Archive for the ‘Designer Fashions’ Category
Celebrity Style, Designer Fashions, Designers, News
By Andrea Petrou on April 19th, 2011
Donatella Versace has rubbished the efforts of celebrity designers claiming they are no competition to her.
The 55-year-old Italian – who took over as creative director of Versace after her brother Gianni was murdered in 1997 – has slammed a “lack of creativity” in lines designed by famous stars.
She said: “I think it is more a question of marketing. Some of these collections are for cheaper, mass market fashion. I don’t think that creativity is there.
“You need to live among real things, you need as much information as possible.”
While Donatella did not single out any famous person in particular, there are a number of celebrities with their own clothing lines including Victoria Beckham, Gwen Stefani, Katie Holmes and Jessica Simpson.
Although she’s not a fan of celebrity designers, Donatella – whose famous fans include January Jones and Angelina Jolie – has previously revealed she is worried that young designers find it difficult to get started in the industry, saying: “Since the big fashion groups started, of course, it’s harder for young people to get started. Now you talk about merchandising, marketing, where to put a product, how much it should cost, entry prices, and for someone straight out of college, that’s scary. I think that the pushing of the commercial side of fashion over the past 10 years has maybe killed creativity a little – I’m talking generally here – but that may be changing again now.”
Tags: creativity lines, Donatella Versace, fashion designs, Gwen Stefani, sienna miller, Victoria Beckham
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Designer Fashions, designer pick of the week, Designers, Gallery
By emilyborrett on April 8th, 2011
Carrying on with our galleries of some of our greatest designers of the moment, we’re getting in touch with our fabulously Italian sides today and shining the spotlight on Miu Miu, the diffusion line of Miuccia Prada and one of the biggest labels in fashion en ce moment. Infamous for their devilishly girly designs, with more than a dash of blatant sexuality in a naughty “Lolita” way, Miu Miu is the label to love if you like your fashion frothy and playful.
Anyone who’s anyone has been seen out in recent years in one of their deliciously eccentric designs – their speciality seems to have become fun, sugary prints that are great for wearing if you want to go out and play. Everyone from Victoria Beckham to Daisy Lowe was seen last year in their Spring/Summer swallow-printed dresses with the cheeky cutaway panels which revealed a lot of beautiful skin – you know you’re doing something right if both fashion’s first lady and a scruffy edgy thing like Daisy are angling to wear your dresses.
Another favourite of ours recently have been their gorgeous kitten-printed blouses, complete with sparkling Swarovski detail. I know that on paper it sounds hideous and OTT but when in reality was a piece of fashion magic – a reflection on a world that now welcomes the kitsch and the silly with open arms. And why shouldn’t it?
Their most recent collection has been a bit more muted, with overcoats and dresses in burnt umber and oranges, but the ornate Miu Miu attention to detail remains, with beautifully stitched and printed oriental-style florals creeping up hemlines and sleeves.
Miu Miu, we love you! Passionately! Check out the gallery above to see our favourite moments from Miu Miu since 2006.
Tags: bird print, designer spotlight, Italian fashion, jewels, Milan Fashion Week, miu miu, Prada
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Designer Fashions, designer pick of the week, Designers, dresses, Gallery
By Andrea Petrou on April 7th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
As we continue paying tribute to some of fashion’s finest designers with galleries highlighting some of the best of their work, there are few designers as deserving as the late, great Alexander McQueen, whose tragic suicide last year rocked the fashion industry and whose absence is still felt.
It would be fair to say that Alexander McQueen, first real name Lee, is one of the finest designers that Britain’s ever had. With his expert knowledge of advanced tailoring, reckless and innovative approach to design, and a talent for shocking an audience, his shows have always buzzed with the kind of atmosphere that only happens when you are in the presence of true, unadulterated creation.
One only needs to look back at the footage from McQueen’s funeral to see just how loved he was by all: the whole fashion world seemed to be (and still is) in mourning. At his funeral the likes of Daphne Guiness, Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer were all there to say goodbye to Britain’s most brilliant designer, some of them wearing their own McQueen pieces as a final good-bye.
A year has passed since the maverick designer was tragically found hanged in his home, but his legacy of design still remains him. Always bursting to the seams with drama, darkness and emotion, his collections were all true works of art. To see our favourite Lee McQueen moments since the beginning of his career, right up until his final collection shown after his death, check out the gallery above.
Tags: Alexander McQueen, best of, costume, death, designer spotlight, drama, Suicide
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Celebrity Style, Designer Fashions, designer pick of the week, Designers, Gallery
By Andrea Petrou on April 6th, 2011
We couldn’t do a designer spotlight series without including Chanel, after all this iconic fashion house has bought us a great deal of style joy over the past century.
The design house was the first to bring chic elegance into the mainstream and combine different fabrics including fur, tweeds and on-trend hats.
And this is really what attracted celebrities right through the 50s and 60s to now to wear them. Under Karl Lagerfeld’s current designs, Chanel has become alot more funky – think mini dresses, luxe fabrics and tiered styles, yet that elegance still remains. Fans now include the likes of Lily Allen, Emma Watson and Sarah Jessica Parker, just to name a few.
See the gallery below for styles ranging all the way back to the early 1900s to today, as well as celebrity fans.
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Tags: Alexa Chung, chanel, Coco Chanel, Emma Watson, Karl Lagerfeld, old fashions, Sarah Jessica Parker
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Designer Fashions, Designers, Gallery, Style spotlight
By Andrea Petrou on March 30th, 2011
By Emily Borrett.
Carrying on with the recent spotlights we’ve been casting some of our very favourite designers, today we’ve turned our attentions to American whizz-kid Marc Jacobs. Juggling his time between designing under his own name for his designer label and diffusion line Marc for Marc Jacobs, along with being creative director for Louis Vuitton, he manages to always smash it whilst being super-busy. Today we’re going to look at his work for his primary self-titled label, which has churned out flawless collections season after season for years now.
He’s always been one of the first designers to get behind a huge trend in fashion – who could forget his edible Spring/Summer 2011 collection, a gorgeous collection of silks, floppy silhouettes and accessories that had us all frantically trying to find similar 1970s pieces? Or his Spring/Summer 2010 collection, in which that nude-coloured midi-dress, as seen on Alexa Chung, had us all spurning short hemlines for the chicer midi-length hemlines? He’s a designer who truly has his fingertip on the beating pulse of fashion.
We’ve looked through his past collections from 2006 to the present to find our very favourite pieces of his work – check them out in the gallery above.
Tags: 70s, designer spotlight, Marc Jacobs, New York Fashion Week, NYC, Trend Alert
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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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Donatella Versace has rubbished the efforts of celebrity designers claiming they are no competition to her.
From:Pictures: 2012 British Soap Awards - Best dressed, Michelle Keegan, Jennifer Metcalf and more