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LONDON, TUESDAY 24 TH FEBRUARY 2009
Planet Giles THE FA S H I O N M O M E N T B Y S A R A H B A I L E Y
“It’s a re-evaluation of all the reasons I wanted to get into fashion in 1988... the joy of having fun in the studio, experimenting with technique and improvising,” said Giles Deacon, backstage after a breathtaking show that saw idea spill out after idea. A spirit of naughty elegance reigned – from razor-sharp wool sheath-dresses worn with savage Mongolian-lamb armlets, to a tiered-tulle ballgown fit for a warrior queen (it was sprinkled with lethal-looking spikes). Juxtapositions of old-and-new, hard-and-soft were the order of the day, in the form of a wool tunic embellished with shards of tortoiseshell and over-the-knee fetish boots fashioned from softest parma-violet-coloured suede. And if the designer did indeed reference collections past – one eagle-eyed critic spotted a leather skirt lifted from his own graduate degree show in the line-up – it was all done with playful aplomb.
W E E K
P H O T O G R A P HY BY ANNA BAUER
Dresses in a gorgeous autumnal palette of chartreuse, dove grey, rich gold and terracotta wore their insides on the outside – so that not just zippers were exposed, but seams, too. Print, always a Giles strong point, was this time inspired by fishing flies given to the designer by his father – arranged in one print in neat multiples and cut into elegantly fluid Katherine Hepburnesque pants, elsewhere blown-up and abstracted like some wild animal skin. Model casting was appropriately fierce. Rachel Williams, the Eighties American supermodel who opened the show, bestrode the runway like a Boudicca in kinky boots, while other less-familiar faces had been cast on the street in Camden. Of course, in a show as strong as this, what a woman might actually choose to wear next autumn can get lost, but there was plenty here to shop for and styling ideas, too.
Jourdan Dunn’s look – a grey-rubber tee worn over a neat white shirt, with a little jewelled mini, over-the-knee socks and flat shoes – was an object lesson in what one might wear: embellishment and special pieces right now... with an irreverent kick. Photography by www.catwalking.com
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ISSUE 3
To Show, or Not To Show? Note This REPOR T BY THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE’S ROBB YOUNG
REPOR T BY JESSICA BRINTON
Crisp new clothes on hips swaying down a long stage under flattering lights to the sound of music. It’s the trusty template of the catwalk show. A good one can pack suspense, narrative, climax and conclusion into the same time that a West End play takes for an intermission. Not bad for a peculiar genre of theatre where there’s no dialogue and the choreography is on repeat for 20 minutes straight. But what an expensive 20 minutes it is – some £20,000 to £500,000 a pop. It will always be a gamble to squeeze an entire year’s worth of marketing budget into just two events per year, but it is the fashion show that can broadcast a brand’s products out to the entire world through sites like Style.com and be a perennial point of reference for global buyers. Such is the reality for young designers, who, without the financial means to whip up a glossy ad campaign, become utterly dependent on reaping their publicity rewards from the catwalk – in one way or another. “A show is the best way to get all the relevant people in one place to deliver an authoritative and directional message,” says Selfridges’ director of fashion, Anita Barr.
A worrying new trend has been noted on the front row: the nontaking of fashion notes. For the fashion journalism veterans, this is nothing short of an insult. Some might even say it’s a bit blasé. It has also been noted that certain young fashion scribes have graduated from copious note taking when they first hit the front row, to no scribbling at all. Some might blame the memory-jogging safety net of Style.com, googleable a mere hour or two post show. Or is it a play for status? “There’s no doubt that taking notes helps to focus the mind,” said Suzy Menkes, typing away with a laptop on her knee at Roksanda Ilincic. It’s also a way to avoid senior moments. “You have to take notes if you go to them all, or it becomes a blur of colours, shape and texture,” says the divine Colin McDowell. Hilary Alexander, writing in one of 300 notebooks she has filled over the years so far, said: “I just think, if you’re not taking notes, why are you here? Mind you, if the music is great – Guns ’n’ Roses, say – my knee is joggling up and down so much it’s quite hard to get the words down.” Noted.
