THE WEEK IN FASHION: 16th-20th JANUARY

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Happy Almost-Weekend...

This week we start you off with a delightful preview of the award winning documentary about Bill Cunningham the original street style photographer; the film has its British premier on February the first. Bill is a living legend.

"Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life."

 Bill Cunningham

Chanel is off to Japan! Lagerfeld and his team have planned three events as a special treat for their Easternmost fans. In March, there will a winter couture show, a pop-up shop and an exhibition entitled 'The Little Black Jacket'. The exhibition, on for seven weeks, coincides with a book of the same name which Lagerfeld is working on with Carine Roitfeld, showing celebrities and other brand favourites, in their Chanel jackets.

Chanel waves the flag for Japan

More bumper business news from across the retail spectrum this week as Burberry, ASOS and Primark all posted recession defying results. At Burberry, there was a 22% increase in sales with particular strength, unsurprisingly, across Asia. It's the brand's stalwart pieces which are performing best- coats and luggage. While it is well-acknowledged that luxury labels aren't suffering as much as might be expected from the global downturn, word on the high street has been somewhat bleaker; Peacocks was the latest store to go into administration this week. However, Primark and ASOS are proof that the fittest survive. Primark announced a 16% leap in profits for the last quarter while ASOS saw an 18% increase in its share price after profits rose 10%, thanks in the most part to its global reach.

Cara Delevingne and Eddie Redmayne in their trench macs for the SS12 campaign (image from fashiongonerogue.com)

 After much wrangling amongst the organisers of the big four fashion weeks, the clash of dates which looked set to overshadow the SS13 season has been resolved. For attendees, this means that fashion month will kick off earlier than usual with the New York shows beginning on September 6th. Steven Kol, CEO at the CFDA rightfully pointed out that 'there's no value for the cities to compete'. So, there will be no choosing between Katrantzou and Gucci, or Pilotto and Versace for those who skip to all four events.

Piero Tosi with director Luchino Visconti and Dirk Bogarde on the set of Death in Venice in 1971 (image from vogue.it)

 Louis Vuitton has teamed up  with Rome's Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Italian National Film School) to bring the worlds of fashion and film closer together. Over three years, there will be a number of projects to support Italian film and young filmmakers, such as workshops and scholarships. One of the first schemes to get underway will be a costume workshop focusing on 17th century design, with Italian costume designer Piero Tosi acting as a key participant. Like Tods, which is in the process of taking on responsibility to restore the Colosseum, Vuitton has taken it upon itself to contribute private money to protect another integral part of Italian culture, at a time when the public purse cannot stretch to such limits.

Hatmaking at the film school (imae from WWD.com)

On January 24th, a Prada museum will pop-up in Paris for 24 hours. Conceived by Francesco Vezzoli and the AMO Think Tank it could have the potential to create a bit of a 'moment' as its brings together films and sculptures which represent iconic women including the likes of Lady Gaga. The event will kick off with an exclusive dinner and club night before opening up to the public, who will now doubt rock up early to see the invited guests tumbling out. The three museum spaces, historic, contemporary and forgotten, will provide the backdrop for Prada and Vezzoli's message about femininity now. It may sound a bit obscure, but anything with the Mrs Prada stamp on has got to be fab. Talking of Miuccia, she got herself in hot water this week when she appeared to criticise the Met's new exhibit which will compare her with Elsa Schiaparelli. She told WWD:

“It’s too formal; they are focused on similarities, comparing feather with feather, ethnic with ethnic, but they are not taking into consideration that we are talking about two different eras, and that [Schiaparelli and I] are total opposite,” said the designer before her show on Sunday. “I told them, but they don’t care,” she said with a shrug, resigned rather than upset.

A statement was later released by Prada which claimed her comments were 'taken out of context' and that she was  'honored and proud to be taking part in the exhibition'.

Miuccia Prada on the cover of iD in April 2009, designed by Francesco Vezzoli (image from designscene.net)

After last week's quick dip into the sartorial goings-on in the US Presidential election, FEAL's world news radar turns to the Olympics  where a row has broken out among the boxing community. The point of contention is whether female contenders should wear shorts or skirts. And it's not just a question of what is the best performing item, it does actually come down to the 'fashion' element. Skirts were first worn so that spectators could differentiate between the boy and girl boxers. Polish and Romanian coaches say that skirts should be worn because they create 'a more womanly impression' and are 'more elegant'. We're not sure that elegance is the first priority of any sportsperson looking to win a title so we're supporting  Elizabeth Plank's petition for boxers to able to choose, just like every other girl can!

The Menswear season is in full-swing, moving to Paris yesterday after Milan earlier in the week. At Louis Vuitton, Kim Jones fused Japanese and Parisian influences; the work of illustrator Antonio Lopez was cited by the designer  as a starting point. Further along, the Okujun silk spinning was used to create an ivory suit. The technique is UNESCO protected, and only 20cm of yarn can be produced in one day. The Vuitton show also mirrored a wider trend which began in womenswear to use more Asian models on catwalks.

