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| October 2007 »
Dolce and Gabbana took modern art as their inspiration, daubing paint directly onto their designs. It could have looked like a load of Jackson Polloks but instead the effect was one of beautiful, whitewashed serenity. Key shapes like bell-bottoms and the brand’s signature corset dress (this time reinvented with a full skirt) came out in colours as pale as a gallery wall. Shapes were looser and less body-conscious than in previous collections as the designers turned to subtle transparency for impact. One of the best outfits was a long tailored jacket in organza, which was layered like mille-feuille and worn over a transparent dress. The finale was a delight. A cocktail dress made of scrunched, paint daubed fabric was followed by a ballgown of similar designs then another even bigger dress and finally a whopper. These dresses were so huge that the models couldn’t pass each other on the runway, yet they were so light they bounced. This lightness shot through the whole collection and made for a very contemporary fashion statement.
Prada
The prevailing mood of the season so far, is for soft, feminine clothes in light airy fabrics. Pretty, flounced dresses and bell bottoms (again) have emerged as the key pieces. So far so unchallenging - until you experience the Prada version of the look. Miuccia Prada always stirs things up and her collection was like a fairytale gone wrong. Prada’s sinister take of pretty included intricate, Beardsley-esque prints of naked nymphs, which appeared on dresses. If you looked closely you could see that some had their legs tied together or were being kissed by beastly shadowy figures. This twisted prettiness continued with feminine, semi-sheer dresses whose covered buttons slid away from the centre line as if the frock were in meltdown. This collection was not about straight lines. Necklines were organic and looped over the décolleté with the same kind of curvy logic a river uses to find the sea. Even the uniformity of graphic check prints, which appeared on midi dresses and bell bottoms was distorted and warped. It was a brilliantly disquieting collection.
The question of taste is never far from the mind at a Bottega Veneta show. The label has remade modern luxury in its own neutral toned image these past few years. Subtlety, understatement and hand crafted detailing are the cornerstones of the brand, which caters to the super rich. Who else but the privacy obsessed billionaire class would want a belted calf length shirt dress in a colour so imperceptible that you cold argue for hours over whether it was pink or putty. Who but the security conscious, kidnap shy moneyed elite would pay £4000 for a simple sun dress because it is hand pleated. Bottega doesn’t do shouty, flashy excess. It does hush-hush excess. It is almost imperceptible (unless you know what to look for) and is therefore far more outrageous than a fur bikini or a gilded evening dress. This collection was an exercise in all that. The apparently simple shirt-waisters, supple safari tailoring and elegant ruched evening gowns gave the impression of a label that doesn’t have to try too hard. And if the show was a little underwhelming, then perhaps that’s the point. For Bottega Veneta teaches that modern luxury should be a little bit boring and hard to read, because if it’s not, it’s just expensive tat.
After a couple of dowdy collections in a row, it was about time Missoni attempted something more youthful. Certainly the abbreviated hemlines, strapless mini dresses and tailored shorts were the kind of things that only the young could wear. The question is will they want to? The muted colours (mid-gray, sludgy yellow, moss green) looked downbeat not fresh. Things livened up when dresses and skirts came heavily embellished with gold embroidery and semi-precious stones (in homage to Gustav Klimt) but this intense detailing went against the season's prevailing trend for lightness and fluidity. In that respect, a section of maxi dresses which hinted at the Marie Helvin exotic, disco diva look fared better, but all in all it looked like a label trying to be young and not quite succeeding.
Get a hat to get ahead - everyones wearing one from J.lo working her wide brim floppy hat on her recent trip to London or Gwen sporting the rasta beenie in her new video.
Gone are the days when you had to spend a fortune on a hat. These days its easy as stepping into your local high street store and grabbing one on the cheap.
Here are 7 reasons why hats are good:
1. Reviving a tired outfit
2. Adding an edge to your look
3. Hiding dirty/bad hair
4. An alternative to sun-glasses
5. Help frame your face
6. You dont need a brolly
7.To avoid people you dont want to see
I'm wearing...
