It's been a beautiful, sunny week here in London. Before we hop off for hopefully more of the same (perhaps optimistically), here's our round-up of what's been happening in the world of fashion.
Stefano Pilati is mostly going on holiday in the near future, he said earlier this week (image from www.silverliningopticians.com)
A month after his swift departure from YSL, Stefano Pilati has spoken out about his future plans and career to date. He appeared at La Musee de la Mode et du Textile this week as part of their "Fashion Talks" series. Pilati spoke about his 'dramatic, tragical' start at YSL under Tom Ford. The end of Pilati's tenure was announced just days before the AW12 show. As had earlier been predicted, Hedi Slimane has come back to YSL as his replacement. With no apparent job lined up, it would be understandable if Pilati were reticent about discussing the future, but he had this to say: “I am really happy, which is something very unusual for me in a sense that I never believed that it could have been possible to feel happy, at least under these kinds of circumstances".
Jospeh Altuzarra has collaborated on collection with J.Crew- cannot wait (image from www.forbes.com)
I could barely contain my excitement earlier this week when I spied on Twitter that CFDA/ Vogue Fashion Fund winner Jospeh Altuzarra had collaborated with J.Crew. It seemed like one of those fashion rumours which maybe a little too good to be true. But then I went to the press day of Altuzarra's UK PR who confirmed that it was indeed true. Altuzarra apparently said "So we worked on collaboration which I think will be coming out in a few weeks". Now I just need to find a way to magic myself to the US or pray hard that the pieces will be available to ship to the UK.
A look from Altuzarra AW12 which was inspired by Italian comic Corto Maltese
Claudia Schiffer's Guess ads in the late 80s are some of the most iconic from the time. They sum up the look of the moment pretty accurately. To celebrate the Guess's 30th anniversary, Schiffer has returned to become the face of the brand, recreating the images with a slightly rockier vibe. The campaign has been shot by one of Guess's original ad photographers Elle von Unwerth. Schiffer models looks from the capsule collection which has been produced to celebrate the milestone. Somehow, Claudia hasn't changed too much at all in the 23 years since the original ads.
Claudia Schiffer in a Guess ad from 1989 (image from www.fashionologie.com)
And 23 years later, celebrating 30 years of Guess jeans (www.fashionologie.com)
Another of the 80s SUPERmodels is back on our radar this week. Christy Turlington is on the cover of Tatler's May issue and wears an excellent straw boater and painted on moustache, working a kind of 30s riviera photographer look. We love.
Christy on the Tatler cover (image from www.dailymail.co.uk)
Dora Maar by Pablo Picasso, 1939 (from www.coloradomagazine.blogspot.com)
However, it was announced this week that Gwyneth will be playing Dora in a new film about one of Picasso's most famous paintings Guernica. And when you see how Dora looked in real life, the Gwyneth choice makes more sense.
The real Dora Maar (image from www.croatia.org)
Rihanna was the subject of much consternation last week when she explained that she gets more body confident, the more naked she gets. "What do you know?" was the general response. Victoria Beckham has taken RiRi's "What body image planet are you on?" crown by claiming that when she tests out her designs, she says "I’m going to put it on. I stand for the general public here". As if to rub salt into the wound further, the feature in Harper's Bazaar is accompanied by a series of shots of VB in 50s style swimwear. We sort of love that she still thinks she can pull herself off as a member of the general public. See you in Sainsburys Victoria!
VB just hanging out, being a member of the general public (images from www.dailymail.co.uk)
Who knows how she did it, but Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman has written her first novel entitled Can We Still Be Friends? It will be released on April 12th and was launched this week with a party at Sothebys. The Vogue website published Shulman's great account of how she found time to write and what the book is about. I can't wait to read it.
Alex Shulman with Samantha Cameron at the book launch on Wednesday night (image from www.vogue.com)
A slightly mysterious announcement this week from H&M who say they will be launching 'a completely new store chain' next year. The new chain will apparently will modelled on Cos which is also owned by the Hennes group. Karl-Johan Persson, H&M's CEO told WWD 'Like COS, which today is very successful with good profitability, the new chain of stores will be independent and complement the other offerings from the group'. We look forward to seeing what they come up with.
