LFW: My Favourite Looks

London Fashion Week sadly ended on Tuesday evening - but what a Fashion Week it was! (And at least we have Milan and Paris to keep us going!) I don't know about you, but I loved having a look at what all our London based designers had to offer, and I have to say that it reinforced how much talent we have here in the UK. We really are a creative bunch, and I love how creativity is fostered and encouraged by the British Fashion Council, as well as our fashion fans.

As you know, I was incredibly lucky to have attended the Issa London show at Somerset House last Saturday, and as it happens, this certainly was one of my highlight shows of LFW. But I would love to share a few more shows that I feel deserve recognition for their fabulous collections. So without further a-do, here are some of my favourite LFW February 2013 looks:

Mary Katrantzou 

Peter Pilotto

Burberry Prorsum

Mulberry

Aminaka Wilmont

Topshop Unique

Zoe Jordan

Whistles

Tom Ford

Anya Hindmarch

It really was a fascinating couple of days - what with Tom Ford's return to the catwalk, Whistles showcasing their first Fashion Week collection, and fun & games at the Anya show! I would also really love to own that Zoe Jordan dress - it looks comfortable yet divine! 

I hope you enjoyed LFW as much as I did - and if you're missing it then do try and come down to Somerset House either tomorrow or Sunday for London Fashion Weekend! I have tickets for tomorrow afternoon, and there are still some available here!

Another thing to keep in mind is the Vogue Festival on the 27th and 28th of April. I have bought tickets for a lecture titled: "Behind the Scenes of a Vogue Cover Shoot" and I am terribly excited to learn more about the industry. You can buy tickets for that event here!

And finally, please do like my Facebook page, it would mean an awful lot to me as I really want to keep growing my blog and sharing my passion.

Thanks in advance all you beautiful people!

Love Lucy x

Issa London AW13 show at LFW

Last night was, without a doubt, my favourite fashion experience yet. Courtesy of Vodafone VIP I won tickets to see the Issa London AW13 collection at LFW, and I simply couldn't believe my luck! Daniella Helayel is one of my favourite designers - her understanding of how a woman wants to dress is remarkably en pointe. She designs flirty and fun pieces that wonderfully flatter most female figures, and this is what sets her apart from most other designers. Her collections look fabulous flowing down the runway, but are equally like commercial gold.

Me at Somerset House post-show

I attended the show yesterday with my beautiful Aunty, and we had a great time celeb spotting in the run up to the show. The Issa London front row was graced by Zandra Rhodes, Jodie Kidd, Molly and Rochelle from the Saturdays, Laura Whitmore, and Rosie and Proudlock from Made In Chelsea. The pre-show vibe was contagious: you could feel that this was a show the fashion elite were very much looking forward to. 

Cara Delevingne opened the show. From the moment she stepped onto the catwalk she sent out seismic waves of vibrant energy that were warmly absorbed by the excitable audience. Seeing her walk in the flesh really did give me goosebumps. She has It. Whatever It may be! She embodied Issa's woman of AW13, who Daniella describes as "cooler, she wants to explore". 

The collection was designed around the concept of a free-spirited woman exploring the Navajo terrain. Inspired by the gorgeous Navajo landscapes of rolling sandy hills and infinite azure skies, Issa's collection delivered a rich array of gorgeous prints, perfect for that curious and confident explorer. Each piece floated down the catwalk, often with the loose silk fabric flowing behind the willowy models, echoing the winds of the Navajo. Some of the pieces were stunningly topped off with feathered hats by Piers Atkinson, and although some the of models struggled to keep them on, they were the perfect compliment to Issa's collection. Enough writing! Here are some of my favourite designs from the show:

The show was truly inspiring. I love the concept of the explorer woman in the Navajo, and the distinctly Seventies feel to the pieces will surely be popular come the Autumn time. Daniella was clearly more adventurous this season, and her gamble certainly paid off. The inclusion of Cara just made the show that bit more special - she really knew how to wear Daniella's designs as she floated along the runway - in the finale she looked like she was about to take off in her cape!

Post-show was nearly just as much fun! My Aunty and I had a couple of friends in the crowd, so we stayed behind chatting for a while, and when we finally left we bumped into Zandra Rhodes on our way out! 

Zandra Rhodes and my beautiful Aunty 

We also tried to get a few outfit snaps, but just like at the Mary Katrantzou showcase, that didn't really go to plan! But I wore a Zara coat, a black Topshop dress, black French Sole ballet flats, and Collection 2000 lipstick in Shock Pink. See the top photo of this post to see the best snap we got.

If you weren't an Issa London fan before, then I hope you are now! It's a brand that will go from strength to strength (it's got to - Kate Middleton is a fan). So do keep your eye on what they're up to in the future - I know I certainly will! 

