FRIDAY FASHION TO-DO LIST

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

FEAL is off to Paris for a few days so expect updates on our escapades while we're there. In the meantime, here are three fashion things to do now...

1. GET TO SOMERSET HOUSE FOR YOUR FLYKNITS

Nike do a brilliant job of creating real excitement around their brand and product launches. Next week, they're bringing the new Flyknit Lunar1+ to the good people of London with a big event at Somerset House. Pop in and get the supremely cool knitted trainers steamed to fit your feet then take off on a run in which you'll 'explore the city in a whole new way'. The experience will be based in the courtyard of Somerset Houseand you'll also get to see lots of inspiring outakes from Nike's running history. The experience is open all day from 9-6. Go, go, go.

2. BUY A BLACKSCORE T-SHIRT

The slogan tee thing is completely huge right now. Every other street style picture is a girl with a kooky phrase or wittily altered slogan plastered across her chest. The latest, and sweetest, version of the trend comes from Blackscore who have produced Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn tees. The man behind Blackscore is Simeon Farrar, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing sometime back. He is both an artist and a fashion designer who brings a great sense of beauty and fun to whatever he does. That's what is so great about these tees; they're whimsical rather than confrontational. Get yours here 

Queen Delevingne tee £30

3.  FAMILIARISE YOURSELF WITH THE NEW BALENCIAGA

Alexander Wang showed his debut collection for Balenciaga yesterday. Rather than going completely mad for it, as one might a Wang bag, most commentators have been measured, calling it "a confident, uncomplicated debut" (Jess Cartner-Morley in The Guardian) and "quietly respectful" (Hamish Bowles on US Vogue). From my chair, it looks like terribly complicated stuff made to seem simple, see the knits made to look like crackled leather (that detail via Cathy Horyn on Twitter). The detail I am most obsessed with  is how the catwalk images were taken with a mirror behind the models so that you can see front and back views at once, genius.

Front view/ back view Balenciaga AW13

ALL ABOUT TOPSHOP AND GOOGLE'S "THE FUTURE OF THE FASHION SHOW"

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

From this Friday through next Tuesday it is London Fashion Week.  Yes, again. Only this is a fashion week that would have been unimaginable ten years ago when proceedings were trade-only. For the duration of this one, should you be so inclined, you can settle down at home or office with laptop and a cup of tea (or Champagne to really get in the mood) and watch 70% of the shows live on You Tube  and follow the goings on in real time via Instagram and Twitter with the #LFW tag. But what if there was an even more instant, fun, integrated and most-importantly shoppable way to consume real time fashion shows online?

Step forward Topshop. These vexing thoughts have been occupying the creative thinkers over there for some time, not least because theirs are the most digitally engaged and enthusiastic customers in the omni-channel marketplace of 2013.

Last September the brand, which holds a London Fashion Week show for its influential Unique range and funds a number of young designers through the New Gen scheme, hit paydirt with a Facebook collaboration. The link up enabled two million of Topshop’s digital users in 100 countries to view the Unique show and to share it instantly via their Facebook pages, download the music, buy the lipstick and pre-order and recolour items of the collection. Oh, and one more thing, when the data was crunched it turned out two million was the magic number that made it the most watched catwalk show ever.

Gaining such global traction was like a drug to the two relatively new brooms heading up the artistic output of the brand, namely Creative Director Kate Phelan who joined from Vogue and the former Burberry executive Justin Cooke, now Topshop’s Chief Marketing Officer.  Having mined the possibilities of Facebook, Cooke and Phelan approached Google +, the social networking arm of Google and now, with Sunday’s 3pm show streaming from the vaults of the Tate Modern, aim to reimagine the future of the fashion show experience by putting it out on Topshop’s own website, its You Tube Channel, with curation of all content on its Google + page. Or as Justin Cooke puts it “we will give you whatever you want, however you want it. We want to connect with the emotional side of the show.” 

The look of the Topshop website for Google hook-up

If all goes well, that emotional connection will reap dividends as the digital activity is measurable, from stats and locations of users, to their likes, dislikes and preferences. Not to mention a heads up of what their customers wants to buy from Topshop, and tracts of new users for Google +.