Finally, video of the week goes to ASOS who have created this short film as part of their collaboration with designer of super chic sportswear, Ebru Ercon on the SS12 REVIVE collection. The video sums up perfectly the 90s rave with a modern sportswear twist which is the ethos of the collection. Given that Ercon used to be Head Designer on Stella McCartney for Adidas, it's not surprising that she's nailed the Summer's sportswear trend. The video was styled by the very cool stylist and blogger, Madeleine Ostile and used the music videos of dance acts like Yazz and Inner City as starting points. The collection isn't available to buy until 23rd April, but you can have a sneek peek here
It's a few weeks now since the end of Paris Fashion Week. Everyone is home and has had a few good nights of sleep. Now, the AW12 press days are upon us (I went to NINE yesterday) and we can see how the catwalk trends are being interpreted by retailers, and also how designers have channeled them into their commercial collections. It's all very fascinating but there can be a lot to take in. There can also be huge chasms between the overriding catwalk trends and what people actually want to wear. I attended a trend talk at the beginning of this week where a massive focus was placed on the fact that AW12 is all about covering up your whole body and wearing black and grey. Well, there may have been a lot of that on the catwalks but shoot me now if that's all I have to look forward to come September.
Will this really be what we're wearing in Autumn? Gucci AW12 (image from cat walking.com)
We posted about EDITD last season. They analyse fashion week data from all angles. One of the best things they do is analyse social media sites , especially Twitter, to find out what fashion editors and internet spectators are really enjoying when they see the shows. Their perspective is that we have to think about how much people actually like what they see, not just how much they see it. This data can then be used by retailers to give them an idea about which trends people are likely to buy once the collections hit the shops. You can read their full reports from each fashion week here but in the mean time, here are EDITD's buzz charts from each city. These show the designers, trends and patterns which people were really taking about...
So, do you agree with the EDITD stats? Are you still massively into vintage references?Will checks be number one on your shopping list for Autumn?
I’ve been pretty involved with the Mary Portas brand at House of Fraser since its inception in February 2011. After all, I am married to the woman and when it comes to all things fashion, I admit, I like to be the one in charge. I’ve cooked up fashion cocktails, imagined fantasy advertising campaigns with Steven Meisel, Susie Bick and Christy Turlington, sat through dozens of meetings with the grown-up women the collection is aimed at, and its designer and buyers, listening to their needs and desires, and experienced a fast-track learning curve on how to get products from idea to reality to shop-floor in a matter of months.
There have been times when the sheer logistics of getting Product A shipped to destination B and on the shop floor by Time X at Price Y has boggled my mind, and blank faced confusion when the retail lingo used has gone over my head. Now though, I get it, and in gaining this understanding I’ve realised I don’t actually need to get it – not intimately. I’m not doing an A-Level in logistics and options. My thing is the ideas, the fashion, the very important fashion pieces, the style essentials and the seasonal trends they are representing. Basically, the fun stuff.
Every week, Bethan and I sit down with the super stylish and knowledgable House of Fraser team- Jakki, the designer and Alex and Jennifer, the buyers. We all discuss what we're thinking and look at colours, sketches and samples. There's always plenty of debate and I love that we all come at it from a different angle but eventually we get to what you see in these lookbook images- all with Mary's golden seal of approval of course!
What I’ve learned is that seasonal fashion trends can be spun to any age group; the same trend a 20 something will love, will also be adored by the 40 something woman, she’ll just wear it in another way, and don’t fricking well tell her otherwise.
Mary’s collection is shamelessly about clothes most women can wear for her daily and social life. It combines boldness, drama, sexiness, fun, and no-nonsense chic, but more than anything the range is figure flattering. We want a woman to be able to go to the shop and be dressed by a stylist and walk out dressed head to toe in a new outfit feeling a million bucks for less that £300 quid. We don’t want her to feel crappy – then we would have failed. That’s all really.
For Spring, which you are seeing unfurl in some of our lush lookbook images and which is really happening outside both weather-wise and in the shops, we built on the success of the last collection, taking the things that really worked and improving them by offering more ways to play with it. OK, so Steven Meisel and Christy were busy that day, but still.
I’ve made sure most of the key trends are incorporated, but not in an in-your-face way. We have neon, florals, digital prints, rich colour, pastels, tapered leg jeans, high waist jeans, silky pyjama style trousers, amazing print dresses and trousers and nipped and cropped jackets. Not forgetting the perfect leather jacket and cool sporty tanks. You know the stuff most of us wear day in and day out.
What do you think of it? I’ll sign off now as I’ve written this on the train to Manchester where Mary’s largest store to date is opening at House of Fraser tonight with a fancy schmancy party. I’m looking forward to meeting people I’ve been communing with on Twitter for ages.
We've linked to most of the products currently available- look out for the rest in the coming weeks and months at the Mary/ House of Fraser website
We probably don't need to tell you that if you're after cool, modern clothes which nod to the season's trends without being carbon copies of catwalk looks then Whistles is the place to head. But Whistles is on our minds this week, mostly due to a new little friend we've acquired courtesy of the PR team.
