BEYONCE, NEW BRIT FASHION TALENT AND THE REST OF THE WEEK IN FASHION

Posted by Bethan Holt and Maya Peilow

A flurry of last minute 2013 fashion and music happenings this week. No time for sitting back with a mince pie just yet...

NEWGEN and Fashion East winners announced

It's been a great week for Ryan Lo, Claire Barrow and Danielle Romeril who won NEWGEN sponsorship and along with it the chance to showcase to the world the incredible fashion talent which won over the hard-to-please NEWGEN panel- including our very own Melanie Rickey. Helen Lawrence and Louise Alsop also step onto the next rung of the fashion ladder winning support from Lulu Kennedy's fabulous Fashion East. That's some major fresh new talent to look forward to at LFW in February.

Danielle Romeril (via thebestfashionblog.com)

Helen Lawrence (via locallightpolluton.blogspot.com)

Louise Alsop (via catwalkqueen.tv)

Beyonce Day

This Friday 13th has (basically officially) been declared Beyonce Day. The fabulous Bey blindsided the world by releasing an entire album complete with a full set of videos unannounced and with zero promo in the middle of the night. That woman. While we're taking it all in and planning all the occasions this weekend when it's going to be appropriate to play the eponymous album, here's your essential checklist of all the items required to recreate the album in looks:

Denim hot pants (obvs), a silky scarf dress (one for wafting and floating about in which you make look like wings), a pinstripe tuxedo suit, very dark purple lipstick/ nail varnish, a pants plus long sleeve crop top co-ord, stacks of rings, a baker boy cap and a hand chain. Got that?

Congratulations lovely David Koma

Speaking of NEWGEN, it's been a big day for former recipient David Koma who's hot the fashion big time and been appointed Creative Director at Thierry Mugler. Koma's fierce and super sexy design ethos will be the perfect fit for Mugler. Koma steps in to replace Nicola Formichetti whose good friend Lady Gaga famously modelled for the brand during his tenure.

Galliano has a newjob

John Galliano has landed the ultimate luxe drag costume designer gig. It has been confirmed that Galliano will design the costumes for Stephen Fry’s stage adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest, due to open next year. Galliano pipped Roland Mouret and Sarah Burton who were also rumoured to have been in the running for the job. In addition to directing the production, Fry will play Lady Bracknell.  Galliano joins a line of high fashion designers working on stage costumes; Chanel designed the costumes for Diaghilev’s Le Train Bleu in 1924 and, in 2011, Stefano Pilati, former head designer at Yves Saint Laurent, created the costumes for Harold Pinter’s Betrayal. However, Galliano is well experienced in this field, having dressed Judi Dench in the Lady Bracknell role back in 1982.

Judi Dench in Galliano as Lady Bracknell in 1982 (via zoewanamaker.com)

Après-ski fashionjust got a lot more interesting

One of the top skiing destinations, Courchevel, is about to welcome some new guests. Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Prada boutiques will be taking to the Alpine slopes this winter. Prada’s chalet-like boutique is seated at the bottom of the slopes in Place du Rocher. It was designed by a Prada-loyal architect, Roberto Baciocchi, who has worked with the brand on their other stores. Louis Vuitton will also launch a pop-up at the resort, close to its permanent boutique. The pop-up will showcase a selection of products, including the new Capucines bag, as well as furs and jewellery. You can never have too much Louis Vuitton in one place! Chanel has gone one step further to make sure its arrival at the exclusive ski resort stands out. Karl Lagerfeld has adorned 36 out of 72 cable cars with Chanel sketches. Le ski, c'est chic!

Mango launches plussize range

This week, Mango announced that it would be launching a plus size range, Violeta, in the New Year. The range, set to hit European stores in mid-January, will come in sizes 12 to 24. The Spanish retailer is reported to have recruited a team of experts to address the technical details. The 400-piece collection, modelled by Australian plus-sized model, Robyn Lawley, is intended to be “comfortable, feminine and modern” and will be expanded gradually, with new products added on a monthly basis. The collection will be available online in the UK from 15 January. Our only question is- who decided that a size 12 is plus-sized?

