Archive for the ‘Designer Fashions’ Category
Designer Fashions, Designers, Gallery, London fashion week
By Andrea Petrou on March 22nd, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
Christopher Kane Spring/Summer 2007
We’ve already looked at the likes of Henry Holland and Vivienne Westwood in our designer spotlight galleries, celebrating the great British talent that dazzles us at London Fashion Week each season and inspires what gets produced on the high-street. So today we’re going to look at home-grown talent Christopher Kane, who has been wowing us at LFW with his body-conscious, sexy designs since 2007.then
Ever since he exploded onto the fashion scene with a youthful, fresh and sexy collection of microscopically short bandage dresses, trimmed with neon lace and zips, he’s been the darling of the fashion industry ever since. Cited as an inspiration by young wannabe designers everywhere and hand-picked by Versace to design their diffusion line, Versus, his career has been a total fairytale so far. With the help of his sister Tammy Kane, together they’ve created a legacy.
Neon lace, cosmically starry prints, knife pleats and gingham – these are all trends that you saw at Christopher Kane first. In the gallery above we’re taking a trip back through his best collections to show you our favourite pieces that he’s designed. Our favourite is the floral-embroidered leather miniskirt – check it out here.
Tags: bandage dress, best of, body con, Christopher Kane, designer spotlight, dresses, lace, LFW, London fashion week, tammy kane
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Designer Fashions, Designers, Gallery, London fashion week
By Andrea Petrou on March 17th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
We’re at a point at the moment where the British fashion industry has never been so exciting. From veterans like Vivienne Westwood to whippersnappers like Christopher Kane, there is an incredible amount of talent out there right now. For the first time London is definitely giving both Paris and Milan a run for their money as fashion capitals.
There isn’t a designer out there who encompasses everything about London street style quite as well as the House of Holland does. Ever since their 2007 runway show, which saw the model stomp down the runway looking boyish and sexy in a fluorescent T-shirt that boldly stated: “FLICK YA BEAN FOR AGYNESS DEYN.” Everyone remembers that moment, right? A dedication to Agyness, model of the moment and face of the “new rave” craze, this was a piece that summed up that year in fashion. It was a bold and graphic collection that summed up everything that London style is about: eccentric fashion with a sense of humour. We were all hooked.
Since then creative director Henry Holland has never failed to disappoint us. Always taking a witty approach to luxury designer wear, using surreal prints, camp fabrics and huge furry pom-poms, fashion is fun again. We absolutely adored his recent A/W 2011 collection, which was a range of ladylike skirt suits in fun, bold fabrics teamed up with his trademark slogan T-shirts. Finally, the fashion-savvy young girl has a designer to look to for inspiration. To see our favourite House of Holland moments, check the gallery above.
Tags: Agyness Deyn, best of, block colour, designer spotlight, Henry Holland, House of Holland, new rave, slogan tees, spring/summer
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Designer Fashions, Designers, Gallery, Paris Fashion Week
By Andrea Petrou on March 8th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
Yves Saint Laurent A/W 2011
It’s been a flurry of big names scheduled to show their collections over the past few days, and as Paris Fashion Week nonchalantly draws to a close we have to say that Yves Saint Laurent have been one of our favourites. With a front row collection of stars such as Ronnie Wood, Jane Birkin and Lou Doillon, the atmosphere was already so cool that it didn’t matter if the clothes were any good or not – but any road, they were better than good. They were brilliant.
Much like Galliano’s show earlier this week, Miss Marple-esque tweed skirt suits and fur muffs were present again in the YSL show, nipping in waists and demurely falling above the knee for an outcome that managed to be both vampish and demure. If you’re looking for a good indication of what sort of outerwear to be looking out for once summer has been and gone, look no further than this collection for a strokeable assortment of sharp double-breasted paddington-style coats, which, if you can afford it, will look incredible dressed down with skinny jeans come winter.
Though on first appearances the whole collection may have seemed rather prim, take a second look and check out the PVC and studded detailing around coat collars and necklines, and gold chains used as adornments for dresses and shoes. We absolutely fell in love with the fashion house’s sharp, boxy PVC sleeveless jacket, which managed to give a nod to both the golden age of punk and the possible future of fashion. We love.
Check out the gallery above to see the rest of the photos from the YSL show.