(1) Doing the j.Lo -floppy hat £25 from www.topshop.com
(2) Doing the gewn beenie £12 from www.missslefridge.com
(3) Doing the kate trilby £25 from www.topshop.com
The hottest beauty trend of the week? Brunette locks. Agyness Deyn (the model who's becoming something of a colour chamelion) went chocolate brown for the spring/summer Burberry Prorsum show while Sarah Jessica Parker was spotted on the set of the new Sex and the City movie with a full head of dark brown hair. Of course you could say they're following Misha Barton's lead who swapped her beachy highlights for an all over rich chestnut shade several weeks back.
If you're so fashion forward that you can't hold out for a salon dye job here's what you need to get and keep radiant brown hair at home:
A good home hair dye - try Naturtint in 5N for a Misha-esque glossy chestnut without overloading on amonia or for longer-lasting grey coverage go for L'Oreal Excellence in Natural Brown or L'Oreal Preference in Palma.
Colour guarding shampoo - dark hair naturally looks shinier but you can't beat John Frieda Brilliant Brunette for keeping brown it extra specially glossy.
Shine booster - dark hair naturally looks shiner than blonde but for an extra specially glossy finish apply Daniel Galvin Junior's Colour Gloss after conditioning.
Agyness Deyn backstage at Burberry Prorsum - for the full show see www.style.com
 www.bunnyhug.co.uk is a brilliant new fashion website and one that I use a lot at Style. Founded in 2006 by Natalie Jameson and Matt Young, their quest is to offer new cherry picked product by designers not readily available to the British style enthusiasts. With designers such as Alice McCall, CCSkye, Karen Zambos and an extensive collection from Kenneth J Lane, Bunnyhug ensure that the coolest pieces from Australia and LA hit the UK...bring it on!!!! The double breasted coat, £350 is by Alice McCall and is available in sizes 8-14 at www.bunnyhug.co.uk
by Sara Hassan
It was obviously only a matter of time until scores of Balenciaga-esque blazers hit the high street this autumn - so good is the jacket, we simply all must have one. But the jury's still out on who's done it best... Peacocks' version isn't to be sniffed at - but check this one new online at topshop today - not half bad we say...
 Wednesday night heralded the official opening of Boodles, the fine jewellers on Bond Street. The shop took on a village fete theme and was adorned with lashings of pink and grey bunting, giant size candy cane twists, lollipop tables and human sized rosettes decorating the windows. It was a glittering affair and guests included Mischa Barton (seen in the snap flirting with a dashing soldier), Jasmine Guinness, Freddie Windsor and Holly Branson. Take a look at the amazing Boodles jewels on the Boodles website. www.boodles.co.uk
By Sara Hassan
Picture by Tim Griffiths
How does Beth Ditto get even more fabulous? She morphs into Dolly Parton. We reckon Ditto does Dolly is our favourite gobby girl's best cover yet... Five other great Beth Ditto covers from YouTube:
1. Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams (with Mika)
2. Radiohead: Creep (with Amanda Palmer from Dresden Dolls)
3. Amy Winehouse: Rehab
4. Aliyah: Are you that somebody
5. Heaven 17: Temptation (with Jarvis Cocker)
(Dolly via Perez Hilton)
 Accessorizing is the key this season, and costume jewellery is as popular as ever. Super Stylin's favourite, Mawi have just the answer for dressing up a little black dress with this Art Deco inspired necklace. The rest of the collection has lots of tribal designs mixed with military, punk and royal trends. Totally ecclectic and thoroughly cool....we want it all! This piece is £230 and available at Browns Focus.
Check out the rest of the collection at www.mawi.co.uk
First there were military inspired coats, cinched with gold belts. Next there were volume dresses, draped and gathered about the body. Then came twenties drop-waist flapper dresses. The Sportmax collection was all over the place. In the end it was best to stop trying to find a link between these disparate pieces and just look at each outfit individually. There were some great pieces - this is still a great brand for coats - but no strong over all message from the show.
Coming soon! Or not that soon, in the case of London...
