FASHION NEWS: SOME THINKING AHEAD OF SS14 FASHION WEEKS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor of Large

The SS14 shows are officially underway and so for the next four weeks fashion news will largely centre on who's who and what's what for next Spring. So, today I thought I'd share a few links to longer think pieces which have appeared over the past couple of weeks as well as a couple of need-to- know news bits.

First up, Kering, who in January acquired a 51% stake in Christopher Kane, today added Joseph Altuzarra to their portfolio of brands by investing in a minority stake in the business just days before Altuzarra's NYFW show. Way to create a buzz.

Lauren Sherman on designers transitioning from no.2 to Creative Director star

Brilliant, thought provoking piece on fashion's moral compass by Robin Givhan

Cathy Horyn bemoans the new way fashion weeks pan out.

Suzy Menzes on faster and faster fashion

I listened to bits of this earlier and it was inspiring and fascinating- Lucinda Chambers interviewed by Lou Stoppard on SHOWstudio. 

Finally, music in fashion.

Christopher Bailey has a dedicated music team at Burberry.

And Hedi Slimane has made his first Saint Laurent video to promote ballerina shoes. It stars Gracie van Gastel, with soundtrack by Cherry Glazerr.

Happy Weekend!

IS IT OK TO WEAR FUR NOW?

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

I only ask because there is so much of the stuff appearing on the catwalks this Autumn. The fuzzy effect is in practically every major collection but what is so striking is the number of designers who are using real fur to express that idea.

Let me say early on that I am not necessarily pro or anti-fur. In fact, I find the whole issue profoundly confusing. I don't quite understand how anyone who eats meat can then make judgement against someone who chooses to wear fur. As recent news events show, we never truly know what meat it is that we're eating, unless you always buy from a local, trusted butchers who prepare cuts themselves. It is far too black and white to say that leather is fine because it's a by-product of the meat industry and fur is not because those animals die purely for their skin- see this Guardian piece for more clarity on that point. What is definitely true is that leather is commonplace whereas fur is laced with- depending on your viewpoint- glamour, disgust, fascination, beauty and otherworldliness.

Joseph Altuzarra AW13

Last year, I was on my own quite late at night at Waterloo station waiting for my platform to come up. I was wearing a very warm, authentically chocolate brown but nevertheless very much fake fur jacket. A man approached, lurched towards me and began to shout abuse at me for wearing fur. This made me wonder, is there so much of  difference between wearing fur that is authentic looking but ultimately fake and the real thing? Aside from cost, to the onlooker you are portraying the same message whether it's fake or not.

Marc Jacobs AW13

Back to the catwalks. A certain kind of lady, maybe best represented by Anna Wintour, has never stopped wearing fur and certain brands have never stopped using fur. The American Vogue editor has endured very public confrontations with PETA protesters but has stoically carried on wearing her pelts because that's her thing. Then Miu Miu SS13 came along; shamelessly, extravagantly offering up fur coats and stoles alongside denim pencil skirts and dust coats. Miuccia Prada was making a statement by being so blatant with fur a. By using it in her supposedly younger Miu Miu line and b. By pairing it with a casual fabric like denim. The casual/ luxe mix is a key part of this fur story. That man at Waterloo station (and his ilk) is of no concern. The most simple explanation is that designers like Prada and then everyone using fur this season- Joseph Altuzarra, Christopher Kane, Marc Jacobs- are simply answering demand. Jacobs even put a cartoonish fox face on his creations, mimicking the the unashamed way women in the 20s and 30s would wear animals with faces and tails still intact. Fur sells now- the industry has almost doubled in value since 2000 from £5.7 billion to £9.4 billion- and so that is a very good reason for designers to use it in their collections, if they can get round the ethics.

Simone Rocha AW13

Obviously some will not use fur, either because they simply prefer the look of faux, cannot afford to work with  the real thing or have their own ethical problem with animal hides. Simone Rocha's 'Respect your elders' collection was an LFW highlight, inspired by her two Grannies. She used verging on kitsch leopard fake fur to trim collars and make entire sweatshirts and coats. In a really great way, you would never mistake Simone Rocha's girl as wearing the real deal. Away from the fashion weeks, Stella McCartney has just unveiled the newest version of her Falabella bag. McCartney famously eschews leather and fur in her collections but has still managed to tap into the furry mood with the Itsy Bitsy bag, so named after two of the sheep in her very own organic flock whose fleeces have been used to makes the bags. If the horsemeat scandal has made us think twice about the origin of our food, then Stella's option is the fashion equivalent of getting conscientious; good welfare provenance assured.

The kindest way to do the tufty trend: Stella McCartney Itsy Bitsy Falabella £1,150

GET TO WORK FOR SS13

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Original Carhartt workwear (image from insidesyv.com)

Unlike Carla Bruni, I do think Feminism is important and would happily declare myself to be one of those oft scoffed at Feminists. Some might say that you can't be a "proper" Feminist if you love fashion.  That's rubbish. There is definitely something to be said, however, for clothes and accessories which don't hold us back; the impossible to walk in heels, for example, or the so-tight- you- can't-walk pencil skirt are quite frankly a waste of time. Sometimes then, a natural place to look for stylish yet- dare I say it- practical inspiration is menswear. There are innumerable examples of womenswear designers learning from men's tailoring for their shapes. Stella McCartney, who last night won Designer of the Year and Designer Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards, and Lee McQueen both trained on Savile Row.