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In tough times like these, marketing is one of the first places that the money men tell designers to cut back. It’s all well and good for the likes of Marc Jacobs to drastically downsize his New York show – the PR calls it “exclusive”, creating a bigger mob at the door and even more hype as a result. But for some smaller brands, the only way to reduce their marketing expenditure is by foregoing the big, fat catwalk extravaganza altogether. Duro Olowu, one of London Fashion Week’s hottest tickets, is this week doing just that, by seeing clients on an appointment basis. The great irony, of course, is that the fashion show has become a lifeline for designers, and removing it from the equation means even less visibility in the media for independent labels already overshadowed by the global giants. Everyone knows that press coverage helps to generate sales, but do the shops buying designers’ wares really think it is such a disaster to opt out of the runway circuit? In the long run, is a static installation, a virtual presentation, or a quirky film a viable Report continues on page 3
02 •
LONDON, TUESDAY 24 TH FEBRUARY 2009
Catwalk Highlights
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• 03
LONDON, TUESDAY 24 TH FEBRUARY 2009
www.londonfashionweek.co.uk
Girl Grown Up CATWALK REVIEW BY SARAH BAILEY
BY SARAH BAILEY, DEPUTY EDITOR, HARPER’S BAZAAR
After spring/summer’s bubblegum ponyclub princesses, Luella progressed her signature subversive take on British tradition (debuted 10 years ago) with a collection of beautifully produced and eminently wearable feminine pieces. “I wanted to keep the detail from last season, but my girl’s grown up a little bit,” said the designer backstage, adding that there will always be a place for a retro-Princess Anne homage. To wit, the cool pussybow blouses she worked into her mix. Elsewhere, for day, houndstooth pants worn with shrunken fur-jackets and pale-blue school shirts looked fresh and modern, while sexily shrunken suiting came with gilded oversized embellishments. Military references – an airforce sweater as a knit mini-dress, a cap bestowed just the right amount of tough to the gold Lurex, bows and sequinned granny cardigans on offer. Eveningwear was particularly strong. Fabulously cut brocade tuxedo-pants and heartbreakingly pretty oyster-silk ruffle dresses were standout pieces. Touches of eccentricity kept the mood light, from a teetering punk hairdo worn with an impossibly abbreviated take on a Chanel suit, or a whacky T-shirt featuring a pyramid-shaped cartoon man paired with a party skirt. Pyramid man? A sly dig at our current financial apocalypse? “It’s from a book I bought ages ago by cartoonist Owen Plummer,” shrugged Bartley. “There’s no deep symbolism. I just loved it.”
PHOT O G R A P H Y W W W. C AT WA L K I N G . C O M
Photography by Anna Bauer
Marios Schwab
Erdem
Roksanda Ilincic
Taking inspiration from explosive rock fissures and the clouded beauty of Rodin’s works-in-progress, this was an exquisitely executed collection, bursting with thoughts about the art of clothing and revealing the female body. Opening with a series of intricately constructed cocktail dresses – some appearing to crack open at the breastbone, to reveal gleaming crystals beneath – Schwab used clever panelling and puffs of volume to sculpt a silhouette that was both sharp and yet retained a sense of molten dynamic nature. “Very, very difficult,” the designer admitted backstage of an ingeniously cut aqua-and-black number. “The concept was to bring together two sizes in one dress – a size 20 on top of a size eight. It was an exaggeration, but you can’t do it in a comic way. It’s all about proportions.” Well, precisely. Dresses aside, a couple of shaggy-sheepskin coats (straightened with hair irons before their runway appearance!) rocked shoulders worthy of Honey Monster and a cropped black pantsuit with three-dimensional anaglyphic panels looked confidently commercial.
“If last season the girl was of the countryside, this season she’s saved up enough bus fare to come to the city,” explained Erdem Moralioglu backstage. “I wanted everything to be very chic. A little bit French, a little Japanese, even Russian, but young.” This was a collection that celebrated the mood-elevating joy of putting on a dress. To the accompaniment of Parisian folk music from ensemble Ooh La La, the poppy-lipped models tripped out in couture-worthy fabrics in a palette of rich, saturated colours – red, blue and mustard. Skirt shapes either puffed away from the body, or fell to the floor in liquid sheaths. Erdem fan Virginia Bates earmarked the final exit, a navy floor-length number, while the babydoll prom frocks with little corset tops looked cool enough for the Alexa Chung crowd. Erdem has a way with a floral and his Gerhard Richter-meets-Monet prints looked particularly sharp on the Georgina Goodman-designed ankle boots, that gave even the grandest of his looks a lightness.