Tags: 2011, aw, fall fashion, Paris Fashion Week, PVC, trends, tweed, YSL, yves saint laurent
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Designer Fashions, Designers, Gallery, Paris Fashion Week
By Andrea Petrou on March 7th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
Stella McCartney A/W 2011
British fashion’s first lady, Stella McCartney served up an absolutely magnifique ready-to-wear collection for fall this morning in Paris, doing what she does best – sleek silhouettes and flawlessly designed workwear. The whole show was pure McCartney, from the polished hair and makeup to the minimalist designs which were gloriously simple following show after show of typical Parisian extravagance.
Our Stella has never been one to shy away from masculine, androgynous tailoring, and today was no exception. Still working the Fatal Attraction-esque 1990s vein of minimalism that she has been for the past two seasons, a repeated motif that we saw in the A/W collection was the kind of padded, oversized men’s coat that we don’t think we’ve seen since an early episode of Friends. It worked though. This was what the whole first part of the collection was about – all the models looked sexily masculine, as if they’d slept over at their boyfriend’s house and borrowed his suit the next day.
And then Stella cranked up the glamour – what came next was a seamless blend of tailoring, disco and sportswear, as one model sported an elongated basketball-style jacket with vinyl sleeves and another girl wore a similar one in brilliant gold. Liquid-looking digital prints in black, gold and silver were seen on slouchy jumpsuits, draped dresses and suits, while the earlier section’s black trouser suits were seen again, except in deliciously opulent black silk.
The final few outfits of the collection were surprisingly girlish and sexy for Stella McCartney, who usually prefers to blur the gender roles when it comes to dressing. Sheer black polka-dotted fabric looked gorgeous used in slinky party dresses and jumpsuits to show off cheeky glimpses of supermodel skin – our absolute favourite was a skin-tight jumpsuit with a sweetheart neckline which was quite simply one of the sexiest things we’ve ever seen the fashion house produce. Check out the gallery above for the runway pictures.
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Designer Fashions, Designers, dresses, Gallery, Paris Fashion Week
By Andrea Petrou on March 7th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
It was a return to cool, slouchy bohemian style yesterday at Kenzo’s A/W 2011 show. Famed for their explosively vibrant florals and bold colours, this season saw the label working in more muted tones of dark blues, browns and creams that we think will work perfectly come winter.
Behind a huge lit-up display of what seemed like half folk art, half electric doilies, models came down the runway in long floaty hemlines that fluttered around leather studded ankle boots. Maxi-dresses in trademark Kenzo florals were worn with slouchy wax gilets and fur hoods. Combining the heritage trend with a hard, studded edge, we think we can spy a boho revival just around the corner.
This season’s collection was a lot more subtle than the last, with the label opting for more understated palettes in the fabric – olive green and black were favourites – and surprisingly pretty peekaboo hints of lace, which skirted along hemlines and necklines, showing a feminine side to the fashion house’s approach to design that we haven’t seen before. The maxi dress trend looks like it’s going to be here to stay for a fair while longer, if Kenzo’s collection is anything to go by – we predict that come Autumn we’ll all be teaming delicate floor-length dresses with casual boots and wax Barbour-style jackets.
Tags: 2011, aw, basics, bohemian trend, boots, florals, fur, Kenzo, maxi dress, Paris Fashion Week, ready to wear
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Designer Fashions, Designers, Gallery, Paris Fashion Week
By Andrea Petrou on March 7th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
It was always going to be difficult to write an unbiased report of yesterday’s runway show featuring the A/W collection for John Galliano’s self-titled diffusion line – the whole world is extremely angry at the volatile designer right now for the unjustifiable anti-Jewish remarks he was heard to make last week. With an impending court trial and many influential friends turning their back on him, the future of his career is extremely uncertain.
All events considered, the show was downsized to a more intimate setting for just editors and buyers to enjoy. What is sad about the whole affair is that this is a collection that showed just how good a designer Galliano truly is – the whole collection was a glamorous, heady mix of 1930s silhouettes and opulent fabrics. His talents as a couture designer have never been so obvious as now, as models came down the runway in soft cloche hats, furs and nipped-in skirt suits, lending the show a “silent movie actress” feel. However, nothing that we saw from the designer this season blew our minds – known as he is for radical fashion and innovative design, the collection played it a little too safe for our tastes. That’s not to say that we didn’t like the collection. The luxurious setting of chintz furniture, silks and flowers reminded us of Brideshead Revisited and worked perfectly with the clothes.
