Last week rap legend Jay Z announced via his website that he was embarkingon a 22 day vegan challenge, citinghis reason as a 'spiritual and physical cleanse', with a rather interesting footnote of 'P.S. B is joining me'. We know from past experience that Queen Bey is partial to a cleanse (shemade the Maple Syrup diet' massive after using it to lose weight before shooting Dreamgirls) but after recent wardrobe choices it might seem that this is one she isn't crazy about.
At first the singer seemed to have a sense of humour about this latest endeavor when she was seen out wear a pizza motif outfit, complete with pepperoni adorned pants, funny right? Over the last few days, however, instead of the initial praise from the vegan community she seems to have angered them and has even been labelled a hypocrite after not only stepping out in a Christopher Kane fox fur coat but then attending lunch at a vegan restaurant wearing a Givenchy cow hide sweater and leather trousers. We can't help but wondering if she has recently hired Lady Gaga's stylist?
'If I do flowers, I don't want them to be like everyone else's' Christopher Kane said backstage at his SS14 collection today entitled 'The anatomy of a flower'. Instead of floral prints or simple pastel shades Kane instead dress inspiration from the kind of botanical plant drawings one finds in a biology lab, something evident in the petal cut out details on many of his dresses.
Well known for his avante garde choices when designing, this collection, Kane managed to retain originality and, although we saw white, there was no hint of the monochrome palette or 70's theme we have seen over so many catwalks this past two weeks. There were pleats aplenty and silk trims were added to sheer skirts (my favourite particular look was this ballerina inspired dress - above) as well as basic sweaters teamed with full length ballerina skirts - who would have thought that would be such a winning combination.
Sponsoring raw British talent has always been a thing for high street leader Topshop and it seems like only yesterday they began sponsoring the British Fashion Council's New Gen, but it's been 10 years and the two have teamed up again for a collection of t-shirts from some of it's most noted alums including Mary Katrantzou, Erdem and of course, my favourite designer Christopher Kane.
The shirts are £30 each and will go on sale during London Fashion Week. There are 10 tees and all can be viewed on Vogue.com now.
2011 has certainly been a positive year for the fashion industry, from the controversy of Galliano's sacking from Dior to Versace's huge launch for H&M. Here are my highlights of the year.
Style Crush - Chloe Moretz
She may only be 14, but Chloe has literally had me Googling everyone of her outfits this year, from the LBD she wore at the premier of I Am Number Four to the winning velvet top/pencil skirt combo worn at the Paris premiere of Hugo.
A hard choice considering other luxury e-tailers such as Net-a-Porter and Matches but My-Wardrobe won me over with their easy navigation, features and more importantly their Christmas room, a handy little section dedicated to helping you find the perfect gift or party dress.
Story of the Year - Diors New Man
After the suspension and consequential sacking of Galliano after his anti-semantic remarks in February of this year, the fashion rumor mill went into overdrive with news of his replacement. With everyone from Alaia to Alber Elbaz being fingered as the front runner for the job, it appeared that Louis Vuittons' Marc Jacobs was the definite successor after months of negotiations as reported in credible fashion sites such as Vogue and WWD. We're still waiting for the official announcement but supposedly Jil Sander's Raf Simons is currently in talks with the French fashion giant and is said to be 'hammering out the final details'.
Rosie has without a doubt had her most successful years yet. Not only is she one of Victoria's Secret's 'Angels' but the 24 year old moved in with beau Jason Statham, starred in Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, became the new face of Marks & Spencer's alongside the perfection that is Ryan Reynolds, won the new Burberry Body campaign and starred on the cover of Vogue in the UK and German. That's only to name a few.
Television Advert - Paco Rabbanne One Million
So it's not a female scent, it's not the best male scent, but put together the gorgeousness that is Mat Gordon and the beat of The Chemical Brothers 'Do it again' and your onto something. It makes me dance every time it comes on!
Ad Campaign - Chanel
Freja Beha Erichsen showed just how worthy she was of Lagerfeld's approval this year with this A/W 2011 ad campaign in which she was styled by Carine Rotfield in these Parisienne shots.
Duo - Dakota and Elle Fanning
We've known Dakota since she starred in 2003's The Cat in the Hat but little sister Elle only became big this year after appearing in Super 8 and appearing at the MTV Movie Awards in the cutest D&G playsuit. The duo have not only hit headlines in the style stakes but have also caused controversy when Dakota's 'Oh Lola' ad campaign for Marc Jacobs was banned by the ASA as they described it as 'sexualising children'.
Wedding - Breaking Dawn
It was a year for weddings in 2011 with Kate Middleton, Kate Moss, Sophia Coppolla, Lily Allen and Zara Phillips all tying the knot. The dresses created were, for the most part, off the charts. My favourite however was without a doubt, a fictional one. The fourth installment of The Twilight Saga saw two of the story's main characters, Edward and Bella say 'I do' with Carolina Herrera creating the highly anticipated gown.
Not only did he put flat shoes back on the map for SS 2012 but the Scottish designer followed in the footsteps of Erdem to win the New Establishment Award and launched a new collaboration with J Brand. He's not only gone and made neon fashionable again, but was also announced to remind Italian designer Donatella Versace of her late brother Gianni after the two worked together on the brands sister line Versus.
