ANNA DELLO RUSSO APPRECIATION SOCIETY

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

She was obscure in her career for so long. Not any more. Anna Dello Russo's moment has arrived. And long may she enjoy the fame, fortune - (she is currently inking a perfume deal) - and admiration of both her peers and the world at large.

There is an excellent interview with Anna in this weeks Grazia written by Paula Reed, with a line in it that made me wish for a moment I could give up all other work and just focus solely on my blog.

"I reinvented myself through my blog. Its been slow progress. Through my blog I find I can express myself better than I was ever able to on a magazine. The Internet has freed me."

I like that. Though magazine work is as essential to me as it is to Anna, having a personal blog is, as Anna says below to models.com (via The Cut) about "my own expression."

She goes onto say, "Of course I love Japanese Vogue, but in any case, I was thinking to express myself. I thought, I should really jump in this world and have a voice to really express myself. With magazines, you don’t really express yourself; you express a corporate vision, you express the vision of Condé Nast. It’s not really your point of view. You can’t say in the magazine what you really like, it’s all a very political vision. So I thought, maybe I should spend some time and energy to finally have my little voice, and now it’s happening."

Viva ADR! Buy the new edition of TEN Magazine, with Anna on the cover. It came out yesterday. They're having a party tonight, and ADR is to be the guest of honour.

ISTANCOOL & DAPHNE - TOTALLY INSPIRATIONAL

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

So at the weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to Istancool (sponsored by Turkish Airlines, though I flew BA and they LOST MY LUGGAGE). It was a brilliant arts festival arranged by Liberatum Global, an organisation headed up by an inspiring 26-year-old Indian man by the name of Pablo Ganguli. I have posted this snap taken by the chic be-turbanned jeweller Waris (House of Waris) because it was taken an hour after I was reunited with all my belongings, among which nestled this winner of a dress by Roberto Cavalli which I couldn't wait to slip into after three days wearing the same T-shirt and Houlihan's. It's the best snap taken of me for ages, and makes me smile everytime I look at it.  I am standing at the gates of the Topkapi Palace on my way into an amazing dinner hosted by Jefferson Hack and AnOther Magazine. See their reports of the event here. It was an unforgettable night. Look out for more about Istancool in next weeks Grazia.

During day two of the event Daphne Guinness (now ensconced at Haute Couture goings on in Paris from where I write) dropped in with her new beau, a handsome philosopher, to the Istanbul Modern contemporary art museum. Here she is on the top floor of the museum having a moment while she overlooks the Bosphorus towards Suntanahmet, the historical centre of Istanbul. She was feeling wistful and told me she had not been to the city since 1989. Following this she sat in discussion with Philip Treacy to talk about their working relationship; she being an avid consumer of his incredible hats. This ine, Philip told me was "inspired by a wimple, and  is made from plasticised net." It all became very emotional when Philip broke down in tears when talking about their much loved and missed friend Isabella Blow. During his teary moment his partner Stephan reached over to whsiper in my ear that Istanbul had been Issy's favourite city.  Of course we all now know that Daphne Guinness is now the custodian of Isabella's entire collectiojn of fashion. Something she spoke about at length in the FT this weekend. Read it for yourself. It will give you a glimpse of the utter one-of-a-kind-ness of this extraordinary woman.

Like I said I'm in a very hot and steamy Paris right now. Off to see Givenchy Haute Couture in an hour. Then I meet BryanBoy for the first time, and buy him tea and cake. Then CHANEL!

FASHION EDITOR AT LARGE BACK ON THE JOB

Posted by the Fashion Editor at Large

I'm back! Trust the Fashion Junior at Large kept you entertained and informed. It was all hands on deck at Grazia for London Fashion Week. My dear editor-in-chief Jane Bruton told me Grazia has the biggest fashion team of any magazine in Britain now, and we do!

Check out my top ten LFW moments in next weeks issue, and head to Grazia Daily to see me play the intrepid TV reporter chatting to the (usually pale and shaking) designers as they recover from their shows. Also look here for my reviews for The Daily, the brilliant daily fashion newspaper produced during the catwalk shows.

Coming up:
1. How Burberry is getting fashionistas all a quiver with their three day straight from the catwalk pre-order event
2. Why Meadham Kirchoff was my show of the week (despite half the audience "not getting it" and children crying when they first saw the models)
3. My top five shows
4. My top five trends
5. The new colours to get used to
6. Why Nicholas Kirkwood is superman and more!

Picture credit: Fashion Editor at Large of Erdem finale