All in all, it was a pretty collection, full of the dark glamour that Galliano has made his trademark, but as we looked at the runway photos we didn’t feel the earth move. And considering that this could be the last show he ever puts on, due to the racist and reprehensible remarks that he’s made, he’s gone out with less of a bang and more of a subdued mutter.
Tags: 1930s, 2011, aw, couture, John Galliano, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, racism, ready to wear, trial, vintage
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Designer Fashions, Gallery, News, Paris Fashion Week
By Andrea Petrou on March 7th, 2011
Balenciaga fall 2011 collection
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Tags: Balenciaga, Fall 2011 trends, Miranda Kerr, Orlando Bloom, Paris Fashion Week
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Designer Fashions, Gallery, New York Fashion Week - Runway
By Andrea Petrou on February 16th, 2011
Lux fur jackets and chiffon skirts
Jeffrey Clark Grossman/ WENN.com
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Tags: catwalk collections, chiffon dresses, Fall 2011, Fall 2011 trends, fur coats, jackets, New York Fashion Week, Vera Wang, Winter 2011 trends
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Designer Fashions, Events, Gallery, New York Fashion Week - Runway
By Andrea Petrou on February 14th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
Tommy Hilfiger A/W 2011-2012
Tommy Hilfiger, one of the USA’s biggest and most iconic fashion brands, showed at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week yesterday. The result was a surprisingly pleasing mix of Annie Hall-esque androgyny and 1970s glamour, with a bit of New York grit thrown in for measure. Much like in Alexander Wang’s catwalk show, fur and leather were key in adding sexy and feminine twists to masculine tailoring.
Anyone who’s seen the Woody Allen classic Annie Hall will remember the endearingly sloppy trouser suit and waistcoat that Diane Keaton wore when she fell in love with Woody Allen – like a small frail girl dressing up like a man. Tommy Hilfiger have perfectly modernised that look, creating loose, low-waisted suit trousers and masculine suit jackets in lush-looking twills, adding flashes of riotous 70s-looking silk here and there to add a witty twist. The result is effortless – as if the models, panicking about having nothing to wear, just slung on their boyfriends’ suits and suddenly though “Hey, this looks pretty good”. There is nothing contrived about this collection at all.
The fashion house have managed to seamlessly blur the line between formalwear and sportswear, mixing slouchy sweatshirts and beautifully knitted men’s jumpers with fur gilets, suit trousers and leather. Our absolute favourite piece from the whole collection is the stone-coloured suede outdoor jacket with leather lapels – a genius take on old-fashioned outdoors wear, every girl will want one of these to brave the cold in, whether you’re in New York or Grimsby.
Yes, tailoring has been a big trend for a while, but not quite like this – Tommy Hilfiger’s 2011-12 collection takes masculine dressing to another level. The fashion house has taken the next logical step from reinventing the tuxedo as a feminine garment to bringing Saville Row dressing to the female market. In fashion, it’s never just a man’s world. In a subtly cool palette of greys, blacks, browns and golds, it’s an understated assortment of clothes that we think will give any wearer immediate elegance and poise.
Forget cocktail dresses – make our next party outfit a Tommy Hilfiger suit.
Tags: 1970s, androgyny, annie hall, mercedes benz, New York Fashion Week, suit, Tommy Hilfiger, tweed
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Designer Fashions, Designers, Events, Features, Gallery, New York Fashion Week - Runway
By Andrea Petrou on February 14th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
Victoria Beckham A/W 2011-2012
It may have taken some by surprise when former Spice Girl and occasionally tacky footballer’s wife, Victoria Beckham, had a complete style overhaul and announced a new career in fashion. Long gone is the black bob, purple lipstick and minidress that we remember so well from SpiceWorld – what has ensued is an impeccably chic sense of dress, a close friendship with Karl Lagerfeld and a much-anticipated runway slot at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NYC.
But, a couple of years on and her venture into design has been far from a flop – several extremely high-profile celebrities (including Michelle Obama) have become huge fans of her beautifully tailored, sleek designs. The buzz around her show at NY Fashion Week yesterday paid testament to the huge success she’s become.