This morning I was at London's Google towers for breakfast with the team behind the project at the precise moment restrictions were lifted from the embargoed press release, and the atmosphere was crackling with excitement. This is groundbreaking for both Google and Topshop and the logistics are verging on terrifying. I will be hosting the Google Hangouts, a multi-person digital chat on Friday at 4pm with Kate Phelan and Unique's designers, and again from 2.30 live from the red carpet at Tate Modern, the show venue. 

As previously, there is music, nail polish and clothes to buy plus a show to watch, 

but what I adore about this is the opportunity for total immersion in the catwalk experience. I predict a meltdown of the ‘Model Cam’ option, which sees supermodels and best friends Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn given outfits embedded with mini HD micro-cameras which will allow us all to see a models-eye view of backstage, those scary flashbulb popping steps out onto the runway and whatever it is models get up to backstage. The Model Cam will also be worn by Topshop's newest model discoveries the British 17 year old Rosie Tapner and New Zealander Ashleigh Good, who are writing digital diaries of their fashion show experience for Topshop.com.

Rosie Tapner (model.com)

Ashleigh Good (rapax.com)

For those wanting a more fashion professional slant on the action, I recommend the Be The Buyer App, enabling users to curate the collection and get tips from the buyers on how to put looks together. I’m pretty darn excited to be working on the project with Topshop and Google and will get to see the whole thing in action and will report back. “This has the potential to be digitalwildfire,” says Cooke. I don’t doubt it for a minute. 

A shorter version of this piece appears over on The Guardian 

CENTREFOLD MAGAZINE STARRING ALL OUR FAVOURITE SUPERMODELS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Kate Moss, by Venetia Scott

This could be an interesting week for fashion. After the weekend's flurry of rumour that Christopher Kane would be taking up the Balenciaga post left vacant by Nicolas Ghesquière and his subsequent denial, this lunchtime news came via WWD that Kane was to leave his post designing for Versace's sister line, Versus. Whether Kane goes to Balenciaga or not, this is unlikely to be the last we hear of the shenanigans in the coming days, even if Kane is saying that he is set to devote himself entirely to growing his own brand. On top of all that, US Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington is coming to London in celebration of the publication of her memoirs. In yesterday's Sunday Telegraph, an exclusive extract from the book was published, detailing Coddington's famous and much-examined relationship with Anna Wintour. As well as discussing the chronology of their great partnership, Coddington also offers insight into how US Vogue has changed during Wintour's tenure. She says, "Vogue now incorporates the worlds of art, business, technology, travel, food, celebrity and politics. And this is all largely due to her vision."

Sojourner Morrel by Mel Bles

In fact, where US Vogue has led, others have followed, finding their own unique spin on the potential synergy of all the worlds we can possibly inhabit. Centrefold magazine is one such- rather beautiful- example of this, doing its thing on a niche and exclusive level which means so much in our easily over-saturated world. Where a fashion week snap of Cara Delevingne might get hundreds of retweets, or a shot of Jourdan Dunn on the catwalk will be beamed to websites, newspapers and magazines the world over, Centrefold gives us something properly special. For its latest Issue 8, the publication has teamed up with Storm Models and property developers, Manhattan Loft Corporation. Entitled "20 + 25 = 8", a nod to the respective anniversaries of Manhattan Loft and Storm, this is an absolute must-buy for those among you who would like some more exclusive imagery to cherish of your favourite supermodels, from the utterly fabulous Cindy Crawford to new girls like Cara D.

Fashion and architecture complement one another as we see Sojourner Morrel in a shoot inspired by Manhattan Loft Gardens and Elisa Sednaoui posing at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.  Harry Handelsman, CEO of Manhattan Loft Corporation says, "our buildings are renowned for their incredible style and in this edition of Centrefold where the worlds of fashion, art and design come together our developments are perfectly placed to provide striking urban backdrops for the world’s most famous modelling talent." Meanwhile, Centrefold Editor-in-Chief Andrew G. Hobbs calls his latest issue a "dynamic collision of talent, achievement and creativity". And the cherry on the cake is Kate Moss, arguably Storm's Sarah Doukas's greatest find,  in all her supermodel fabulousness on the front cover. A real keeper.

Get yourself to one of Centrefold's carefully selected stockists to get your hands on the latest issue for £12. Don't forget to visit their brand new website too.
 

Cara Delevingne by Guy Aroch 

Jourdan Dunn by Scott Trindle

Cindy Crawford by Mark Abrahams

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