Models Be Lookin Bitchy in Prada

Steven Meisel has yet again shot Prada‘s video campaign – this time for the 50′s-inspired Spring 2012 collection. Although Meisel follows his same (winning?) formula of weird music, slow-motion contrasted with rapid cutting, and lots of closeups on accessories, I’m not bored yet. This one is much more cinematic than his past campaigns, with a hint of a story this time around.  Shot in a gas station with lots of shiny vintage cars to match their shiny vintage-style sunglasses, models give each other bad vibes, fix their makeup, and pose by their cars intimidatingly. As we girls do.

Watch below;

Wong Kar Wai x Shu Uemura

I stared at this blankly for a whole minute before googling Wong Kar Wai to see if there’s more than one filmmaker with that name. But no, it is indeed THE Wong Kar Wai, the revered Hong Kong filmmaker responsible for In the Mood for Love and other fashion-heavy masterpieces, who has teamed up with Shu Uemura for a makeup collaboration.

I’m not sure how I feel about this except that it makes it even more clear that fashion’s love affair with film is only going to intensify.

Thoughts? Will you be buying?

via Wonderland

Dragon Tattoo x H&M

I’ve seen the original Girl with a Dragon Tattoo film but I never expected it to have a fashion moment. The American remake’s star is on the cover of Vogue, and now H&M have unveiled a capsule collection from H&M Divided based on the film’s heroin.

Thoughts?

Georgia Hardinge Sample Sale

Yesterday I went to Georgia Hardinge‘s first sample sale in Hackney. This was probably the best sample sale I’ve ever been to in terms of the atmosphere; usually you have to shop with a bunch of people glaring at you and the designer either hovers in the background judging you or simply is not present. Georgia, on the other hand, greeted everyone who came in and cheerfully showed them all her wonderful pieces. (Also, there were cupcakes!!!)

Here is what I got;

I’m sort of dying over this jacket but it wasn’t at the sale! Check out the rest of her collections on her website.

Versace for H&M Men’s

I’m so excited about the Versace x H&M collaboration, the men’s looks are amazing! I’m really hoping the pink suit will come in a size that’ll fit me…it reminds me of Joan Jett in the best of possible ways.While I’m dreaming, I would also like these Underground winklepickers to complete the look (available here).

House of Holland SS12

House of Holland this season was all daring print combinations and beautiful use of sheers. I love the macro-leopard (or cow?) print, ombres, and those amazing pastel colour-blocked sheer collared shirts. And what a brilliant way to use python print! The bleached denim looks like clouds in a very blue sky, and I love his clever take on tartan. I’m hoping to get my hands on those faux snake suspenders.

Photos via Style.com

Louise Gray SS12

I loved the silhouettes at Louise Gray this season, there is something sort of slouchy-sexy about her separates, and all those lovely dresses with the sleeve seams falling off the shoulders like they do when a girl borrows from her boyfriend’s  closet. The fairly clean silhouettes allowed the crimped hair, adorable shoes, crazy colour combinations and abundance of detailed embroidery to shine without being overwhelming. I would happily wear that colour-blocked jacket thing in look 4 below, as well as any of the dresses and all of look 8;

Photos via Style.com

Meadham Kirchhoff SS12

Meadham and Kirchhoff, always a highlight of LFW, delivered clown chic at its best for their Spring 2012 show in an explosion of pastel candy fluff coats, sequined and fringed hotpants, lacy trim, tartan and teddy bear appliqués. WINNING COMBINATION, I daresay. I really wish I’d seen this show in person, it looked like a massive party with balloons, streamers and ballerinas at the end.

Photos via Style.com

Lewis Taylor LFW Video

Day two at London Fashion Week with Lewis Taylor! Shot and edited by me for 1883 Magazine.

Me at LFW Day Two

Please humor my vanity for this post…me at London Fashion Week – Vauxhall :) Photos by Lucy Brown. Dress by Topshop, Jacket Christopher Kane, shoes Ebay, socks American Apparel. Thank you Rimmel, Glam Media and Vauxhall Fashion Scout for all the goodies!

Vauxhall LFW Day One

Here’s the video we shot yesterday for London Fashion Week at Vauxhall with Lewis Taylor and 1883 Magazine. Spread the word!

Betsey Johnson SS12

I feel like Betsey Johnson gets a lot of criticism for being “tacky”, over the top and intentionally oblivious to trends, but that is exactly what I love about her designs. This year her collection was a bizarre combination of old fashioned nightgowns, french maids, punk rock flare and trashy track looks, a good percentage of which I would happily wear (in public, too!). I love the chartreuse and fuchsia look, I need to immediately incorporate more of these colours into my wardrobe, and as far as I’m concerned, bone print never gets old. The same goes for sheer+stripes+ruffles (see third look).

