep a close eye on the Vogue website, as they show each outfit of each show, and write short but sweet reviews about each collection: www.vogue.co.uk

Which shows are you going to/most looking forward to? 

Love Lucy x

Fashion Forward 2013

The British Fashion Council is one of the most supportive in the fashion industry. They are keen to foster talented UK based designers, who might not otherwise make it in a tough industry. Each year they award three designers a "Fashion Forward" grant to enable them to develop their collections and to establish themselves within the fashion world. Previous womenswear recipients of the grant include Erdem, Meadham Kirchhoff, and Mary Katrantzou - all of whom are continuing to wow the industry. This year's winners were announced on Thursday, and I must say that I'm incredibly excited about one particular recipient: David Koma.

Those of you who have read my blog since September will know that I attended the David Koma SS13  show at London Fashion Week. If you'd like to see my entry about the show then have a look: London Fashion Week: David Koma SS13

His SS13 was a truly stunning collection. His trademark contouring was perfection, his theme was energetic, and his colours bold. He is a designer that plays with shapes and structure, and this innovation has made him a truly deserved recipient of the BFC Fashion Forward grant. To see Vogue's photographs of his SS13 collection, click on the following link: www.vogue.co.uk

The BFC are obviously supportive of his work, and here are a few of my guesses as to why:

SS10

AW10

SS11

AW11

SS12

AW12

SS13

His collections have all been eccentric and exciting, however his SS13 was the most marketable yet. So with the Fashion Forward grant who knows where he could go next? Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be lucky enough to make it to the AW13 show, but I'll definitely be keeping a very close eye on the collection.

I wish David, and the other two recipients - Holly Fulton and Michael Van Der Ham - all the best of luck for their AW13 shows. 

What do you think David Koma's future holds?

Love Lucy x