(Picture from Richard Gin)
From a little birdie back page at Prince's final show on Friday: "Imagine this: it was Matthew Williamson, Amy Winehouse, Faye Dunaway, Prince and Naomi Campbell all sitting back stage. There was total silence - no one knew what to say to each other. Well they wouldn't, would they? Amy was just jittering, Matthew sat next to Prince, leaned over and touched him to say "Thank you for playing my show", and Prince jumped back - "Don't touch me!"" The weirdness doesn't end there. As hundreds of Prince fans and VIPs waited for the after show party to start, (3 hours, they waited), Prince was back stage charging in and out of rooms, hiding behind pillars, playing hide and seek with The Twinz, like a 7 year old boy. He is in fact 49.
Sometimes even committed minimalists like to dress things up a bit. At Jil Sander, which is designed by Raf Simons, there was a lot going on. The show opened with an organide cape, which functioned as a sheer pod and was worn over lean separates. This idea of structured lightness carried through the collection with dressed made from squares of organdie layered like tissue paper and clouds of the stuff obscuring the finale outfits. The fussiness was surprising for a brand that trades on a strict minimalist aesthetic but there were some very clever pieces. Sheer jackets which were cut away from the body but had a fitted inner structure. Simons also showed his fashion intelligence when it came to the issue of proportion. He deftly demonstrated how long wide trousers should be worn – with a form fitting top and a tiny cropped jacket. Colour too was a big issue. Simons used strong sherbet pink and orange neons. It all added up to a collection full of big ideas.
The Milan traffic got the better of me at Burberry. After abandoning the car and sprinting to the venue in Alaia wedges (I can clock up a surprising speed on those things) I had to watch the Buberry Prorsum show from the back near photographers pit. From this distance it looked like a slick reworking of the body-con looks of the eighties. Sex-bot models wore form-fitting mini dresses in ruched chiffon and silk jersey. There was also a vamped up version of the obligatory trench in blue neopre
n with laced up seams. I went for another look in the showroom the next day and up close the workmanship that went into the collection was impressive. These are not a simple, understated clothes. The skin tight dresses were made from intricately twisted and gathered chiffon or jersey. There were skirts, jackets and a dresses fashioned from luscious, strokeable fringes of silk thread that felt as soft as chinchilla - a good alternative to fur for animal lovers. Trenches came in supple, white perforated leather and party dresses were covered in ribbons stitched into rosettes or encrusted with beads. It certainly injected an ambitious level of luxury into the Burberry brand although some of the highly worked pieces felt too heavy for a summer collection.
E-cards rock!
Why?
1. You can be hopelessly disorganised - you need only remember on the day
2. You can be pathetically lazy - you can do it all whilst parked on your posterier
3. They're more environmentally friendly than paper
4. They're free
5. Everyone likes to be remembered
The ones we like:
someecards.com (with birthday cards like, "May you live long enough to shit yourself")
MoMA.org (paintings, photography, sculpture from the likes of Chagall, Ernst, Rodchenko)
jimpix.co.uk (God bless Jim, a graphic designer who runs the site as a hobby and provides a Hallmark antidote with messages such as "off load your excess cash on to these deserving charities...")
Get sending...
When Giorgio Armani hooks onto a silhouette he likes, he makes sure everybody knows about it. The majority of his mainline show focused on one item. It was a re-imagining of the hareem pant, shrunk to a pair of shorts cut just above the knee. Out they came in plain silk and knotted at the knees, or in a floral print and cuffed. There was even an office worthy pair cut like conventional trousers at the top but ruched at the knees. Armani was emphatic. For Spring/Summer 2008 it is all about this fashion emperor’s new shorts. Whilst they worked in some incarnations (the softer and more simple the fabric and more casual the treatment the better the effect) in others they looked forced and awkward. Perhaps the eyes just need time to adjust to this new silhouette. That said, at times, it looked like a brand attempting newness but coming out with novelty instead. The collection was on surer ground with its fringed evening dresses. Shimmering with bugle beads and crystals they had a folksy glamour. Again not a look you expect from Armani but this time it worked.
How to ensure good music at your own party? Get up there and do it yourself, as indeed did Anglo Asian singer-songwriter Bishi this saturday at her warehouse party in Dalston, to launch her album, Nights at the Circus, on Gryphon Records. Oh and it helps it you're good friends with Patrick Wolf.