I’m not entirely comfortable with the fact that some of the fabrics look like they were snatched off McQueen‘s cutting room floor, but I would still wear that adorable romper (above).

Dancing Chanel

Quentin Jones directed this delightful, Dada-esque mixed media fashion film for VogueTV, featuring ballet dancer Emma Chadwick in Chanel SS11. It’s very refreshing to see a cheerful fashion film that incorporates animation and collage video techniques and still shows off the clothes in a creative way. Watch “Dancing Chanel” below;

 

Prada by Meisel AW11

Nope! Its not a Venus commercial, nor is it shoe porn…its Steven Meisel’s new Prada campaign video for AW11. Although it has no narrative whatsoever and its obviously a very expensive advert rather than a fashion film, I love that you can see all the beautiful textures and fabrics in closeup. Watch models looking like perfect little dolls, stroking their perfectly waxed legs and their Prada below;

P.S. I want the sparkly socks!

Collections

I used to have a lot of collections as kid, ranging from normal things like sea shells and beach glass to weirder ones like pom poms, can tabs, and little plastic frogs. Now I collect creeper and flatform shoes, and the bigger and funkier, the better. All of the following shoes would be happily welcomed into my humble collection;

Clockwise from top left: Underground, Jeffrey Campbell, Prada, Underground,  customized Underground, Moonspoon Saloon, Jeffrey Campbell, Ashish x Underground.

Graduate Fashion Week – Kingston University

Here is my last article about Graduate Fashion Week, this time for for the Kingston University 2011 Catwalk show. P.S. This is my 600th post on Drooling Isn’t Pretty! I did a video for the Kingston show as well, watch below;

Throughout my coverage of Graduate Fashion Week, I am finding myself using the word “fringe” over and over again. Clearly fringe is a trend among the 2011 graduate designers, and by far the best use of this technique was Kingston University designer Nicola Burrows, whose tartan and knit womenswear collection was a joy to watch. Fringe-cuffed leggings with a raw-edged tartan skirt and top, fringed sleeves, fringed scarves, pom pom beanie hats with eyeholes and mixed stripes made for a playful show. One look featured a long topstitched denim coat with yellow tartan panels, worn over a candy-cane striped turtleneck dress with contrasting fringe on the sleeves, with yellow, blue and red geometric printed leggings. All the models wore blue suede brothel creepers and the pieces were fun yet wearable, and not over the top as separates.

Another trend at Kingston was the use of quirky accessories. Francesca Armstrong’s whimsical collection featured birdcage handbags to complement her feminine black and white looks with long trains and lots of tulle. Camilla Woodman opened the show with a steampunk-esque oversized necklace with what appeared to be a small television as a pendant (inspired by the “house-bound lifestyle” and technology)….and Bethany Borrough had her models holding glossy skulls in powder blue and chartreuse.

Mark Williams received a loud round of applause for his theatrical collection of heavy fur, mixed luxury fabrics and bold shoulder and sleeve details, all in red, black and sheer and worn with studded fur helmets. Jaskiran Hare’s menswear-inspired women’s collection was all deconstructed tailoring and tuxedo elements in oversized dresses and coats, with tulle underskirts and low necklines to add a touch of femininity to what could have been a severe collection. Overall, the Kingston designers demonstrated strong individual visions in varying styles, which made for an inspiring catwalk show.

Written by Emma Freed

Video by Emma Freed

1883 – London College of Fashion 2011 Catwalk Show

I was very proud to attend my college’s undergraduate show and cover it for 1883 Magazine. The designs were really impressive and I can’t believe how much work much have gone in to each collection. Here is my article 1883 Blog.

You know it was a good fashion show when the runway is left strewn with bells and the buzz from the audience is louder than the music. Undergraduate designers delivered one powerful collection after the next in the London College of Fashion catwalk 2011 show that was bursting with colour, creativity and raw talent.

The heavy use of trimmings (thus the bells left on the runway), and mixed materials can be explained by the Barnett Lawson “best use of trimmings” award and the Biddle Sawyer Silks award for “most innovative use of fabrics”. The former went to Charlotte Barry, who created a collection of intricately embroidered and embellished dresses in simple silhouettes with a mustard yellow and burnt orange colour scheme. The latter was awarded to Stine Riis’s “Decadence and Decay”, a very wearable collection of separates featuring dyed fur coats, high-waisted two-tone trousers and panels of patent leather to contrast with luxurious classic fabrics like wool and fur.