Menswear isn't just about tailoring though. Workwear is an equally iconic part of the equation which has its roots in the labels which made super-durable overalls, jackets and trousers for American workers as far back as the mid-19th century. It was the likes of Levi and Strauss and Carhartt who clothed the troops which built the infrastructure which grew America, the builders of railways, lumberjacks and factory workers.

The gorgeous and mega talented Joseph Altuzarra looked to this culture via Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando for his SS13, an exploration which resulted in a girl/ boy dichotomy of tough fabrics, pinstripes, scalloped sequins and golden fringing. There were cape coats, skirts and bootcut trousers with "railroad stripes like the OshKosh overalls you wore as a kid" and in "a brown the exact same shade of clay that Carhartt uses". La pièce de résistance was the label which Altuzarra had created to mimic a Carhartt or Levis tag, complete with "Lot SS13". A future collectible for sure.

Miuccia Prada also took to transforming workwear at Miu Miu, using hard wearing denim and lining it with the most sumptuous silk and cutting it into slightly skewed ladylike staples like duster coats and modest midi skirts. Add a ridiculously decadent fur stole or eff off massive gem and the outfits almost seem to tell a tale of a Levis wearer going from miner to millionaire, living the American dream.

At the Miu Miu press day... frayed denim sits with bling

This is not just a catwalk thing. Rihanna, Queen of setting a trend, has taken a fancy to a Carhartt overall jacket which she's worn twice in the past couple of weeks- for a celeb that's a major fashion love affair. RiRi also too a shine to the bomber jacket from Carhartt's ongoing collaboration with APC- a coat which I spied on no less than 3 people as I walked down Oxford Street this afternoon, I kid you not. I bet RiRi will be all over the OshKosh dungarees before too long. Sadly they're now only made in children's sizes but there are the occassional pair to be found in vintage rummages. Check out the OshKosh and Carhartt selections on Rokit's website. Let the Workwear revival commence!

OshKosh jacket very similar to Rihanna's £95

Rihanna in Carhartt x APC (Image via highsnobiety.com)

ALL ABOUT JOSEPH ALTUZARRA & HIS TOP FIVE FALL/AUTUMN PIECES

Posted by Melanie Fashion Editor at Large

I had the pleasure of meeting up with the NewYork based designer Joseph Altuzarra this afternoon at Browns where he was doing a trunk show and meeting customers and members of the press. 

                             

Me and Mr A

Still only 28 years old,  Joseph is currently on the kind of awesome - and it has to be said pretty mental - upward trajectory which only happens to one designer every few years. Joseph (never Joe) is the current recipient of the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund and won $300,000 last year to grow his four year old business. He is also, much to his chagrin, a bit of a fashion IT boy. Well, you've gotta love a designer who poses draped over a chair in one of his own snakeskin dresses, right?  

Hawt! Joseph Altuzarra shot for W Magazine

Don't let his chair work or penchant for wearing dresses give you the idea that he is a good time boy; Mr Altuzarra is certainly no intellectual lightweight and he is a worker, obsessed with his craft and constantly pushing personal boundaries with his work.  When I ask if he is happy being in the public eye, he admits "I don't want to be 'the hot designer' because that means one day the limelight will move onto someone else. I want a slow and steady progression. Look," he says leaning closer, "doing press is part of the job, but to be honest my favourite place to be is at home with my boyfriend [Seth a property dude)]and my [Schnauzer] dog Bean, watching TV.  Joseph used his prize money extremely wisely. Both his parents are investment bankers, so he knew exactly what to do, which was to move to larger offices and hire a production manager. Smart. 

That he spent the first 18 years of his life in Paris with his Chinese American mother and French father proved the starting point for today's conversation, which swiftly took us from French parochialism onto the inspiration behind his accomplished and trend-setting Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, one of my personal highlights of New York Fashion Week. 

Joseph Altuzarra Autumn Fall/Winter 2012 

One of the best everyday fashion looks for the forthcoming Autumn, hands down.

JOSEPH ON HIS FALL/WINTER 2012 COLLECTION + FRENCH PAROCHIALISM

"The starting point for me was looking at the way France is evolving as a nation. I think there are a lot of problems relating to national identity emerging as a result of the elections. French style, for example, is heavily influenced by North Africa and Asia, but actual French society is obstinately French. I guess they are focusing too much on immigration, instead of looking at integration. In the UK and USA I see 

integration. This whole idea of integration fascinated me, which reminded me of a cartoon character from my childhood called Corto Maltese. He is an iconic figure in French culture, a quintessentially French sailor who travels the world to brings back new ideas." 

As you can see Corto Maltese also likes a pea-coat, which happens to be one of the key motifs of Altuzarra's new collection. 