Veteran drag queen Lavinia Co-op saw to the warm-up, and opened with her turnip twins "double act" (think Rod and Emu puppetry). A quick onstage outfit change showed what a difference a head of hair can make...
Then, with a bit of banging dance music in between acts, Bishi then performed her avant-electro tunes, accompanied by her custom-made half-size sitar, and then, by Mr Wolf himself, whom Bishi recently supported on his 2007 tour.
But Bishi was evidently preaching to the converted, with the likes of No Bra, Matthew Glamorre on the decks, and the club stars of Boombox all whirling dervishly on the dancefloor (ok, Bishi's living room).
"Do you want to have a touch?" I'd just meandered into the gallery space of artsy Soho boutique Beyond the Valley. A young man stood before me, smiling invitingly. We were all alone.
"Err, go on, then," I ventured. One of those easier-to-say-yes-than-no situations. I needn't have worried (if I had). For I was in the hands of SHOWStudio's latest project, The Replenishing Body.
I was being invited to interact (a recurring SHOWStudio theme) with the touchscreen before me, which when activated by touch, would record me in movement and splice me into the existing montage. I thought I was in good company - Lily Cole, Bella Freud, Jodie Harsh and Namalee Bolle (see here) had all been before me.
But I bet none of them ended up with a face like a dog (that's me, dog-face, in the black and gold dress).
But of course there are always those after the quick thrill of fame - in amongst the wiggling toes, the winking eyes and nodding heads were two girls snogging, someone grabbing their boobs and, lowest of lows, a spot being squeezed - all fodder for a comment on society's runaway narcissism. Nick Knight will choose his three favourite video portraits of the series. Stay tuned to SHOWStudio.
The D&G confirmed that Glastonbury is now as powerful a catwalk as any in Milan. Model agents scout there, magazines shoot fashion editorials at the event, whilst celebrities and regular girls alike obsess about their festival looks. Everyone is vying for just the right mix of countercultural cool, rock and roll sex appeal and fashion currency. The D&G collection hand plenty of dream outfits for next year’s Glasto girl. Patchwork denim flares and flounced chiffon maxi dresses, would appeal to trippy festival traditionalists. For more flamboyant types, the gold, fringed jackets and mini shifts will be the pieces to covet. In amongst all this festival finery, D&G also inserted some preppy tailoring. These neat blazers or shorts, worn with over v-neck knits and shirts, looked great in isolation but seemed to be at odds with the message of the show. D&G WAS young and fresh, pretty and up for a party.
Agness Deyn debuted her latest hair statement at Burberry. The model muse of the moment shot to fame with a peroxide crop, then dyed it red for the Giles show in London
and has now gone brunette. The word from the backstage crimpers is that she will keep the colour for the rest of the show season.
 The Frost French party was a great success the other night and celeb filled! Kate Moss, Lily Cole, Kelly Osbourne, Courtney Love, Noel Fielding and Queens of Noize were all partying until the small hours of the morning! Patrick Wolf did a live PA, Noel Fielding D-Jed as did Sadie and the Queens of Noize.
By Sara Hassan
The smoking ban seemed to have made no impact on the smoking habits of the fag ash-fashionistas at London fashion week. In fact, fashion's favourite brand of cigarette, the evil Marlboro Lights, were in such plentiful supply you'd never have guessed there was a ban at all. Instead, ever the survivors, the ladies did lots of conspiratorial whispering whilst puffing on cigarettes in front of shops, on balconies and outside nightclubs. And teeth chattering, of course, since this season's Antipodium pinafore dresses, Balenciaga school blazers and Miu Miu patent leather lace-ups - or variations on that theme - proved not much of a match for the nippy northerly wind. Yes, in almost every respect, it was like being back behind the bike sheds all over again.