While her past designs have been extremely structured, form-fitting dresses that are reminiscent of Jackie O on her way to a press event, this season’s collection was a surprisingly relaxed and playful assortment of dresses and miniskirts in her trademark block colours; this season the palette of choice was a mix of black, sunflower yellow, crimson and maroon. The whole thing reminded us a bit of the genius of Jil Sander’s last collection. The glamour, however, was still there in spades; that much was obvious as soon as the first look was sent down the runway, a hooded crimson dress that looked like it should belong on a classic cover of Vogue.
What followed the first look was an elegant mix of bubble-hem dresses, origami-structured shapes and cowl necks that managed to look modern while giving more than a nod to the stark simplicity of the 1960s. It’s a style that I’d absolutely kill to pull off, but I’ve got a feeling these dresses require a wearer with a little more poise than clumsy old me.
The Victoria Beckham show was an absolute pleasure – not because of the talent shown in her designs, but the growth and development in her creativity that we can see since the last collection. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with next time – it’ll probably be spectacular. She just keeps getting better and better.
Tags: dress, mercedes benz week, New York Fashion Week, tailoring, VB, Victoria Beckham
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Designer Fashions, Gossip, New York Fashion Week - Runway
By Andrea Petrou on February 13th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
Alexander Wang A/W 2011-12
If Paris Fashion Week is the mecca of elegant couture, and Milan Fashion Week the source of all high-octane glamour, then New York Fashion Week is the home of cool. And it doesn’t come much cooler than the gritty, slick designs of Alexander Wang, whose shows we absolutely always look forward to the moment when NYFW rolls around again.
The young designer exploded into our consciousness a few seasons ago with his tough, punk aesthetic. Did you rock a fishtail plait last year, covet a studded leather jacket or embrace sportwear as the pinnacle of cool? If so then you’ve got Mr. Wang to thank for it, whose raw and modern take on rock and roll has turned fashion around. Following his last Spring/Summer show, which was an unexpected collection of laid-back separates and a complete departure from his signature look, we breathed a sigh of relief to see him return to what he does best at NY Fashion Week yesterday.
The models were definitely dressed for a cold and rainy New York winter as they stomped down the runway in an interesting mix of quilted leather, knitted black and grey ponchos, metal jewellery and fur collars. There was a pretty balance between hard and soft in the textures and shapes used in the collection – we especially loved his buttery, black biker-girl jacket with a huge fur collar teamed up with beautifully tailored silk trousers. Is this what Joan Jett would look like if she grew up and got a job in an art gallery in the Big Apple? We hope so.
Though the collection was more subtle than some of Wang’s past collections (we didn’t see a single stud anywhere), there were still plenty of his signature quirk and charm in the accessories. Fur headbands, metal bracelets and fluffy shoes may only be for the brave, but at Fashion Week it was pure New York perfection.
Tags: Alexander Wang, aw, catwalk, Fall 2011, leather, New York Fashion Week, sportswear
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Accessories, Affordable Fashions, Designer Fashions, Gallery
By Andrea Petrou on January 28th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
I don’t know about you, but there’s been an awful lot of girls out and about in grungey, black get-ups at parties at the moment – we love our gothic lace maxis, but a teeny part of us wonders if there will be a more refreshing party look to emulate come spring. And there definitely is – this past week’s Haute Couture Week in Paris, we could see a definite theme of quirky romance, understated softness and femininity in all of the collections bar one. Sheer, draped fabrics in ice-cream shades of soft peach, off-white and pale yellow were regularly seen, as were an abundance of ruffles in nearly every party dress and more than a bit of sparkle in the form of heavy costume jewellery. It all reminded us a lot of Marchesa’s Spring 2011 collection, which was one part rich Sultan’s daughter and two parts sugarplum fairy.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a party dress as jewel-encrusted and luxurious as a Marchesa one without having to shell out the real thing, but the look is easy to emulate. Accessories such as feather capes and heavy costume jewellery can give a simple sheer dress a bit of Marchesa’s infectious joie de vivre, and if you’re feeling creative you could buy some jewels from a habadashery and add some sparkling detail to your outfit yourelf.
As the models on the runway showed us, this isn’t a trend that requires a Barbie Girl type to wear it – in fact, the Marchesa girls instead wore their hair up in an edgy bun and dark, modern makeup to balance out the girlish magic of the clothes and avoid the whole thing becoming too sickly. Check out the gallery below for pieces that can be put together for a completely beautiful Marchesa-esque party look.
At Marchesa's Spring 2011 collection, jewels, sheer draping and frills were the flavour of the day
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From:Debenhams show us how to avoid tanning disasters this year