One of the Asian models who walked at Vuitton (image from WWD.com)

Love this high shine parka/anorak, a nod to Japan on the belt (image from WWD.com)

 Lanvin is launching its first eyewear collection and has made a video to underline the artisan approach it's taken to the range. Along with De Rigo, Lanvin has applied the same levels of artistry to the glasses as it would to its clothes. While the video may not have the catchiness of the dance of late 2011, it serves to remind us of the level of craft which sets designers like Lanvin apart. The question on everyone's lips, which ones has Alber ordered?

THE WEEK IN FASHION 20TH-24TH JUNE

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

This week in fashion has been all about making up, breaking up, love and hate. It's been emotional.  Here's our look at the goings on from the fashion playground over the last 5 days...

 Galliano's last couture collection for Christian Dior. There will probably never be anything like this ever again.

1) The big one. John Galliano's trial took place on Wednesday at the Paris magistrates court. Just in case you were under a rock/in rehab/on the moon when the scandal broke, Galliano is being sued on moral grounds for an alleged anti-semitic, racist, and generally offensive rant directed towards three people in a Paris cafe earlier this year. He also subsequently lost his job at both Dior and his own label. It's a really sorry state of affairs, which has seen a former shining light of the industry reduced to a shadow of his normal gregarious self; hidden away in a rehabilitation program since the alleged attack, his future remaining highly uncertain and bleak.

He appeared in court to explain his behaviour (apparently a consequence of problems with drink, drugs and stress) and the result of the trial will be announced in September. This is undoubtedly a very dark moment for both the designer and the industry, and the case should be given the coverage it deserves - however is the slew of commentary about the outfit he wore for his court appearance really necessary? With that in mind, I won't be posting a picture. If you do crave a blow by blow account, the Telegraph have it covered in their live blog.

 

Tania Fares, Bella Freud and Lulu Kennedy, all in Lulu &Co

2) In a much friendlier turn of events, this week Lulu Kennedy hosted a lunch to celebrate the launch of the latest Lulu and Co collection. According to a certain Fashion editor at Large who happened to be in attendance, "the whole of London" turned out for the fashion feast, proving that there is a lot of love for Lulu. The new collection will be in stores from August.
 
3) Back to the business of bitching, and Azzedine Alaia has exploded with the outburst to end all outbursts, and the subjects of his disapproval are one Karl Lagerfeld and one Anna Wintour.

 Grace Jones and Azzadine Alaia. Who do you reckon is scarier? Read on to find out...

Lucky it was no-one important, eh? According to Alaia, Karl "has never touched a pair of scissors in his life", and "no-one will remember" Anna Wintour. Despite her scary rep, Alaia claims that when the Editor-in-chief of US Vogue sees him, "she is the scared one." Somehow, we're not surprised! 

4) As far as fashion relationships go, this week has been more on and off than Made in Chelsea's Caggie and Spencer (oh! the drama!). After joining in the whoops and hollers that followed the announcement of a Versace and H&M collaboration, the industry was subdued by the news that Jil Sander will no longer be designing for Uniqlo, and the next J+ collection will be the last. There were audible sobs emitting from fashion editor's offices across the city. If you are a fan of the Sander/Uniqlo collab, you better start preparing for the last offering now; it will no doubt be elbows at dawn when it hits stores.

Jil Sander: no longer + Uniqlo

5) Florence Welch 'got the love' from Nylon magazine (sorry, that was terrible) when she hosted a party at the Mondrian Hotel in New York, to celebrate their music issue, of which she is the cover star. Florence can do no wrong in my eyes; she is consistently beautiful, inspiring and unique. Her choice of this quirky Anna Sui dress for the party has divided opinion, but the people who don't like it are, well, wrong.

Flo: it's good to see you back. New music soon please!

6) Fashion doesn't get much more friendly than bestest buds Leith Clark (Ed of Lula) and Kirsten Dunst, who are rarely seen at events without each other, and have obviously been having a bit of a girly week out and about in London town. These two are so close, they are even co-ordinating outfits like schoolgirl best friends do - but you know what? They are so cool, they can get away with it.

 Leith and Kirsten looking demure yet achingly stylish at Wimbledon  (nice sunnies, Ms Clark!) ...

...and just a little bit naughtier as they skip out of The Box in matching trenchcoats. Kirsten&Leith4Eva!

7) And finally, a little bit of eye candy to put a spring in your step this sunny Friday afternoon. The SS12 Menswear shows have been happening over the past week and yesterday's offerings from Paris were causing ripples all the way over this side of the Channel. Friend of the Fash Ed, Kim Jones, sent his debut Louis Vuitton collection down the catwalk to rave reviews, with critics hailing his arrival as the best thing to happen to the label since Marc Jacobs.

 Louis Vuitton SS12

However, before Kim Jones took Paris by storm, one other designer had got everyone hot and bothered. Twitter exploded, pictures were being sent round the world, journos who normally pay no attention to the menswear collections were suddenly clicking onto Style.com like there was no tomorrow.

Five words: Nicola Formichetti, Mugler, ARMOUR BOY.

Mugler SS12

Images: Splash, Getty, AFP, Style.com