Corto Maltese 

ALTUZARRA ON HIS DESIGN PROCESS 

"When I am designing I try to take the best of the European and American sensibilities. There are great ideas on both sides of the pond. The design process for me involves pushing ideas through to their ultimate conclusion. Pushing the fashion hard, you know?  I guess, though, ultimately I always start with the idea of desirability. The idea of 'If I were a woman what would I want to wear right now?'   

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA'S "IF I WERE A WOMAN" PERSONAL TOP FIVE FROM HIS FALL/WINTER 2012 

"A pea coat, buttoned up and looking strict"

"Cargo pants tucked into a knee boot."

"I loved the white sweater with the fringing and coins"

"The Indian tiered dress. This a good example of taking it to the max. We pushed it with the cut and controlled drape of this dress, then just kept pushing it further and further. We pushed shape, fabric, embroidery and print. We got there. That's where the opulence in my collection came from. I've pushed things before like our cone breast cups, and these did not work at retail, but have been popular with the press. So in the end it became a strong brand statement. You've got to push, even if you end up at a dead end. " 

"My cheongsam inspired dress with the white cravat and thigh split; I love the controlled elegance of it."

With that, the IT designer whose greatest fear is being an IT designer, leaps up to meet two customers who have booked in to see him. Tonight he is off out for dinner with his good friend and London based designer Erdem.

WHAT TO BUY FROM JOSEPH ALTUZARRA NOW: all from Browns 

 Jersey panelled skater Dress £895

Chunky cotton knit lime Jumper £540

Techno Nylon jacket £1515 

All from BrownsFashion.com

With thanks to Zoe and Sarah at Zoe Communications & Browns  

IT'S TIME TO WEAR SS12 TRENDS!

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

One of the many oddities of working in fashion is that we get two chances to talk about trends. For Spring/Summer 2012, the first chance came in September/ October last year when designers were showing their collections for the forthcoming season, which is NOW. Meaning that the time has come to revisit and properly embrace what we saw seven months ago by actually buying into what we fell in love with on the catwalks - whether it's the designer real deal or the high street's interpretation.

As is the FEAL way, we told you what you'd be buying now as soon as we spotted it on the catwalk but that was a long time ago. We thought that you might like to look back at our first thoughts on SS12 now that we can all get in on the action...

GUIPURE

This trend was so huge we did two posts on it . Unsurprisingly, it's all over the high street. Our favourite is Jaeger Boutique's bright white, ribbon waisted dress. This would see you through all manner of Summer pursuits, just don't go rolling in the grass.

Guipure at Preen SS12 (catwalking.com)

Alicia dress from Jaeger Boutique £220

Navy tee £22 River Island

Louis Vuitton SS12 (catwalking.com)

PRINTS AND PAISLEY

Print is still huge. Florals are a classic but if you want to be exactly on the SS12 pulse then a silky paisley or tropical jungle print are the ones to go for...

Up close with Stella's paisley

Stella McCartney paisley at her SS12 press day 

Stella McCartney paisley print blouse £435 at Matches

Paisley dress £1,590 by Jil Sander at MyTheresa

JUNGLE

Up close: Joseph Altuzarra SS12 at the Harvey Nichols' press day

Palm print dress £65 at Oasis

Jungle clutch £437 at MyTheresa

UNDER THE SEA

This one was never going to be easy to translate - who has time to encrust their spine with pearls each morning or carry about clusters of coral to work a trend? Nods to sea life with watery colours, embellishments and rope details seems like the most sensible way to channel the SS12 mermaid fantasy. Unless you have a fancy dress party coming up, in which case, go all out.

Pearls backstage at Chanel (from http://somethingfrench.tumblr.com/)

Alexander McQueen SS12- coral encrusted mermaids (catwalking.com)

Peter Pilotto printed tee £256 at www.farfetch.com

Rope sandals £95 at Reiss

CROP TOPPING

A quick scout of the shops this weekend threw up plenty of evidence that crop tops are a trend pretty much every high street store has plumped for. We shared 8-minute abs with you at the time but really, who is actually ready for this? If you're not a 15 year old gymnast then maybe proceed with caution e.g a looser crop top worn over a high waist skirt/ short or under a skinny vest.

Dolce and Gabbana SS12 (catwalking.com)

Buttercup crop top £22 at Topshop

Something a little more wearable... £36 at Topshop

SEA AND SUN (YELLOW AND BLUE)

Two of the biggest colours for SS12. I am brightening up today in a Peeps colour jumper. The combination of the two, like wearing your very own seaside horizon, was done most brilliantly by Jonathan Saunders.

Jonathan Saunders SS12 (catwalking.com)

J.W Anderson SS12 (catwalking.com)

Jonathan Saunders sun and sea dress £910 at Matches

Yellow lace dress (two trends in one!) £58 at Warehouse 

UGLY SHOES

Still calling these "Ugly", yes.

Christopher Kane SS12 (catwalking.com)

Christopher Kane sandals £380 at The Corner

The FashEd choose these yellow sandals from Senso in her ASOS sale styling feature...

Senso £125 at ASOS

Biker sandals £515 Givenchy at MyTheresa

3.1 Phillip Lim at My-Theresa £335