GETTING EXCITED FOR PORT ELIOT

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The grounds of Port Eliot House where the festival takes place

It's starting to feel like Summer is properly kicking in. I haven't worn a coat for a few days at least and all the things I've planned for "Summer" are starting to happen. One of those is my first Port Eliot festival, which I'll be heading to Cornwall for two weeks from now. I booked almost as soon as tickets were released as I couldn't bear another year of tweets, articles and blog posts from the festival turning me into the green-eyed monster for not being there. I'm going with two friends- one's a foodie, the other a music and drama lover- so I'm hoping we'll force one another to broaden our horizons. However, the fashion line-up looks so awesome that I could probably spend the entire weekend getting made up by Louise Gray and hair stencilled by Alex Brownsell from Bleach, and being dressed up in the blindfold styling booth by Piers Atkinson and Fred Butler. Every girl's dressing up dream team, basically.


THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT AT PORT ELIOT FESTIVAL from Minky Productions on Vimeo.


The Fashion Dolls' Tea Party, which Sarah Mower is organising with LOVE's Alex Fury, is written in indelible ink on my itinerary. Melanie is receiving regular updates from Sarah as the dolls arrive ready for their journey west. I don't want to spoil the surprise but one of our favourite designers has sent his Barbies to be part of the fun. Among the designers whose childhood dollies have also RSVP'd are Donatella Versace, Alber Elbaz and Roksanda Ilincic. Alice in Wonderland, eat your heart out.

Cathy St Germans, organiser of Port Eliot, tweeted this photo of some of the dolls arriving for the Doll's Party

I also cannot wait for...

1. Hip Hop karaoke

2. Luella Bartley's fairy tale writing

3. Wild swimming in the estuary

4. Partying under the stars

5. Champagne hurdles at The Rubbish Olympics, with legendary Christopher Biggins as Master of Ceremonies

If all this (and the rest) tickles your fancy, then there are still tickets available.

HEADONISM: GETTING HATTY WITH IT

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

I love a hat. I bought one the other day with cat ears on it. It's by Marie Mercie of Paris bought at Browns Focus (see below). When I first put it on, Mary was like, "errrr...have you lost the plot?" There were sniggers from a couple of 15 year old girls, but soon enough they were asking to try it on. Five minutes later I was clucking for it to come back to me. Wearing it gave me a buzz of fashion excitement I haven't felt for a while. It reminded me that I suit hats and that wearing one can offer a different perspective on life. Every time he sees me Philip Treacy says "Melanie, you have the perfect face for a hat." I bet he says that to everyone, but still :)

Self-portrait in the car with Walter

My hat in black, from Browns

Hats are big news for Fall/Autumn 2011.  Fedoras are everywhere courtesy of Frida Giannini's stellar and mega-influential Gucci show, but "novelty" hats are really taking headgear fashion to a new place.  As such, it was interesting to note that popping up as a last minute addition to the London Fashion Week schedule on Friday evening is Headonism, the BFC initiative curated by Stephen Jones which celebrates the new wave of emerging London milliners.

The hatters invited by Mr. Jones to take part all come from the "novelty" school. They are Charlie Le Mindu, J Smith Esq, Noel Stewart and Piers Atkinson. I put the word novelty in inverted commas because, well hats in themselves are a novelty today aren't they? Not like back-in-the-day when everyone wore hats. Both Coco Chanel and Halston began their careers as milliners; such was the demand for hats for every occasion from the 1910s to the 1960s. If a hat has cat ears, is made of hair (Charlie le Mindu) or a barbie doll, it is a double novelty, but somehow this makes them easier to wear now.  Like "I know I'm wearing a hat, it's a novelty, and because it is such a novelty I'll wear one that has novelty value." It certainly seems to be working for Piers Atkinson.

Piers Atkinson's I Heart Anna hat, part of his Spring/Summer 2012 collection to be showcased this Friday night (16th September) at Headonism, curated by Stephen Jones OBE, at Somerset House

I'm something of  Piers Atkinson fan, and am looking forward to his salon show with a performance by lovely Paloma Faith next Monday evening. I also rather adore this piece from his new collection for SS12. Last season he riffed on the word "Paris." This season it's Anna. Here I leave you for a few lines of his press release, mainly because this is exactly how my brain processed the "Anna" connection... and it made me laugh.