The 12 year old taking the fashion world by storm

When people speak of new and exciting young designers, you expect them to at least be a teenager. But Melissa Jade Aiello, better known as Missy, is only 12 and she’s already making a name for herself in the fashion industry. Having discovered her ability to draw, she set up a t-shirt label at the age of 9 with the aid of her mother, a model booker. She has drawn fashion icons, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour and Donatella Versace, who she described as having “a really interesting face.” Her t-shirts are only available upon request, although she already has plans for expanding her business – she’s added a line of tote bags and is in talks to bring the label to a wider audience. In her own words, “fashion is really important to me because it defines who I am.”

Baby Chanel

This week, Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore confirmed that she is expecting a second baby girl with her husband Will Kopelman. The best bit though- and what sets the news part from your standard snippet of celebrity gossip- is the little one's nickname. The unborn child’s grandfather, Barrymore’s father-in-law, Arie Kopelman used to be chairman of Chanel and so  has declared that his fifth grandchild will be nicknamed Chanel no.5. We wonder how long he's been thinking about that?

SS13: MY LFW TUMBLE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

As well as keeping up with what's going on in Milan and catching up on everything which piled up at the office while I was out at shows, one of the big things I have been doing is trying to plough through the hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures I took over the five days. Some you'll see in more substantial posts another time but others are just snippets, and so I thought I would share a tumble of pictures with you today to show u a few of the thingsI got up to during LFW....

FRIDAY

Backstage at Zoe Jordan, the looks and the models...

I have a soft spot for Emilia Wickstead who has a slightly unfair rep as a designer who just makes pretty dresses for society ladies. This was one of my favourite looks from her salon presentation, though  it is really only suitable for tall model types. I could totally get on board with an Emilia prom skirt though.

SATURDAY

Lara Mullen backstage after Daks

Ryan Lo's glitz spectacular to the tune of Azealia Banks at Fashion East

Latex dungaress by  Claire Barrow at Fashion East.

Gorgeous lilac tulle on denim at Marques' Almeida

 Jourdan Dunn outside Rag and Bone

Models in Barbie-esque boxes at Sophia Webster

SUNDAY

Finale at the lush Lucas Nascimento

Vivienne Westwood erects her climate protest flag, with a little help from Alice Dellal, in the middle of the Foreign and Commonwealth office. Love Viv.

The ACNE man plies us with drinks

Anna dello Russo arrives at the Phillip Treacy show

MONDAY

Really sweet make-up at Michael van der Ham

 Working the Alexander McQueen visor at Christopher Kane

 A sliver of Andy Murray's jumper and his girlfriend's side profile heading into Burberry to cosy up to Anna Wintour.

 Saskia de Brauw at Giles. Love her and want her hair.

Ballgown backview at Giles

 J.W Anderson talks to Tim Blanks after his show

TUESDAY

Poolside drinks at Tata Naka

 The set at Simone Rocha's super show

 And outside her show, there were perspex brogues galore on loyal fans- a definite signature

  Pretty, happy model backstage at Meadham Kirchhoff

 A box of Meadham Kirchhoff hats

 And part of the catwalk set-up at MK, think mussed up chateau with cake

THE WEEK IN FASHION: AUGUST 27th-31st

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

There's a chill in the air and a big "FASHION WEEKS START" note creeping ever closer on my calendar which means summer is drawing to an end and it's time to pull our socks up and get on with some major immersion in new season shopping and next season trends. It feels like everything is cranking up a notch or two already which means there is plenty of fashion news to share this week. Without further ado...

JONATHAN SAUNDERS T-SHIRT JUST £18

Vogue's now legendary fashion night out is taking place next Thursday evening and as always there's a packed calendar of events from oriental dressing up at Beyond Retro to a talk by Fran Burns and Bronwyn Cosgrave at Chanel and fun times with Richard Nicoll, Jonathan Saunders, Roksanda Ilinicic and Manolo Blahnik at Liberty. This year, Mr Saunders (as Vogue Fashion Fund winner) has the honour of designing the official t-shirt for event in aid of Refuge. That's a bonus for us as we can get out mitts on a bit of Saunders for just £18... Get it here at Gap Online

Vogue girls Emma, Sarah and Tilly in their Saunders tees (image from vogue.co.uk)

CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTOPHER BAILEY

The Burberry designer/ magic brand maestro is reportedly marrying his boyfriend Simon Woods  (a.k.a Mr Bingley in 2005's Pride and Prejudice film) in Chelsea next month. The chosen venue holds just 38 guests so it's bound to be a smaller, more intimate affair than Burberry's famed, celeb-packed fashion shows. The handsome pair wouldn't look out of place in a Burberry ad.