Designer collaborations with high street brands are not exactly new, we've already seen Ashish and Meadham Kirchhoff for Topshop and Jimmy Choo and Lanvin for H&M. The master of these collaborations appears to be Scottish designer and Central Saint Martins graduate has previously collaborated with Topshop as well as working for world renowned designers such as Giles and Donatella Versace. Put him together with jean giant J Brand who are a must have celebrity brand and your sure to have a mega trend on your hands.
Although the pair have already collaborated last year for the support of emerging talent (along with Peter Pillato, Erdem, Richard Nicoll and Meadham Kirchhoff), Kane's solo J Brand denim range will hit stores this week. A bright and vibrant collection, with neo pink, greens and whites will be available in Harvey Nichols, Liberty, Harrods, Net-a-Porter and of course J Brand Jeans.com
Whilst it was announced back in February that Scottish designer Christopher Kane was to collaborate with luxury denim brand J Brand, after the high of his stunning Spring Summer 2012 collection he couldn't have chosen a better time to release the images via The Telegraph.
The collection featured denim jackets cut of shorts and flared jeans. True to his signature he went a bit further and used neon brights to make the collection really stand out, with shade of green, orange and pink.
He is famous for his collaboration, with capsule collections with Donatella Versace (he was behind the versus range), Topshop and Beth Ditto (for Swarovski's Fashion Rocks), this is sure to be the most trend setting yet.
Christopher Kane, words cant describe how much I love this guy. From the atom bomb tee to the Gorilla print dress. Yes some of his collections have been a little questionable (hello, that neon yellow and lace dress from his Topshop Collaboration? We still have that in store a year and a half later!) but when he gets it right, boy is it pretty much perfect. His spring summer 2012 collection was everything expected and more. Vogue even hailed it as the collection that made people cry.
He started off with pale leather pieces that at first seemed to have a wet look effect, but upon second glance simply had a metallic sheen. There were shift dresses, mini skirts with crisp white shirts and slightly oversized cricket jumpers, mini dresses in a bronze brocade before he moved onto what is sure to be talked about for a long time yet - the beautifully crafted and encrusted sparkling dresses. You could literally hear the jaws of the front row hitting the floor.
He started off with Pale leather pieces that at first seemed to have a wet look effect, but upon second glance simply had a metallic sheen. There were shift dresses, mini skirts with crisp white shirts and slightly oversized cricket jumpers, mini dresses in a bronze brocade before he moved onto what is sure to be talked about for a long time yet - the beautifully crafted and encrusted sparkling dresses. You could literally hear the jaws of the front row hitting the floor.
Whilst his dresses started out clean cut, true to Kane style, he then moved onto a more structured look, with brighter colours and added some beautiful house coats into the mix ( I know beautiful and house coats are not things you usually hear in the same sentence, but honestly, it's true!).
The next look featured some stunning dresses that had cut out panels and had a little extra touch by way of applique flowers that were attached to garments and personally made me reminisce of the stickers I would stick on my crayola diary when I was a little girl.
Like PPQ before him, Kane also gave us a little sneak peak of his denim collaboration (see my next post) with J Brand. A special mention must go to those flat, rubber sandals he had models wear. Whilst they may have been a slightly strange choice, but in light of the length of the run way I don't doubt that models will have been whooping inside at the sight of them, especially after the previous week in sky highs at New York Fashion Week. No wonder he is up for designer of the year.
With only 10 days left to go until London Fashion Week kicks off, The British Fashion Council yesterday announced the nominees for the award ceremony which runs as part of LFW. The nominees this year took part in the Born Walk Tall mile long walk, led by BFC ambassador Samantha Cameron, to raise awareness for the role health workers play in ensuring women give birth safely.
Victoria Beckham is up for two awards this year, against Tom Ford and Stella McCartney for Designer Brand of the Year and against Antonio Berardi and Stella McCartney for the Red Carpet award, one which is being reintroduced this year to acknowledges a British designer who has created global awareness for their collections.
My personal favourite designer is up for Best Designer of the Year, Christopher Kane is up against Erdem and Sarah Burton, to mixed reactions. Nominee for Accessory designer of the year Katie Hillier voiced her opinion that she would love to see Erdem win, who himself said he is simply flattered to be in such great company.
We Are Handsome....yes you are. How I have not discovered this brand before now, I do not know. I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. And I'm supposed to be a fashion student....
When you hear the words ‘Australian’ and ‘Beach’ in the same sentence, you automatically think of surfers, baggy shorts and bright, bold colours, right? Wrong. We Are handsome is the go to Australian label for swimwear, think Melissa Odabash meets Christopher Kane.Beginning in 2009 by duo Indhra Chagoury and Jeremy J Somers, We Are handsome is a swimwear collection that is motivated by the need to capture the image of ‘beautiful things’ and create something no other swimwear designer has done before them.Each piece is more original than the last, and the stunning prints and bright palettes presenting the problem as to which should be added to your holiday bag. Already seen on the likes of Rhianna, Tyra Banks and Diane Kruger, WAH may only be two years old, but they have a bright future ahead.2011 collection ‘The Memoirs’ launch instore next month.