Not many people know Amy Winehouse as well as her hair stylist, Alex. The 25 year old ex-John Frieda hairdresser has number one responsibility for the state of Amy's barnet, and that includes when the two are partying together, which they do on a not-infrequent basis. Amy missed Alex's healing hairspray so much when she checked into rehab last month that a few days in, she invited Alex to stay there with her. "I was thinking, could she possibly care about her hair in rehab?" said Alex, with a sly grin, when Little Madam met him at a posh dinner a young socialite threw last Thursday for the launch of a new clothing line "Then I realised, nah, obviously not. It was because she was already thinking of checking out." Alex, who shares Amy's very black sense of humour (you don't want to know) had been half-expecting the chanteuse to turn up to dinner that night but admitted that the chances were low given the exceedingly heavy night Amy had had at the Mobos the evening before. I left him chatting to another very good friend in the corner of the dining room, where he remained until four thirty the following morning. Amy would've been proud.
 Premiers' Alice Gibb, voted one of the top ten new faces in Italian Vogue has set tongues wagging this London Fashion Week. A favourite of stylist Katie Grand, she has already modelled at Marc Jacobs, Christopher Kane and Giles. Sadly we won't be seeing her in Milan as she has school commitments...(not just a pretty face either as she got 9 A *'s for her GCSEs!!) She is however due to model in Paris and is tipped to do the Miu Miu show...so keep your eyes peeled! (by Sara Hassan)
Picture courtesey of catwalking
Yesterday evening Dior hosted an evening of elegance at the V&A to view the new couture exhibition.
It was the perfect end to london fashion week. Inside the exhibition we were blown away by the beautiful gowns on display, the maquettes (dolls wearing miniature versions of couture gowns) and black and white films showing how fashion week was 60 years ago. It was a breath-taking experience that really moved everyone in the room because we were viewing the remains of a bygone era that we will never see again. Even a particular fashionista whom we had thought devoid of feelings admitted to feeling emotional.
If you have the opportunity get yourself to the V&A and see it for yourself. The exhibition is something that words alone cant describe - it's more of a feeling.
How do you guarantee as much publicity for your fashion show as possible?
Simple - you invite everyone from Hollywood actresses to royalty to Big Brother losers and footballers to take part.
Spotted backstage at Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief show....
1. Big Brother twins Sam and Amanda demanding snap shots of themselves with the full time models.
2. Faye Dunaway in an old ladyish headscarf doing a double take when Boy George came over to say hello. Doesn't she know who he is?
3. All Saints Melanie Blatt getting nervous and saying 'I want to go home'.
4. Lily Donaldson looking impossibly beautiful and wangling backstage access for her friend before loading up on the double vodka and cokes at the bar.
5. A delightfully charming Amerie directing her hair stylist Fabio as to exactly where the face-framing tendrils he was tonging should fall.
6. Lizzy Jagger requesting big hair - as if her thick waist-length mane could be much else.
7. Jasmine Guiness complaining about the amount of time her rollers have been left in - "My hair's gonna look like an afro if its left much longer."
So how do you think Matthew Williamson landed the capital's biggest resident pop star to play at his home coming show? Did he write him a big fat cheque? Did he offer him unlimited clothes, women, slebrities, perks, anything-he-wants for life? Did he sleep with him?
No to all of the above. Actually - Prince asked Matthew if he could be at his show. Yep. Here it is from someone who is extremely close to the horse's mouth: "Sunday night we get a call from his people saying he wants to come. Turns out his new muse, Chelsea, is a big fan of Matthew's and wants to be at his show. We're delighted, and clear the front row. next day we get a call - Prince would actually like to PLAY at the show. At this point we're dying with excitement, and re-organise everything accordingly. Tuesday night Matthew goes to the couture dinner at the V and A, spots Prince and goes over to introduce himself. "Hi," he says, "I hear you're playing at my show tomorrow?" Prince looks him up and down. "Maybe" he says, and struts off. Matthew panics, calls everyone at midnight - they all panic. We didn't actually know if it was going to happen until he turned up on the day. And we didn't even think he was going to sing - especially when he sat down on the front row."
As we know it all ended happily ever after - for Prince too. So successful was the hair-raising performance that the Little Oh-So-Sexy One is going to use the footage in his next video. Frock-tastic.
Which socialista about town, when asked why he wasn't at the Isabella Blow memorial service, responded: "God, if she hadn't killed herself, I'd have taken out a gun and shot her myself!" Lovely, these fashion people...