Here's to two more days of LFW - I don't want it to end!

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

Cutler & Gross and Clash London Fashion Week Party

I love anything in fashion that is unique, quintessentially British, and extremely well-made. So I was thoroughly delighted when a dear friend and fellow blogger invited me to the London Fashion Week wrap party at the Cutler & Gross Vintage store in Knightsbridge. You can read her blog at: brainstormforbreakfast.blogspot.co.uk

Cutler & Gross are a refreshingly traditional, yet excitingly innovative brand, and have become synonymous with prestigious optometric design. They succinctly combine high quality with high fashion; a combination which is made all the more delicious by the fact that they are fashion's best kept secret since 1969. Unlike many British brands Cutler & Gross has maintained a low profile outside of the fashion world, a move which is entirely intentional. The refusal to expand beyond what the brand sees as necessary is due to an unshakeable loyalty to its customers - something which seems alien in an industry driven by consumerism and profit. This attitude was conceived by Graham Cutler and Tony Gross when they bought their first store together in 1969; and it has been continued by their protege Marie Wilkinson who started out at the company in 1982 as an intern, and is now the Design Director. These three dedicated optometric gurus all believe in quality over quantity, and practicality with fabulous design - two factors which make Cutler & Gross so delectably individual. 

Cutler & Gross glasses and sunglasses are delightfully pretentious, and have a right to be so. Each pair is lovingly handmade in their very own factory in Cadore, Italy, and go through unique processes to achieve that imperfect perfect finish which only handcrafted items will achieve. To find out more about these processes have a look at their website:

www.cutlerandgross.com

Each pair is delicately adorned with the gold foil logo on the inside of the frame, with only a number appearing on the outer frame - an elegant touch which echoes the sentiments of the company. Their products are so exquisitely made that they speak for themselves, and garish logos splashed on the outer frames would be completely unnecessary and out of sync with the brand. 

However, as well as being a brand that is permeated by tradition, it is also not afraid of youthful injections. The London Fashion Week party was intended to celebrate Project 0734, as well as to promote the SS13 collection. Project 0734 was a collaborative effort with London College of Fashion, and gave a select few graduates the opportunity to enter their designs into a competition which would reward them with a position within the Cutler & Gross design team if they were successful. 

The judges included Marie Wilkinson, Jonathan Saunders, Richard Young, and London College of Fashion Head of College Frances Corner. The graduates were set the task of designing a collection of glasses to go with their final graduate shows. The talented winner was Nicola Brindle, whose inspiration was "tacky Vegas weddings". Her final pieces are wonderfully fun and vibrant, but also obviously handcrafted and unique, making her the perfect candidate to bring some youthful vigour into the brand. The willingness of Cutler & Gross to take on a fresh graduate is key to the development, and also to the continuity, of the values of the brand. Here are some of Nicola's final designs:

To find out more about Nicola's progression be sure to check out the blog on the Cutler & Gross website: www.cutlerandgross.com

I also had the opportunity to chat to Rose, who was the runner-up of Project 0734. Her creations are equally as colourful and exciting, basing her concept on Glam Rock and 80s street wear. Her designs impressed the Cutler & Gross team so much that they created an internship for her, and she is now gaining invaluable experience with the brand. 

As mentioned, another significant point to the evening was to promote the Cutler & Gross SS13 range. I was extremely fortunate to talk with Marie Wilkinson herself, who enchantingly explained what the collection is all about: surrealism. 

The concept is surrealism; and Marie's influences were Salvador Dali, the Bauhaus exhibition at the Barbican, melting clocks, eyes, seeing, and merging. This is a wonderfully self-conscious concept, and I find it utterly intriguing that Cutler & Gross are committed to making exceptional glasses, but at the same time are playing with ideas which are inspired by an exploration of twisting optical truths. Marie Wilkinson is a design genius, and is obviously highly passionate about her career and her products. She described the processes of how a pair of Cutler & Gross glasses are made, and although I admittedly did not understand everything she was saying (my background is not in design or production), I was thoroughly intrigued, and was nearly inspired to pack a bag and jump on a plane to Italy to see the wonderfully traditional factory where the Cutler & Gross products are made! The SS13 collection will be shown at Paris Fashion Week next week. 

The evening was complimented perfectly by the inclusion of Clash magazine. Clash is a publication which is also fairly underground, but committed to the quality of their product. The October issue covered the walls of the Cutler & Gross Vintage store, and just so happened to match the eccentric purple staircase at the back of the shop!

