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?

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!

All Saints & Victoria Beckham At NY Fashion Week?

As we all know, Victoria Beckham is from the UK. Yet I find it quite surprising that she currently only shows her collections at New York Fashion Week, yet she is a UK based designer. As well as VB, the English retailer All Saints has now jumped ship are gone over seas to New York to show for the first time their Spring/Summer 14 collection. Why is is that designers do this as soon as they gain commercial success?

In a talk with Victoria at the Vogue Festival this year, she said she feels 'settled' with her brand being in New York and each year she's shown there has got a good response. Should British designers though only be able to show at LFW or chase the money? Well, at current it seems they all they want to do is chase the money. If it were me, being a British designer, it would be important for me to gain success in the UK first, but I'd be lying if someone said you'd make money here too so go there also. People would be lying if they said they went into business SOLEY just because they love what they do, money plays a huge part.

With All Saints, I still feel they'll flourish here in the UK, as we'll get to see their collections for each season first. The fact they've shown only once in NY doesn't mean they will in the near future. With concerns to the British High Street, I don't feel this will have a huge impact, fans of the brand will continue to buy. It's only when we become second best to whats coming out then problems might occur.

Paris Fashion Week Round Up

Yeah I know I am a bit late off the band wagon here but I've been away, started my placement for uni la la la and general life has been getting in the way but anywho, onto the point of the post-
To kick off the week of Haute Couture was Versace with none other than Naomi Campbell. This was upon Donatella's request which I found quite interesting. Of course Miss Campbell wouldn't turn it down. Nonetheless she looked stunning in an embellished black one-piece. Versace's inspo for the collection was the elegance of black and white photos and old old films which she has clearly executed beautifully. What a way to have kicked off the weeks events. Surprisingly, a lot of the pieces seemed a lot more wearable than your average haute couture piece, such as one black figure-hugging cocktail dress. Stop dreaming Grace

Naomi for Versace

Another shocker of the week was the re-appearance of Schiaparelli. Christina Lacroix produced a one of collection that would not go on sale for any price, and I mean ANY! Did he miss a vital trick here? But maybe Lacroix just wanted to create a buzz for the fashion industry and potentially steal the so called 'spot light' of the week as it were. Especially with some pieces going for as much as £80,000. However it was not shown through catwalk but installation at the Musee Arts Decoratifs. I've just got to say, those pom pom hats (if I can call them that) are insane

Schiaparelli installation with sketch

One of my personal favs of the week was Isabel Marant. With the immanent arrival of her colab with H&M looming fast, she didn't fail to deliver with her own brand. Everything shown I just loved and could wear easily; monochrome till I die people! What were your highlights of the week?? I'd love to know.

Isabel Marant

London Collections Round Up

As I'm sure you're well aware, the London Collections took place last week and into this week. I won't bore you with a complete low down as you've probably read it everywhere and anywhere by now, but thought I'd let you know a few of my personal favs from the couple of days.

From Sunday, I absolutely LOVED the Jonathan Saunders show, there was one jacket in particular, that had the best array of colours in a waved pattern through out it, that just stood out for me. And a metallic neon yellow bomber which was just amazing.

Jonathan Saunders jackets

Another designer that stood out for me was Shaun Samson. There was just something about the contrasting soft pink colours against the harsh blacks and greys as well as his use of silver, because we all know I can't get enough of silver. Did I say I liked silver? The flowy, almost feminine lines was really nice to see also.

Shaun Samson SS14

If someone said they didn't enjoy one of Burberrys shows, they'd be lying. I really liked how each model had their own man-clutch or quant back pack, which worked so effortlessly well with Christopher Baileys clean sophisticated style. The colours were so preppy and clean, it all just worked so well together.

Burberry

I really love how the BFC have integrated the London Collections into a main fashion event. As I said in my previous post about the fashionistas that are forever hungry for more, it bridges the gap between the major September and January weeks. I'm not a big Menwears fan, but I really did enjoying looking what each designer had to offer. As well as the clothes, the fashion show sets for me were interesting to see, especially Alexander McQueen who never fails to deliver something just a tad out of the ordinary as well as Saville Row with their cricket ground setting.

Mens Fashion Week What?

Yep you heard it right, mens fashion week! As we all know all the major cities Fashion Weeks have always been about womenswear and it's time to make way for menwear. I think BFC have named it London Collections: Men and 48 catwalk shows and presentations will take place across two days. The last event was held back in January for autumn/winter 13 and this year it's on Sunday 16th June-18th June. Over 30 ready-to-wear collections and accessories designers will be exhibiting over three floors at The Hospital Club, WC2.

The BFC describes the London Collections as: "emphasising both the creative and commercial importance of Britain's brands and emerging talent as well as the rich cultural landscape that contributed to the inspiration and success of this section."
Just as GFW, it's also so important to see emerging talent within menswear as well as women. Even if I wont wear the clothes, I think I'd still find it interesting to see and watch and take in the mens trends.

It was only launched last June so it must of been a success for it to gain a second year, and on two occasions throughout the year so far, of course similar to the standard fashion weeks. The BFC have announced the winners of the brightest emerging talent that have got themselves a place at the London Collections to showcase their spring/summer 14 collection. These include Agi & Sam, Lee Roach, Matthew Miller, Nasir Mazhar, Shaun Samson and Astrid Andersen. These are the ones to watch this season.

L-R A&S, LR, MM, NM, SS, AA

Agi & Sam are about to launch their first collection for Topman and have been branded by The Guardian as the the men who 'design clothes that people want to wear.' Look out for an owl theme running through their range. Lee Roach's signature is 'reduction and repetition' and graduated from Central Saint Martins only shortly back in 2010. Matthew Miller loves using engineered digital prints and structured tailoring. He states spring/summer 14 will introduce a new manifesto for the brand - ooo exciting! Nasir Mazhar is very out their and his signature piece is a box peak cap. You can't miss this fellos work. Shaun Samson is also a graduate of CSM and is looking to recreate the ultimate summer party with his s/s14 collection. And Lastly Astrid Andersen says his client must be 'confident above all' and wants to create a look that is masculine, using street attitude and hip hop references. For more of their work, go on the BFC website to see their previous seasons catwalks at, www.londoncollections.co.uk./men

Alex Chung and David Gandy, just to name a few, have taken part in a new campaign called The GREAT Campaign in conjunction with London Collections to entice people to visit and study in London. Fashion of course, as we do have some of the best colleges in the world. (See image at the top) The image is taken on the famous Savile Row which hosts some of the best mens tailoring which is a perfect way to advertise the London Collection. Along with the images, there are a series of video campaigns to go along side which you can watch on the above address also.

I'm not sure if they stream the showcases online yet, but be sure to check out the coverage after the two day event if like me you're intrigued to see what the upcoming talent has to offer.