We missed most of the Super Super show because we got trapped in fashion purgatory:
But soon Niyi, a man wearing fluoro lens-less specs and a very loud outfit, gave us the godly nod and waved us into this strange land of post-new rave club stars.
As we meekly stepped in, London's fiercest drag queen Jodie Harsh was compering: "...and here's the main bitch, Namalee". Like so....
Namalee - fashion director of Super Super magazine, stylist for Basso & Brooke and high priestess of the new rave scene - sang to her fawning audience... "Namazonia, it's the place to be..."; "Namazon, wild girl".
It wasn't long before there was a stage invasion, first up, Niyi, who sang about how he loved poached eggs...
and then a man with a pan (inventive bunch, this lot), and then all and sundry. How easy life could be if we were all as free as Namalee and Niyi.
 1. To compete with the burgeoning number of drag queens on the party circuit
2. To fan oneself when the temperature rises
3. To set yourself apart from those stumpy of eyelash
4. To exercise those eyelid muscles and retain a youthful outlook
5. To scare away the bland
 It's not always like a hen night at Amy Sacco's New York import Bungalow 8 - a super-exclusive members-only "nightlife lounge" - unless you happen to have landed when Matthew Williamson is hosting his post-show party, like he was last night... hence all the glossy girlies who outnumbered the men by very many:very few (very boring).
But frankly, even if the place was sardined with CK male models in tight pants, telling the world what to expect inside would just be academic - it doesn't only require a £350 annual membership fee, but social and professional credentials that would make Tamara Mellon develop an inferiority complex.
So to save yourself the humiliation, here's what you're missing.
Decor: Black and white horizontal striped walls (most probably some kind of slimming device), low-lying seats skirting the room (most definitely where to find the VIPs and CIPs huddling), a "dance floor" that comprises a body-bumping space between tables (most definitely a rumour-creating device).
Music: Ibiza-lite disco; nothing too out-there sonically. You wouldn't want to scare away the wealthy hasbeens.
Dress: When even the cocktail totty are wearing black silk Issa halternecks, this is when you need to be Matthew Williamson's bum chum.
Verdict: Surreal but sterile, says Aesop's sour-grapes-eating fox.
From the moment Mariacarla stepped out in a charcoal grey, perfectly formed dress, it was clear that Giles's show was a cut above. But dying Bambi prints, sequinned berets and confections of tulle perfection aside, it was the models that helped make it all so sleek with Missy Rayder, Jessica Stam and Mariacarla strutting alongside our very own Agyness.
And then came Carmen Kass - with her look so haughty, her walk so smooth, her perfection just more, well, perfect. Just goes to show, you can be the hottest young thing on the modelling block, but no one can work it like an old school pro.
picture from: (http://www.vogue.co.uk/Shows/Reports/Default.aspx?stID=47407)
Guess who??...from a top monthy fashion magazine was literally popping out the seams of her dress today at the shows. Super Stylin' thinks this is not a good look so next time try not to cram oneself into a smaller size...oh and go easy on the canapes!!
More sexy than a House of Holland bottom baring jumpsuit, more energetic than a PR girl in charge of the guestlist, and more sensational than any bondage creation sent down the catwalk by Gareth Pugh - Prince's backing dancers (known only as The Twinz ) took the catwalk at Matthew Williamson by storm yesterday.
As they strutted their stuff with a routine that was more high camp than the queue outside Boombox, the crowd went wild - and with an audience of front row fashionistas, that is quite some feat.
So forget intellectual dressing, forget pared-down chic, suddenly it's all about a bit of pure, unadulterated 80s Diva-like fabulousness. And we highly recommend you get a dose of your own. Follow Style's guidelines to work it like a Twin.
1. First off, find a pal. Double trouble is key - whether out on the town or syncopating those steps.
2. Standing still is never an excuse to relax - it's bum out, knees locked, and pout ready at all times.
3. Neither is walking an off duty activity - as you strut, slam each foot down like you're squashing a cockroach, whilst simultaneously swinging your bum from side to side with so much zest you're scared you'll put a hip out.
4. Everything's a prop - in the Twinz case, it's all about the hair. Flick it, shake it, and whoosh it around. Zhoozh up your locks and make like a catherine wheel.