Christopher Bailey and Simon Woods (image from dailymail.co.uk)

 WHAT IS MARC JACOBS DOING FOR SS13?

One of the most exciting things about fashion is the anticipation of the catwalks- how will everything look? What will the mood be? We all know that Marc Jacobs and his three collections (Marc byMarc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton) tend to sum up the season's key trends and general feeling pretty well- for SS12 there was saccharine lady and for AW12 it was all about big gems, Edwardian and covered up. In a new interview for Garage, Jacobs spoke to artist John Currin about what we can expect in the next few weeks. He has been asking himself "How am I going to make this sexier?" and looking at Currin's Gold Coast nude painting. Maybe we can expect more skin for Spring/ Summer?

John Currin's Gold Coast painting- a Marc Jacobs favourite (image from artnews.org)

OBAMA TALKS TO GIRLS

It's true that President Obama has been one of USA's most fashionably popular heads of state ever what with the support he's garnered from the like of Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker. And, yes, girls tend to be in the majority when it comes to being interested in fashion and shopping but it doesn't mean we can't also hold our own when it comes to talking about undoubtedly more important things like war, the economy and welfare (to name but a few). Some political commentators don't see it that way however. After, POTUS gave an interview to Glamour magazine he has attracted criticism that he is avoiding tougher questioning from hardcore politicos. The interview isn't available yet but I would bet that Obama didn't get a completely easy ride from Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive nor should we take with anything more than a pinch of salt the accusations that fluff interviews aren't what Obama should be doing. Talking to Glamour is actually a great way to engage with a huge proportion of voters who may not otherwise encounter political journalism. I'd like to see Mitt Romney try to explain to Glamour readers why members of his party don't think you can pregnant from rape.

NEW LOOK FOR FASHION EAST

Rihanna in Claire Barrow (image from tumblr.com)

Lulu Kennedy's Fashion East initiative is upping its game for SS13 with an installation presentation and salon show at 50 St James. There are two new designers on board- Claire Barrow and Ryan Lo- while Maarten van der Horst returns for a third and final season. You might have herd about Barrow already- she's the girl whose illustrated biker jackets have already been worn by Rihanna and commissioned by Joseph. Susie Lau has written all about Ryan Lo over on StyleBubble this week, so you should head there to find out all about the Hong Kong born boy who, rather refreshingly, hasn't followed the familiar trajectory of CSM to Fashion East. I can't wait for the show!

Designs by Ryan Lo (image from stylebubble.co.uk)

SALLY SINGER LEAVING T MAGAZINE

Sally Singer is to leave New York Times T magazine it was announced this week. NY Times editor Jill  Abramson said "Sally's contributions are clear to anyone who's read the magazine during her tenure. Gorgeous visuals, interesting stories and enterprising features — both in print and online — have been hallmarks of her stewardship. We wish her every success." Sadly it seems the sudden departure is down to disappointing advertising revenues with the number of ad pages dropping from 1,600 in 2007 to 1,087 last year. Although her literary approach seemed like a breath of fresh air, it seems it wasn't good enough to keep commercial interest in the publication.

SWAROVSKI SS13

 NEWGEN  designer Huishan Zhang who will be incorporating
 Swarovski crystals into his work this season (image from vogue.co.uk)

There's an exciting group of designers working with Swarovski this season. There are a total of 11 designers collaborating with the Austrian gem company including Rodarte, Mary Katrantzou, Giles, Huishan Zhang, Marios Schwab, Joseph Altuzarra, Wes Gordon, Maarten van der Horst, Creatures of the Wind. The new collective continues the close relationship Swarovski has had with the industry since Isabella Blow and Alexander McQueen's collaboration with the brand in 1999.

