Oh Sweet Milano

I always find Italian fashion to be very different to that of London, but in a good way. There are many raising stars in Milan fashion right now who should be celebrated.

For example, Stella Jean from Rome. She's been supported by Armarni and and is already stocked at matchesfashion.com. I took a quick look at her latest collection from Milan Fashion Week spring/summer 2014 and It's definitely got a Mediterranean vibe to it, that's probably the best way I'd describe it, but with a city edge. The 34 year old mother of two won the Vogue Italia's Who's On Next talent contest in 2011 and her dresses sold out basically before they'd even landed at Matches for the past two seasons, so it seems this lady has made her mark quite rapidly in Milan so far.

Stella Jean

Another rising talent is MSGM. Launched in 2009, the DJ and designer Massimo Giogetti are already quite established also being stocked at Matches. But this year they debuted at their first Milan Fashion Week. There spring summer 14 collection has been described as thirties Hollywood to tiki glamour - an interesting mix. I've got to say, the orange and blue shift dress below is quite the dream.

MSGM

And lastly there's Marco De Vincenzo who's said to be on LVMH's to-buy list - the dude must be good then. I must say out of the three, I think I rate his collection the most. I'm such a fan of the minimalistic look when it comes to dressing, and I'm getting such a vibe of this from his work. It looks sleek and sophisticated - WINNING. 

Marco De Vincenzo

Who's your fav? Any upcoming Italian designers I've missed?

Triumph For Triumph

Icelandic illustrator Kristjana S Willians has teamed up with the lingerie brand Triumph to help create their most recent Aw 13 campaign. Kristjana has been commissioned by a few brands to help create them campaigns such as for the V&S and Design Shanghai 2014.

Her style is very 'cartoony' I'd say and its been used to demonstrate the brands heritage. Again this heritage take is coming into help lively up some brands which seem to be sitting in the shadows with the use of tape measures a d ribbons wrapped throughout the image; quite cliche but I'm not mad at it.

I think the new campaign has helped bring them into the now, as I'd personally never look to Triumph for lingerie, but I may not be their target market, I think they're trying to bring in a younger freshers look. The logo itself of the brand feels dated so the campaign has brightened this up a little. The stills below are of Kristjana herself as she's producing one of the above designs which is a nice touch for treat for advertisers. 

Bright Lights, Big City

Bit of a lengthy post this one is, but wanted to share some of my snaps with you from my latest trip to the Big Apple! Literally got back this morning and had such an amazing time. This was my second time returning to the city, and I just love it. You can have to get past some of the occasional rude people you come across, huchum, the cabbies, but apart from that there's so much to do and see there, you can never say you've truly seen it all. 

The trip was my 21st birthday present so of course it involved a lot of shopping but I wanted to take in a few of the sites. I've done the typical tourists bits in a previous trip such as the Statue of Liberty (which I couldn't get in the crown because of the 9/11 attacks unfortunately) and the Empire State Building but mostly wanted to see things like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Public Library - to have my Cary Bradshaw moment of course.

Something I did take in a lot of was the huge department stores visual merchandising. I don't know if it's just me, but it seems there is a huge amount of spent on it. Every designer shop managed to catch my eye. This could be because generally all the stores windows, especially on Fifth Avenue, were so huge, but I found it really impressive. I'd never been into Saks or Bergdorf's which was a really nice experience. I don't know how I'd compare it to our Harrods or Selfridges, but the displays where definitely immaculate.

These really are just a select few of the hundreds I took, I couldn't possibly list all the good things to see and do as there are sooo many. Definitely do the most touristy bits and dedicate a couple of days to them and then days for shopping and other sites like that otherwise I feel I walked back on myself when I tried to cram in too much in one day. Any good recommendations of things to see and do in NYC that aren't the norm? Always wanted as I know i'll be going back, even if it takes me another few years to get there.

Kate Bosworth For Topshop

Kate Bosworth is back with her new A/W13 collection for Topshop. I remember her Spring festival capsule collection she did which wasn't too my taste so much but however this collection has pulled at my fashion heart strings. The use of silver and black, two of my favourite colours, is so minimal and effortless I just love it. However, what I do not love so much, is this wet-look hair. It just looks greasy and un-sleak. However I can just cover her face and admire the clothes haha. Nothing against her face, just purely the hair.

What do you make of the new collection?

Penrose £ - Ringarose

My uni like to celebrate entrepreneurship and therefore hold the Penrose Festival every November where students have the chance to make anything they like for less than £1 and sell it. We create the branding and marketing behind it to follow up the product and the idea is that you can make something from nothing and we should embrace recycling items to make something new. Upcycling is the name game.

I'm going to post some snippets of my groups progress on here leading up the event, so keep your eyes pealed for more!

London Collections: The Countdown

If you've been a frequent reader, you would of seen my London Collections post back in September. And it's that time again, January 6th - 8th 2014 are the dates for the 2nd year of the men's version of fashion week. Hold tight for more posts about the upcoming schedule and who are the ones to watch!

Westwood's Heritage Collaborations

Dame viv has been very busy the past coming months. She needs to be on a collaboration hype, making her mark with a range of heritage brands. First it was The Cambridge Satchel; these lary print beauties are true Westwood sale and hit the online store Monday 14th October. Since I wear a lot of black, I love spicing it up with colourful accessories, and these would make a perfect addition in my wardrobe. However, I'm not too keen on the gold logo embellishment; if only they had the option to make it silver. The white and read print is my fav! Which is yours?

The heritage luggage brand Globetrotter also got the Westwood treatment with her creating a tartan-lined case which comes with leather luggage belt, and straps in the her distinct squiggle print and finished off with a foil embossed luggage tag - amazing! 

It seems now more than ever that heritage brands are standing out, especially as the country is still in the midst of a recession, now more than ever we should be buying British. The collaborations to me seem like such a good idea, and not just because I love Vivienne Westwood. She has also collaboration with Lock&Co, Johnstons of Elgin and Pantherella. What do you make of the heritage collabs? 

Provenance Promise

Made in China, made in Portugal, made in Morocco. If we even bother looking at the labels in the clothes we buy today, these are the types of places we are set to see. I've got to say, I'm a culprit of this myself, it doesn't even cross my mind but it's a fact that the majority of the high street brands today don't have things made here. How important is it though to people that things are made here?

Mary Portas tried to tackle this issues with her not-so-kinky-knickers, however a report from November 2012 says that business was booming, and they had orders of up to 45,00 due to the demand for them. The TV programme that followed this I must say was interesting and made some good points about the origins or our clothes but its easy enough to say 'oh yeah I support British blah blah' but you wouldn't got hunting for it on the high street like 'I need to find this piece but it has to be made here.' It's definitely not a case of substance over style.

The fact that all that has to be done in this country for a garment to say 'made in Britain' is as little as sewing on a button is quite worrying. The fabric was not made here, the craftsmanship was not here. Heritage brands such as Jack Wills that use tag lines like 'Fabulously British' in fact aren't so British being made in Asia... I must say if I saw a piece I liked and it was clearly labelled that it was FULLY made in Britain I would happily buy it.

The closest we've got is Chanel building a tweed factory here in the UK. Some brands that have thrived with the 'Britishishness' in their favour are things like The Cambridge Satchel Company launched in 2008 and the menswear brand Wadsworth and Browne Ldt launched in 2012 - so still quite recent brands.

What's your take on the provenance of your garments? Does it matter to you? See makeitbritish for more brands.