Animal

It's Animal Week on Fashion156, and there are plenty of designers who have taken inspiration from the  animal kingdom, if not every designer. There's Cavalli, Burberry, Proenza and Gucci, to name but a few; but inn my opinion, there is only one designer, and one collection in particular that has really caught the essence of the animal.

Alexander McQueen S/S 10 - Plato's Atlantis

This is the synopsis from alexandermcqueen.com, and it couldn't be a truer representation of the collection.

'WHEN CHARLES DARWIN WROTE THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES, NO ONE COULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE ICE CAP WOULD MELT, THAT THE WATERS WOULD RISE AND THAT LIFE ON EARTH WOULD HAVE TO EVOLVE IN ORDER TO LIVE BENEATH THE SEA ONCE MORE OR PERISH. WE CAME FROM WATER AND NOW, WITH THE HELP OF STEM CELL TECHNOLOGY AND CLONING, WE MUST GO BACK TO IT TO SURVIVE.'

I don't want to write much about this collection, it doesn't need my words. If you are fashion follower, you will know the importance of this show, and the symbolism it held for the spectators and the design house itself. Every detail was looked at in the finest form; reptile skin scaling, butterfly wing feathering, water waves and forest floor debris, all moulded onto the body, showing McQueen's interpretation of how we'd look when we go back to water.

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Now, I have one last animal related image to show you...

'Pastel Cats' by Tim Walker

Body Restriction

 While browsing through the A/W 13 trends on Fashion156, I came across so much that I had forgotten about since we laid eyes on the fashion weeks in February. They offer a beautiful, concise round-up of all the trends, and I found myself  getting lost in further and further trend pages, and completely losing track of time (in the best way obviously)! On reflection, I decided I wanted to showcase my favourite trends that we have to look forward to in the season ahead. Afterall, England isn’t getting a Summer, and Winter is way more my kind of season. Let me hear you say, ‘layering’!

A/W 13 saw a lot of models being sent down the runway in looks that encased their body in layers of fabric of all kinds, caging the body’s movement, keeping it warm for the winter months.

Alexander McQueen took this trend the furthest, sending their girls down the runway in face cages, heavily cinched waists and armour-like clothing. Very reminiscent of Viktor & Rolf’s A/W 06 collection, McQueen adds pearls, lace and brocade to their ‘restricted’ looks.

The next take on this trend, was wrapping the shoulders in shawls and turtle necks, keeping the chill out and using every kind of luxury, cosy material. This avenue gave a more elegant air to most of the collections, meaning it appealed to a wider audience; but, we all know the house of McQueen aren’t seeking to do that, they want separation in the form of art, and it is always a spectacle like no other.

Encasement is the way to dress for the Autumn/Winter season, and the designer’s that have taken this on, have done it in a way that speaks their label’s name. Céline’s show was the most talked about, besides Alexander Wang’s debut at Balenciaga, of course. Decking their models out in oversized coats, shawls and dresses made of the simplest, but most beautiful neutral fabrics, they incorporated a weird one for us all; launderette bag print. Yes. High necks, swathed shoulders and coats tied at the waist wrapped the Céline girls up warm and stylish. Why have anything less?

image courtesy of: www.fashion156.com

From Left to Right (Top row): Céline, Stella McCartney, Marni, Akris, Gareth Pugh

From Left to Right (Bottom row): Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gautier, Pedro Lourenço

Topman Design A/W 12

Sorry for the lack of posts, this is due to the lack of time for me to even breathe in my life, let alone sit down and write! I have had an insane fortnight what with being at Acne during LFW and then being back at university and catching up the rest of my life! So I am kind of back to normal, although I am in the middle of a crazy amount of university work amongst other things. I did take time to attend the Topman show on Wednesday as part of LFW's Menswear Day, and I am very very glad I did. The collection was perfect mens' tailoring on every level! The mixture of textures and shapes in various shades of grey and black, were teamed with shiny shoes and slicked back hair to create a look that would make any boyfriend look like a 50s gentleman.

Here are some of the photos I took at the show, enjoy!