Creative use of textiles was a theme throughout the show. Angela Brandys womenswear collection was a beautiful pastel rainbow of colours and textures; dyed fur trim on cuffs and collars, shoulder cutouts, chains details on sleeves, foxtail clips, buttons, straps, d-rings, clear plastic, pink, turquoise, red, mint, orange, and beige somehow held up as a unified collection of tops and skirts, worn by tattooed models with dyed hair and eyebrows. Among the menswear collections, Brett de Jager’s “Punx on Safari” was a vibrant, tribal-inspired collection with a 70’s punk edge. Red tie-dye shorts over bright blue tights, tartan over stripes, and paint-splattered fabrics with multicoloured beads on exposed chests were Jager’s proposed uniform for the well-traveled subcultural man.

Although London College of Fashion has clearly turned out consistently brilliant student designers, there was one that stood out from the rest. Wun Wun Nova Chiu, winner of the Collection of the Year award, was responsible for the deserving “Shangri-Ladida” winning collection. The print heavy, ethnic-inspired collection of embellished dresses, beaded and bell-covered leggings and bold colour combinations was meticulously executed and seemed to exhaust every hand technique from dying to embroidery.
The range of inspirations and attention to detail displayed at the 2011 LCF catwalk show was genuinely encouraging; not only is it clear that London College of Fashion hasn’t lost its touch, it is clear that the future of fashion is being left in capable hands.

Read on 1883 Blog

Written by Emma Freed

Photography by Millie Liveing

1883 – Free Range: Arts University College Bournemouth 2011

I covered the Free Range Art & Design: Arts University College Bournemouth 2011 fashion show for 1883 Magazine. Read my article on 1883 Blog.

The Arts University College Bournemouth Fashion Design and Technology catwalk show took place on Truman Brewery, located in London’s trendy Brick Lane in front of an equally fashion forward audience. After a short film viewing, (‘The Flux’ by Nancy Hamshire), the 2^nd year collections took over the runway as part of Bournemouth’s “Season One” debut.

The show opened with Lara Skowronska’s “A box of Delights”, a very nude womenswear collection of sheer body suits with panels of glittery fabric, beaded fringe or a sparkly waistcoat, as well as some more wearable designs like the flowy metallic tunic worn over leggings. Next was a menswear collection entitled “Fleshtone” by designer Rory Payne; the colour palette was strictly nudes, beige and white with wide and lowcut necklines, pointed shoulders on crop tops, satins and exposed torsos.

Other 2^nd year collections included Hannah Bingham’s “Circus Freak” men and women’s looks, (using classic materials such as red tartan and grey pinstripe with unusual details and silhouettes),  and Esme Bradshaw’s “Gothic Glamour” women’s collection of black satin and lace eveningwear.

The loudest round of applause and easily the highlight of the show was when 3^rd year honours kidswear designer Emily Knight‘s crew of child models took the runway looking like a toddler version of Where’s Wally? With preppy striped red white and blue pieces, accessorized with headbands, a straw hat and Wally-esque round glasses, the collection, (entitled “Hangin’ Out”) was young and playful yet stylish.

Another strong collection among the 3^rd year students was “Medusa”, a womenswear collection by Ivy Santos that closed the show with bright red and orange hues on floaty fabrics contrasted with solid grey pieces and tights. Inspired by jellyfish, the collection featured bubble hems, ruching and draping on flowing dresses, grey bloomers paired with an oversized two-tone peasant top and tentacle-like red ribbons on the model’s ankles.

1883 Magazine

Written by Emma Freed

Photography by Matt Parfitt

Prada & Petals

Preview from an upcoming fashion film of mine featuring my lovely friend Una and her Prada shoes :) We shot this in Switzerland.

Mint

Fashion has become obsessed with mint for Spring…it was Alexander Wang’s main colour for SS11, one of Chanel’s staple must-have nail shades, and its been all over the high street lately. Limecrime even came up with a mint lipstick! The trouble with colour trends is I tend to overdose on them after a few months, so I’m a little concerned I’ll stock up on anything and everything mint coloured and then be sick to death of it all come fall. Ah well, fashion is fickle, as they say.

From top to bottom clockwise: Mint dress from Pixiemarket, Alexander Wang bag, Limecrime “Mint to Be” lipstick, Topshop nail varnish in “Gone Fishing”, mint and leopard Underground creepers.

How do you feel about colour trends?