Meet our Whistles virtual pet! The little mouse has been distracting me all afternoon, as it demands to be fed, danced and played with. I think I've got more into my Whistles pet than I did my tamagotchi, back 1990-something. Uh oh. Anyway, the little mouse's real purpose in life is to invite us to the Whistles press day which is happening this Thursday. We can't wait to see what Jane Shepherdson and the team have come up with for Autumn/Winter. In the meantime, here's our pick of the Top Ten from what's in store now...
1. and 2. The Wisteria print pyjamas (there's also a tee which goes with this set). These are arguably the stars of Whistles offering this season. The trousers are pretty much sold out at the moment, although there are some available in department stores and hidden away in some Whistles stores. Luckily, the FashEd ordered hers back in October!
3. Pink striped trousers. A little bit more tailored than a pj plus they combine pastels and brights. A trouser with a side stripe is key for Spring/ Summer but will last well beyond that as well.
4. Last Summer, Whistles' Carrie was THE skirt to have. Although, they've continued that style in various new prints and colours, the Lottie is just as lovely, especially in this very chic pale blue.
5. This is pretty much a genius bag. Why? Because it will look fab all summer and carry all the sunglasses and buckets and spades you require. Then, come Autumn, you'll discover that it is also the perfect shade of winter turquoise (which will be key, trust us) and you can carry on using it right through to next year.
7. Whistles have invested heavily in this hot pink colour for Spring/Summer and this dress is a standout. It'll get you through many a summer wedding. The fashion edge comes from that the looser, cropped top part.
8. Sport is a massive trend for SS12, as I'm sure you know already. I love that this sweatshirt could be styled up with silky joggers or just slung over denim cut-offs at weekends.
9. Fit and flare is here to stay. This dress comes in lots of colours but I like the versatility of the navy. I'm a bit obsessed with the way the waffle cotton this dress is made from feels too.
10. This white guipure top is so SS12 it hurts- the cute Peter Pan collar, chunky lace and scalloped edges. It'll also go with just about anything too.
This post has been a long time coming. Ever since the autumn, Sam Leutton and Jenny Postle have been regular visitors to FEAL HQ, coming to show us how they were progressing with their AW12 collection and getting advice from the FashEd who always loves to see what new designers are up to. We've seen the evolution of their ideas from experiments with their quite astounding textiles techniques, into the formation of the collection which was shown at Vauxhall Fashion Scout on the very last evening of London Fashion Week.
A FEAL favourite- the reverse appliqué jacket
The Leutton Postle studio where knitters are constantly hard at work
I'm only in my second season working in fashion, so it's been great to see young designers at every stage from initial thoughts and experiments to showcasing the finished collection in the VFS showroom in Paris. They also helped me out with a talk I recently did about knitting, and how young designers like themselves are pushing the thinking about what can be done with what is sometimes seen as a 'traditional' technique. In fact, that's what Sam and Jenny are all about- they use crafts and look at making them new and right for now. They are sort of the antithesis to the girls who hand knit vintage 1950s patterns of cutesie little jumpers and cardigans.
Up close: the reverse appliqué technique which runs through Sam and Jenny's work.
Another of the techniques used by Leutton Postle: E wrapping
For AW12, a face motif became the anchor of the collection. There were 3D knits, with chunky plaits popping out and cascading towards the floor, as well as more abstract reverse appliqué dresses and trousers. On close inspection, you see the faces peeping out at you, and it's a little bit haunting and very clever. For the show, some of the models even wore face masks, just to hammer home the strong theme. On a visit to their studio a month before the show, Sam and Jenny showed me the mood boards they were working with. There were images of tribal crafts and patterns, face painting as well as colour palettes and scraps of hand knitting experiments. Among their 'inspirational women' were Princess Diana and Camilla Batmanghelidijh. Camilla would look amazing in a piece of Leutton Postle.
Mood boards in the Leutton Postle studio
Shoes by Chris Delapena for AW12
The face masks used in the show, which was styled by Ellie Brown (image from www.retoxmagazine.com)
The absolute best thing about what Leutton Postle is the creative potential of their pieces, which makes them perfect for visually stunning editorials. If we were doing shoots, we'd be calling in Leutton Postle knits, trousers and dresses all the time. As the images below show, the tufts of wool, beautiful fabric combinations and off beat decoration (we loved that they combined gold tinsel and pom pom yarn in their AW12 knits) photograph fabulously. We're pretty sure that all the coolest, most creative women in London will be wearing Leutton Postle before too long.
This image and above from Idol magazine SS12
Leutton Postle in Phoenix, March 2012
Leutton Postle in Bstore magazine
Browns obviously think the duo are onto something too because they've bought pieces from Leutton Postle ever since Jenny's graduation collection from the Central Saint Martin's MA course a year ago. If you're not sure about going all sugar sweet, girly pastel for SS12 then Sam and Jenny's super bright, hand crafted pieces could be a just the cool alternative you've been looking for...