The evening was a chilled-out, understated triumph. It was a chance for the loyal customers and fans of Cutler & Gross to come together and to celebrate the old and the new. The gift bags contained: a copy of Clash magazine; a copy of Forty Years of Vision and Style, 1969-2009, Cutler & Gross; a Cutler & Gross glass cleaning cloth; and a tube of Berocca. The message from the gift bag was clear: we appreciate our collaborators; we uphold our history and traditions; we take care of our products; and we look after our customers (and the hangover they will have tomorrow!).

I have certainly now been made into a lifelong fan of Cutler & Gross, and look forward to purchasing my first pair in the not-so-distant future! 

Love Lucy x

London Fashion Week: David Koma SS13 courtesy of Vodafone VIP

Today I was fortunate enough to attend the David Koma SS13 show at the prestigious Somerset House in London. I was lucky to win a pair of tickets through Vodafone VIP - as I am not (yet) blogging royalty this was one of the few ways I was ever going to see a show at London Fashion Week!

Somerset House is the heart of LFW, and I could feel fashion pulsing through its veins as I walked through the Strand Entrance. Bright colours, vertiginous heels, and eclectic fashion lovers busily buzzed around the gorgeous courtyard, all desperate to breath in every particle of the fashionable air! Gushing as this paragraph my seem, this is truly how Somerset House feels during LFW, and it is clear to see why London is often thought of as the fashion capital of the world.

Skirt: Topshop

Top: Zara

Belt: Viyella

Cape: F&F (bargain!)

Bag: Dooney and Bourke

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Shoes: Boutique in Islington, London

I did feel as though I should have been braver in my fashion choices for the day, and if there is a next time I will definitely try a more exciting outfit! Although, I do love my shoes!

My prize included exclusive access to the Vodafone VIP lounge, where we were treated to nibbles, champagne, watching David Koma's show from a VIP viewing platform, and the opportunity to chat to Colomba Giacomini (one of the hottest stylists around).

Pre-show my companion and I nabbed the chance to talk with Colomba. I was with my boyfriend's Mum, and Colomba complimented her on the gorgeous coat she was wearing - describing it as 'very Stella'! Big style points! She asked Colomba what she would suggest for women who were slightly older, and was delighted to find that she was spot on by going for a simple palette, such as black, and then adding one statement piece to set off the look. For a girl of my age she suggested that I could be more bold, perhaps trying out the clashing print trend that can often be difficult to pull off. But most encouragingly she revealed that next season is less about trends and more about colour, prints, and textured material, such as brocade. She was also refreshingly human when she said that it doesn't matter if you wear something that doesn't quite work, after all it is only one day of your life, and there is always tomorrow!

Now for the show! 

David Koma is a Central St. Martins graduate - one of their finest. He burst onto the fashion scene after graduating in 2009, and being awarded the Harrod's Design Award for his graduate collection. His collections have always celebrated and explored the female form, and he has become known for his contouring and sculpting. It can possibly be said that his previous collections are very 'fashion' and not so 'commercial', however, although SS13 saw his signature structured pieces, this time it was possible to see his catwalk creations walk straight into the shops.

The feeling before the show was expectant; this is a designer who always places so much time and effort into his concepts, and this consideration is greatly appreciated amongst the fashion elite. His front row was graced by Pixie Lott and her boyfriend Oliver Cheshire. The atmosphere was primed for an evocative show.

It was clear from the first outfit that David Koma's show was inspired by female tennis stars: unsurprising considering that Maria Sharapova has recently been snapped in one of his creations, and that her chewing gum brand, Sugarpova, was one of the sponsors. It was also apparent that his collection was given a 60s twist, with the gamine models, bright colours, and extremely high hemlines. Overall, it is a fabulous concept, and extremely relevant considering the recent success of British tennis and sport over the last few months.

Koma's creations screamed power, prowess and strength. The short and structured recreations of the classic tennis dress looked fierce coming down the runway. They were given a fashion twist through the use of layered organza over stiff under-material, and also through the use of strong colours. Special sporting references included the tennis-net-like material used on some of the dress, and the tennis racket handle shoes (made in collaboration with Alain Quilici). It was a wonderfully chic homage to sporting women and strong women alike, and Koma could not have released a more appropriate collection considering that the nation is still pining after the end of the Olympics and Paralympics.

The collection looked particularly spectacular during the finale of the show, when the audience could see Koma's creations altogether, and could see the story that they told.

So, here are some of my favourite looks from the show, (taken from Vogue's website as my camera simply isn't good enough!):

David Koma's show was an absolute triumph. I have a feeling that his tennis-influenced dresses will be copied by many a highstreet store - as was his peplum design from the AW12 show back in February. The show, combined with Colomba's advice, inspired me to inject some more colour into my wardrobe, and I can't wait to hit the shops to try out my new found enthusiasm for trying something new!

Thank you Vodafone VIP, and thank you David Koma. It truly was a wonderful experience!

Love Lucy x