A FEW FAVOURITE THINGS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The FashEd and I have been busy skipping about London town, going to some of the myriad of press days which are taking place at the moment to showcase what will be in the shops next Spring. Before I pop out to another, I've got a minute to share with you some of our favourites from what we've seen yesterday and today....

1. BROWNS- BAGS BY SOPHIE ANDERSON

Sophie has lived and travelled a lot in Colombia and that shows in the bright pops of South American weave and traveller vibe of her bags. She stays faithful to the roots she has put down by employing four indigenous Indian tribes from around South America to weave her bags. The sleek finish and neon colour ways make these so much more than something reminiscent of a gap yah souvenir. We love.

2. STARWORKS- LULU & CO/ FASHION EAST

The Starworks Press Day was a complete treat- full of collections by some of the most exciting young designers London has to offer right now. In their midst is Lulu Kennedy's Fashion East, which is one the best ways for talent to get a leg up on the fashion week schedule. Her own label, Lulu & co works in collaboration with the designers which Fashion East supports. Lulu told the FashEd this morning that the line is about to become a whole lot more accessible, with lower prices so more people can get a slice of the action from Lulu's brood. Just the right time then to fall in love with this very elegant palm print dress with the most awesome raffia bow.

Maarten Van de Horst, one of the Fashion East designers

Cartoony fun from the Lulu & co label

Togue in cheek elegant by Lulu and co.

Raffia Bow

3. MATCHES- ANCIENT GREEK SANDALS

As you may know from the FashEd's summertime blogging, she is one of Greece's biggest fans so it's a shock she didn't actually walk out of Matches in a pair of these Ancient Greek Sandals. 

Matches told us: 'The Designer behind AGS, Christina studied shoe design at the prestigious Cordwainers College in London and then moved to Paris where she designed shoes for Iris, Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. Taking her clue from the classic Greek sandals, which have existed since ancient times she works with respect to that heritage, adding a more personal and playful interpretation, which give the collection a fresh and contemporary appeal'

We have a sneaky feeling you'll be hearing a lot more about Ancient Greek Sandals. I love the fun references to Greek mythology in the wing details.

THE NEXT BIG THING....IN JEWELLERY

Posted by the Fashion Editor at Large

The SS10 press days can be a stress to get to when you're juggling deadlines, but are so worth it. Especially when a designer you haven't considered before talks you through their work and you get that internal jolt of inspiration/recognition that tells you that you are seeing something new and exciting or clever and fun. I’ve seen so much exciting stuff which I will bring to you between now and the end of January when the collections actually come in. And when the January sales are on – BELIEVE ME – you will need this blog to keep you going. ANYWAY. Top of my mind over this last week are Katie Rowland and Jordy Askill two young jewellers  I encountered at Blow PR and Starworks respectively. Jewellery is definitely having a creative renaissance. I was going to put my good friend and charge Dominic Jones on here too, his new work is so insanely beautiful, but he made me promise not to - well it is his AW10 colllection!! Guess we will have to wait for that, but I'll get first look!

KATIE ROWLAND

It was her “Ring Me” ring that did it. Katie is a 28 year old London jeweller who this year has won a string of prestigious awards (see below) but her stroke of genius for me is a ring that, in back to front text, has Ring me and your number stamped into it. All you need to take out with you is a tiny ink pad to make it work. When you see a boy or girl you like just rotate the ring on the ink pad, and in one slick move roll it up the arm, (of whatever body part is available to you) of the person you desire. “It’s really naughty”, giggles Katie. “It makes me quite bold. When I made my own version with my mobile number on I went a bit crazy with it. The next day I got a few calls, but I couldn’t remember who they were!” The idea behind the Ring Me ring was the calling cards of Victorian Ladies who would hand out cards with just their names on. “My Ring Me ring brings the idea of a calling card bang up to date,” says Katie.

http://www.katie-rowland.com/
WINNER OF COUTTS NEW JEWELLER AWARD 2009
WINNER OF LONMIN'S DESIGN INNOVATION AWARD FOR PLATINUM 2009
WINNER OF THE SONAMA-CUTRER DESIGN AWARD 2009



JORDY ASKILL

Meadham Kirchoff SS10 Image courtesy of Catwalking.com

Jordy Askill is one of those rare artist/jewellers who use their creative experiments to inspire very pretty

commerical pieces, and some thought provoking high fashion work too. Jordy is a an Australian who worked with Tusbi/Ksubi in Sydney before moving to London. Now he creates these anodised sculptures from animation programs he develops on his computer. How amazing is that horse sculpture? I love it. He told me its costs £1000. As does the People sculpture below. I think they are worth every penny. From them come his adorable heart rings (above), and can't wait to see whether his Meadham Kirchoff sculptural headpieces (yes those are lots of little people, plus for the Meadham Kirchoff brogues he placed said mini metallic people to the back heel of the shoe like spurs). I can see how his thinking process works. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of Jordy in the coming months. He is one to watch.

http://www.askillprojects.com/
His work is available at Dover Street Market
He is represented by Starworks.