Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large
Everything you need to know about the week in fashion is within this blog post. Read, know, then go bank holiday weekend your socks off...
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| Jenna Lyons (image via tumblr.com) |
It's seems like it's been a long time coming, but
J.Crew has finally hit British shores this week. For today and tomorrow (Friday/ Saturday), the fashionably preppy US label is hosting a pop-up in a rather fabulous converted shed/ stables at Central Saint Martin's. Jenna Lyons, J.Crew's President and Artistic Director, is in town and used the opportunity to announce that J.Crew will be sponsoring a scholarship for CSM MA students. I popped along yesterday to the pop-up shop where you can get J.Crew's famous cashmere jumpers monogrammed and buy a jewelled collar especially designed for the London pop-up by the J.Crew design crew. A permanent shop is due to open on Regent Street in November.
Visit J Crew's pop-up at CSM by getting yourself to King's Cross Tube, and follow the arrows.
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| One of my personal favourite collars from the J Crew pop-up |
The BFC this week announced
three new menswear designers to join the NEWGEN cohort in time for London Collections:Mens which is taking place in June. Agi & Sam, Astrid Andersen and Nasir Mazhar will get the backing of the BFC to show and sell their collections during the men's shows next month.
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| Agi and Sam did an inspired AW13 show in which they took the Marquess of Bath as muse. (catwalking.com) |
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| Fabulous purple/ florals/ streetwear at Astrid Andersen AW13 (catwalking.com) |
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| Nasir Mazhar AW13 (fashion156.com) |
Issa, the label favoured by the Middleton sisters and friends, announced last week that founder and creative director
Daniela Helayel is leaving. Blue Farrier has been appointed to take over. Farrier has great fashion pedigree, having worked at Stella McCartney and Chloe. Issa is particularly well-known for its flattering wrap dresses- Kate Middleton wore a blue one to match her engagement ring when she and Prince William announced that they would be getting married.
The new Givenchy AW13 campaign has been styled by none other than Carine Roitfeld. She cast Amanda Seyfried and up-and-coming Spanish model Dalianah Arekion in the rather subdued black and white images. It seems that Roitfeld also couldn't resist shooting herself, with daughter Julia, as well.
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| Amanda and Dalianah in Givenchy AW13 (via wwd.com) |
At Issa's latest LFW show for AW13, models wore gimicky polo necks with hoods attached. Here's hoping Farrier might have a transformative magic touch.
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| Ugh. Issa W13 (catwalking.com) |
Fendi will hold a special photography exhibition during July's Paris couture shows. As part of its pledge to help save the Trevi Fountain, images taken by Karl Lagerfeld (Fendi Creative Director, and you know the rest) will be on display. There will also be a 120-page book published to accompany the exhibition. Another clever high fashion initiative to make the public feel involved in the very exclusive round of couture shows.
Congratulations to Tatty Devine, The Cambridge Satchel Company, Harris Tweeds and Christopher Raeburn who were among t
he winners at last night's UK Fashion and Textiles Awards. Go Made in Britain!
Skate culture has been permeating fashion for a while now and it seems to be reaching a peak, especially with Yasmin Sewell's Beach in the East pop-up, inspired by Dogtown and the Z-Boys.
The Guardian brought all the references together very nicely this week. Dazed Digital have done a great piece on the fight to save the Southbank undercroft. And if you have time for a fascinating long read this weekend, then may I suggest
this on what happened to the stars of
Kids.
Browsing in Browns Focus the other day, I was particularly drawn to a very sweet Olympia Le-Tan doodled cotton body suit. Le-Tan is, of course, most famous for her
embroidered book cover clutch bags. It turns out that Olympia is sister of Cleo, a French novelist and daughter of Pierre, a highly respected illustrator. If you're anything like me and enjoy being nosy about these fabulous kinds of families, then you should read
The Daily Beast's interview with Cleo Le-Tan.
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| Cleo and Olympia Le-Tan (via thedailybeast.com) |
Finally, Cannes is STILL going on. In fact, it's been going on so long now that jewellery thieves have managed to strike twice. Yesterday,
a £1.7m necklace from jewellers Di Grisogono went missing, despite the fact it was being heavily guarded at a chateau party. My four favourite stories from the festival this week are:
Nicole Kidman potentially wearing t
he Valentino dress which Anna Hathaway ditched for the Oscars at the lat minute.
Jessica Chastain
wearing Spanx dyed vivid purple to match her Givenchy Couture dress.
And
a Psy impostor gatecrashing loads of great parties and fooling celebrities.
Last night,
the super, duper glamourous AMFAR gala, held to raise funds for AIDS, took place in Cannes. Carine Roitfeld was in charge this year and organised "The Ultimate Gold Collection" fashion show which was crammed full of specially created gold creations by the world's best designers. To round off The Week in Fashion, here are some of the shiniest looks of the night, as modelled by some of Carine's nearest and dearest, of course. Sun, take note.
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| Giovanna Battaglia in Miu Miu (via vogue.co.uk) |
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| Joan Smalls in Givenchy (via vogue.co.uk) |
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| Anna dello Russo in Pucci (via vogue.co.uk) |
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| Irina Shayk in Prada (via Vogue.co.uk) |
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| Carine's daughter, Julia Restoin Roitfeld in Valentino (via vogue.co.uk) |