5. It helps to inject a bit of mystery and sexual frisson - every single person watching the twinz yesterday had one question buzzing through their minds: Are they really both doing it with the pint sized purple one?
Right. You're all set. The world is your stage. Just sashay and syncopate, sashay and syncopate...
Top marks to Agyness Deyn for the speediest makeover of the week - seen with her trademark platinum crop at the House of Holland show, she re-emerged on the Giles runway just two hours later with hair like a peach sorbet. We can only imagine that Eugene Souleiman who did the hair at Giles was ready and waiting with the crazy colour.
Want to do it yourself? Remember, bright colour works best on a bleached base like Deyn's. So, once hair has been dipped in a basin of peroxide and dried, you can simply massage on a shockingly bright semi-permanent hair colour (try Schwarzkopf's Live range) then wash out to reveal your new hue. And if its all a total disaster, head straight back to the bleach - as presumably Deyn will have done.
Backstage after the Ashish show yesterday Courtney Love's stylist raved about the collection which she thought was fabulous and is keen to use some pieces for Courtney's new album cover which is shooting in the next few weeks.
The press release was for once spot on: "She's young enough not to give a shit, wealthy enough not to worry about it and beautiful enough to get away with it"
Sparkly dress teamed with flat shoes and bed hair created a picture of a woman who is glamorous but doesnt try too hard.
See pic of Ashish and i backstage.
Backstage at House of Holland yesterday the designer was having a serious case of pre show jitters. First off, how's one of London's hottest names in fashion to compete with a splurge in Topshop? When model Julia Dunstall still hadn't turned up for hair and make-up yesterday when all the other girls were ready to go, rumour had it she'd decided to hit Oxford Street to pick up some new clobber on her way to the show. Then there was Hollands' best mate Agyness Deyn's freak-out about whether a certain picture of her out on the tiles at 4 in the morning was going to be published and the fact that he had to squeeze a whole troop models into daring new rave outfits. Whoever said life was easy at the top of the East London fashion scene?
Want to know the secret to model-perfect skin? Well apart from the fact that most have dewy youthfulness on their side, maybe its the hard-to-track-down skincare ranges they use that keep them looking so fresh.
Backstage at the Giles show Jessica Stam said she swears by NY dermatologist Dr Orentreich's skincare while Missy Rayder said she prefered a natural approach in the form of Swiss brand Aubonne. Now all you have to do is hunt them down.
80s supermodel Stephanie Seymour was the inspiration for the wet look hair and brash make-up at the House of Holland show. Lucia Pica who did the make-up elongated the brows and created a high shine purple lip to match the vinyl cropped jacket and hot pant combo that Agyness Deyn wore to open the show. Combine Mac Lip Mix in red, purple and white, then pile on the lip gloss for an authentic recreation.
Charles Worthington's Creative Director Adam Reed gave hair the "just stepped out of the shower look" by spritzing it with water and then combing gel through it with a wide toothed comb.
Despite the fact that there's enough free booze sloshing around to sink the titanic, and more parties happening than your new Jonathan Kelseys can possibly carry you to, Fashion Week is not known as a good stomping ground for a girl on the pull. But, contrary to popular opinion, it is possible - you've just got to be smart about it. Follow Style's 5 easy steps...
1. Don't look like a fashion girl. Boys don't get smocks, they don't get maxis, and they definitely don't get clompy shoes. Leave the fashion forward outfits at home, hoik up your skirt, and get the boobs out.
2. Lose your mates. If you want to pull at a fashion party, you have GOT to act as a solo operator. If boys find girl gangs scary, they find fashion-girl gangs even scarier.
3. Head for the smoking area. At the PPQ party smirting opportunities were endless whilst sheltering from the rain outside the pub across the street.
4. When inside, stick to the fringes. The non fashion boys (ie.the straight ones) always lurk around the edge of the party - they're a bit nervous, see. The moshpit rocking out to hillbilly band Sister at Luella's party in Claridges might have looked like fun - but was strictly for fag hags only.
5. If in doubt, head for the photographers. Always a hotbed of testosterone filled, up-fer-it straightness. And if you can't find them, go for |