"BUT – which Anna? Fashion’s most famous: Anna Wintour?! Or Atkinson’s muse: Dello Russo? Does the blue hint at Piaggi? Or is it the British Fashion Council’s most international of Annas; Orsini? Could he mean our very own styliste-de-jour, Anna Trevelyan? Or, most likely, is Atkinson celebrating them all?!"

Now I've taken the plunge with my Marie Mercie Paris hat, it is only a matter ot time before the Givenchy hat below comes into my possesion. And the glasses.... I love love love this!

Givenchy backstage FW11, by Catwalking.com

An evening with the milliners, hosted by the BFC and Ascot Racecourse will be held Friday 16th September from 5-7pm, in the Embankment Galleries, with a speech from Stephen Jones OBE.

ELLA DROR AND HER ARMY OF FASHION CREATIVES

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

The newly founded Ella Dror PR held their AW11 press day on Wednesday at the St Martins Lane Hotel, to show off the new collections from their select group of creative clients.

Charlie de Mindu was on hand with a pop-up salon, busy creating his signature hairstyles, and there were an array of inspiring collections on display from young designers such as Craig Lawrence, Sorcha O Raghallaigh and up-coming milliner Piers Atkinson.

Craig Lawrence AW11

 

Sorcha O Raghallaigh SS11 shot for Dazed and Confused

Piers Atkinson AW11 (the lookbook, below, took my breath away) 

The powerhouse team behind this dazzling display are two young people who are making their mark on the fashion world in their own unique way. Allow me to introduce Ella Dror and Ashley Smith.

 

Ella and Ashley shot by Morgan White, for the Piers Atkinson lookbook, produced by Kim Howells

Ella, with her sunshine-yellow hair and unique style, is an instantly recognisable figure. She graduated from London College of Fashion, and began her career at fashion PR agencies, and whilst working as a showroom manager, she met Ash. They quickly formed a close working relationship and a friendship that is clear to see! For the past year, both of them had been working for the fashion project Machine-A (last summer, the Fash Ed and I went to the launch of Craig Lawrence's collection for the unique Soho boutique).

Ella Dror

Having already built up connections with three designers, Ella and Ash decided to go it alone and set up their own agency, Ella Dror PR, just months before Fashion Week in February. In fact, two weeks before LFW was due to kick off they "didn't have an office, or email account, and were working from Starbucks, as well as planning presentations and exhibitions for 6 designers." However, they pulled off said presentations with aplomb and are now devoting themselves to nurturing the careers of their clients.

As Ashley explains, "the reason why we started (Ella Dror PR) is because there's not really anything else out there that properly supports young designers and emerging brands. We both have the right experience in this field and most of our clients are personal friends; so once we made the decision to do it everything came together really quickly."

One of Ella Dror PR's most exciting clients is the creative collective House of Organza, who are a group of designers working within different disciplines, all to a central theme. The collective is formed of Alun Davies, Patternity, Pins London, Atalanta Weller, Fred Butler, Craig Lawrence, Piers Atkinson, Gloved Up, Noki, Judy Blame, Kim Howells and Lyall Hakaraia, all of whom work together to support each other's creative endeavours.

 Work by Yves Klein

This season they have taken inspiration from the idea of the Muse, with fashion figure Mr Roy reacting to the work of artist Yves Klein, providing the designers with their starting point. They are set to launch the work that has been produced on this theme very shortly (Fashion Editor at Large will have the full details, stay tuned.)

It is obvious to all that come into contact with them that Ella and Ashley are full of excitement and passion for the new developments with Ella Dror PR, and that they genuinely care about actively encouraging creativity. They are an inspiration to anyone working in this crazy business!

Images: Catwalking/Chris Moore, Dazed and Confused editorial by photographer Anthony Maule and stylist Katie Shillingford, Ella Dror, Yves Klein