VOGUE AIRBRUSHES GAGA

As soon as we saw US Vogue's September cover with Lady Gaga in a Marc Jacobs gown, we all knew that a teeny bit of touching up must have been done but now Vogue have released a video of the Mert and Marcus shoot and some careful pausing and screen shots show a pretty stark before and after.

Image from buzzfeed.com

Here's the video...



GET THE ANDY WARHOL LOOK

Nars has teamed up with Andy Warhol's foundation to create a make-up collection in honour of the artist's signature beauty regime. The collection contains 29 products and takes inspiration direct from Warhol and his many muses (think Edie Sedgwick smokey and Debbie Harry super bright lips). Check out Nars's website for more details and to be the first to get your hands on the collection.

Andy Warhol make-up from Nars (image from magazine.nytimes.blogs.com)

DUCHESS OF ALBA HITS THE BEACH

This is probably one of my favourite beach looks of the Summer- the brilliant Duchess of Alba in Formentera sporting a bikini plus digi flower print kaftan and huge shades and hat. Brilliant. 

(Image from huffingtonpost.com)

GOOD SHOPPING

A quick shout out for the Fair Fashion Fair which is taking place on 8th and 9th September on Westbourne Grove in aid of MIND, the mental health charity. The event promises to have plenty of brilliant bargains from vintage and designer fashion to furniture on offer. The organisers are working in partnership with charity shops to highlight  all the wonderful things a charity shop trawl can dig up. it looks like it'll be a really fun few days- find out more here .

One of my first tasks with the FashEd when I began work here last year was to help research a feature on Cambridge Satchel Company which she was writing for The Guardian. So it was great to come across the video of the label's founder Julie Deane. It's a promotion for Google Chrome but charts Julie's progression  from Mum looking for a school bag for her daughter to fashion mega success story.

Happy Weekend!

THE AW11 FASHION EAST LINE-UP

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

It is a little known fact that way back in 2000 when Fashion East was still a great idea without a name, it was little old me that came up with the name"Fashion East". I was at a meeting with the PR's of The Truman Brewery, and being a die-hard east london fashion girl about Hoxton (we didn't call it Shoreditch then) it seemed only right that if the publishers of The Face called themselves Emap East then this should be called Fashion East.

Back then it was the Truman Brewery's owners, the Zeloof brothers, specifically Ofer Zeeloof, who wanted to help some of the talented young designers lliving and working in the area. Many of the designers rented space at the labyrinthine Truman Brewey and it was Ofer Zeloof and his then girlfriend Lulu Kennedy, (now queen of Fashion East), who were the driving forces.

I was on the selection panel for Fashion East for a few years back then, and have always been immensely proud of the designers it has shepherded from obscurity into the limelight. These include Jonathan Saunders, Richard Nicoll, Roksanda Ilincic, Michael van der Ham and Gareth Pugh.Sticking around long enough to seeing these guys and gal grow from stressed out first-timers into internationally known designers is one of the joys of this job.

Lulu announced the new Fashion East line-up today, and its looking real good. Simone Rocha, yes she is John Rocha's daughter, has been a confident and impressively professional designer from her St Martins days and is dedicated to her craft.  Judging by the pedigree of the other two designers, catwalk newcomers both, this show will be a home run. Check them out, below.

Elliot Atkinson SS11 collection

Atkinson gained a BA in womenswear at Edinburgh College of Art, where he received the Waterman Fashion Illustration prize. Atkinson describes his signature as “tough but feminine, sexy yet nonchalant” and his debut collection was snapped up by Browns Focus. Tailored clothes use fine, luxurious materials; delicate fabrics are punctuated by tougher textures such as metal fastenings, hardware, leather and shearling. For AW11, eclectic influences include ritualistic body piercing, Native American culture and the Scottish Highlands.

 

Simone Rocha SS11 collection

For AW11, Simone has been inspired by her Portuguese family portraits from the 1920's, and Louise Bourgeois’ metal and textile sculptures. She is exploring new textures and fabrics and introducing knitwear to her collection for the first time. Her AW11 show will be styled by Celestine Cooney, fashion director at Twin.