ACNE A/W 12

I have spent the past week working for Acne for London Fashion Week, and while the week was a great eye opener into the proper runnings of a design house, I couldn't be more glad that the show is over! Here are a few snaps from the show yesterday, that was a huge success but also a massaive stress (as always, otherwise it woudln't be fashion)! There were models crying, lost clothes, many runs down to hair & make up and too many flights of stairs to count, but it was all worth it in the end! 

I also met the lovely Ivania from Love Aesthetics who looked stunning and always and was having a great time backstage at the party!

All in all a great week, but I am rather feeling the exhaustion now! Time to head back to doing univeristy assignments.....

LFW - KTZ S/S 12

 KTZ S/S 12

As I said in my previous post, the KTZ was the most anticiapated of the shows on my list and by far the best. After Josh and I took our seats on the front row and the catwalk began, it was a whirlwind from the start. The Chemical Brothers - It Began In Afrika, boomed out from the speakers as the first model appeared as a silhouette under the lightning in the BFC showspace. 

The collection was unreal! Coined as 'Massai Punk' it was an ecclectic mix of leather, bondage, print and cut-out shoes to rival Balenciaga and Versace's attempts. The models stormed down the runway to the beat of the heavy bass tunes with attitude that could have stabbed someone. The perfectly stacked Massai jewellery combined with the leather harnesses and shows made a great combination that ccan be easily trasnferred to everyday life. The male models wore leather pleated skirts and knee-length shorts with cut-out boots. The women wore printed mini dresses and sky-high heels, with one look completely stealing the show. One of the models; a striking black girl came onto the catwalk wearing very little (see photo 5) in the way of leather bondage, with just a sheer cape, heels and sunglasses to accompany it.

The show ended all too quickly and the models came out for their last run and to a massive applause. Once the models had returned and the lights went up, it was a flurry of talking about what had just been witnessed and we met some dear friends with whom we worked with at Forward PR.

Post-show dinner was provided by Nandos near Victoria Station, where we talked about the day's amazing events and how we could wait for LFW in February. The whole week was a crazy, amazing experience that I never thought i'd achieve, and I can't wait to repeat it all again! 

LFW - Menswear Day S/S 12

Great Hall, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

 

MAN S/S 12

Topman S/S 12

James Long S/S 12

Wednesday brought Menswear Day to LFW, and as I wasn't working that day I decided to head down and enjoy as many shows as possible with friends.

First show of the morning was MAN at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The hall that the show took place in was absolutely stunning! The huge windows let in loads of natural light which made taking photographs very easy and the balcony provided a great viewing spot. The show consisted of 3 collections by emerging designers supported by Topman. Although the collections were interesting, I cannot imagine many men wearing the cullotes and Aztec inspired shawls.

The Topman show took place in the same venue, this time with a celebrity presence of trendy TV personalites. I have never particularly been a fan of the clothes present in Topman's stores, but this collection was right up my street. Silk pyjamas, coloured knitwear, loafers and grey and navy blue suits. Perfect.

After a good coffee we headed back to Somerset House to try and catch James Long's show. After a very long wait outside the BFC show space, and thinking we weren't going to get in, we were allowed standing space at the show. The atmosphere inside the BFC show space was always fantastic as the long proportions of the room and lighting lend themselves to mystery and anticipation. The pieces were a mixture of leather, knitwear and metallics that made for an interesting and suprisingly wearable collection. The show was great and standing wasn't bad at all.

Not knowing the location of Oliver Spencer's show, me and Josh decided to sit down for a drink and a chat before the next show. The last show we planned to watch was KTZ at the BFC showspace. The long queue and buzz of people outside the venue proved how anticipated this show was going to be, and we knew it would be great regardless of what direction they went in. KTZ are well known for fusing music with fashion in as many ways as possible, so I was looking forward to seeing what display they put on for the spectators. After what seemed like hours of standing outside and people going in who had tickets, me and Josh almost gave up hope, but, Josh had a trick up his sleeve. A bit of shoving and blagging saw us being whisked to the front row and we couldn't have been smiling any more than we were already. We arranged our cameras and took in the crazy atmosphere for crew members came to take the covering off the runway and the lights dimed. Silence.

Full coverage in my next post :p