James Long SS11

Long is launching his new womenswear line at Fashion East. This decision follows the high demand for his menswear pieces from buyers and female fans. His debut collection fuses gypsy and grunge with Arran style tasselled knits, layered to create a punk mountain style look. Ecru, camel, chestnut and midnight base notes are injected with sharp colour accents. 1970s gowns are teamed with alpaca knitwear, boucles with macramé detailing.

Long debuted in 2007 at MAN, the Topman and Fashion East menswear initiative, to glowing reviews and support from leading figures Alister Mackie, Creative Director at Another Man and Style.com’s Tim Blanks. Long has gone on to become a NEW GEN‐MEN award favourite and consultant for leather specialist Jitrois.

The bio information has been kindly supplied by Fashion East

Fashion East has been sponsored by TopShop since 2003.

EVER WONDERED WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES AT A FASHION SHOW?

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

A week has passed since London Fashion Week drew to a close, and I'm still dreaming about the things I saw (literally - visual feast doesn't even cover it). There was so much happening at ‘gloss level’ it’s easy to forget the weeks of preparation that go on behind the scenes, and the many tiers of people involved. This season I was privy to that other world…

Sara Blonstein is an events guru who has been masterminding the production side of fashions shows – most notably Fashion East - for years. Beneath the feet of the air kissing masses, in the vaults of Somerset House, her team are grafting away on the less glamorous side of LFW. And for one day only I was allowed a glimpse behind the curtain, to see just what it is they do to make sure journalists like me enjoy the show.

Back in the late 80s Sara was an east-end party girl, scoping out derelict spaces and priming them as venues for her glam club nights. ‘That’s basically what I’m still doing now’, she told me ‘You should have seen the Somerset House Vaults when we found them’.

Down in the underbelly of the BFC’s current home is a drippy passage which snakes its way from one side of the building to the other. In the original deeds it is referred to as ‘The Dead House’ – a legacy still observable, as headstones flank the walls. Drips fall sporadically from the ceiling, and patches of rust stain the white stone walls - yet somehow Lulu Kennedy had enough vision to look past all that and select them as the atmospheric venue for her Fashion East shows. And it works. ‘Last season Posh came, and she sat just there’ Sara chuckles, pointing to a length of hessian obscuring a dark hole full of rubble and wiring.

 There’s not much space in the vaults, certainly not enough for inflated egos. Everyone gets treated the same, and they all get a front row seat. 

 Sara’s team are down in the vaults early setting up all the technical apparatus for the Topman sponsored MAN show. Predictably there are hiccups along the way. The retro LED scroller which will display each designer’s name is malfunctioning, and during one run-through a male model wearing leather pants and towering wedges by Jaiden rVa James wobbles and trips at my feet (tee-hee). The models booked for shows in the BFC tent are running late, which is putting Sara’s show behind, and everyone is swooping around with walkie-talkies and a sense of urgency. I hang back and cross my fingers that it all goes off without a hitch.     

The model who fell. At least he has a gimp mask to hide behind. Hmmmm.

A couple of hours later, one show down (without a blip) and one more to go, Sara is handling VIP guests. James Small is showing his debut collection and there is a considerable amount of celebrity interest (which may or may not have something to do with the fact that he’s Fran Cutler’s boyfriend). Kate Moss and Lily Allen enter through the back and wait whilst the other guests are seated.

 The paparazzi go into frenzy mode when Ms Moss strolls in, and there’s an awkward moment when Fran shouts at the photographer perched behind me - accusing him of being more interested in taking pictures of Kate than of the collection (she’s right of course).

 Kate next to (babydaddy) Jefferson Hack

 My day with Sara and the rest of Blonstein & Associates was a real eye opener. After seeing what goes into the aspects of backstage management, lighting and sound (Sara is very particular about volume, preferring a level akin to that of a Dalston rave) I have a new found appreciation for the fashion show. It's almost like a piece of theatre.

This season the team successfully produced Fashion East, MAN, James Small, Holly Fulton, the digital presentation schedule, the LFW exhibition, menswear installations, Elliott J Frieze, and the Newgen exhibition. Phew! I can’t wait to see what they do in September.

Pics: catwalking.com / Chis Moore, ELLE.co.uk