“My mood is always romantic, but this time it is more structured,” revealed Ilincic of a collection which began with sharp-cut evening pants in Turkish Delight-purple, paired with a ‘Blade Runner Rachel’ jacket and closed with a panniered skirt of such exaggeratedly regal proportions it made its wearer look like a loveheart. Bold silhouettes, not to mention a fierce shoulder, are, of course, an Ilincic signature, but for some today the shapes in this collection felt a tad déjà-vu. There were other lovely pieces: a cocktail dress featuring an aqua draped bodice atop a nude skirt with a purple grosgrain ribbon waistband felt fresh. Lace, peeping beneath the hem of a puffed sleeve, was ued to great effect and Maria Francesca Pepe’s gold-ribbon jewellery provided a gorgeously loopy flourish. But still, a feeling remains that it’s time for the talented Ilincic to move her aesthetic forward.
Get Knitted
For more, see Luella Catwalk Review, opposite
For further information and important facts, please refer to the key below:
REPOR T B Y LAUREN COCHRANE PHOTOGRAPHY BY WWW.CATWALKING.COM
When is a knit not a knit? When it’s a fusion of grid-textured leather and iridescent metal knits whipped up into sculptural sweater dresses reminiscent of articulated armour. This was the scene at Louise Goldin yesterday who, having collaborated with Dark Knight costumiers Whitaker & Malem, served up a dystopian dark collection of angular, futuristic knits in a palette of ink, anthracite, emerald and teal. As is often the case with Goldin, it
was a feat of technical knit-wizardry, borne out of experimenting, that got Goldin to this point. “I needed to get inside a factory to do these pieces,” elaborates the designer post show. “It’s a very technical way of working, but is precisely what drives the fabric formulations of the end product.” Goldin is just one designer at the epicentre of London’s new knitwear scene, currently defined by an up-and-coming generation of yarn innovators. Mark Fast caused
a stir off-schedule last season with his sexy, bodycon cobweb-knit mini dresses. He unveils his knitted “manipulated classics” on schedule today. Elsewhere NEWGEN-sponsored exhibitor and former-Gareth Pugh-assistant Craig Lawrence is pushing the boundaries with his knitted dresses crafted out of ribbon and rubber gloves. “It’s important to keep on experimenting,” says Lawrence. “The possibilities are endless.” Indeed they are.
* BFC New Gen sponsered by Topshop The BFC Tent: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 TS: TOPSHOP venue, P3 University of Westminster, Luxborough St, NW1 On Schedule shows: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk
Off Schedule shows: www.blow.co.uk On/Off: Science Museum, Exhibition Road, SW7 2DD www.thedoll.org/onoff Vauxhall Fashion Scout: Cnr Cromwell Road and Queen’s Gate, SW7 Schedule correct at time of printing. For updates contact the Timeline – 020 7942 3900 Today’s schedule has been created exclusively by illustrator Lucie Sheridan
S.A.D.
Fashion East-er
And To Finish
R E P O R T B Y J E S S I E B R I N T ON
REPOR T BY LAUREN COCHRANE
REPOR T BY LUCIE GREENE
Isn’t fashion such a funny thing? One moment you’re there among your friends and kindred spirits, being witty and interesting and very up-tothe-minute in all the latest garb. Next thing you know, you’ve been thrust out of the tents and into the half-term traffic, where even the most stalwart style pundit outside the comfort zone of planet fashion can instantly feel like a twat. This week we are calling the syndrome Seasonal Affected Disorder, or SAD. SAD is marked by a sense of discombobulation when getting ready in the morning. As you yank yourself into a summer look in February climes, is it any wonder family onlookers snigger? The chasmic divide between the fashionable life and the life lived by other people deepens the divide. Crocs were in plentiful supply at the Science Museum today, as a backdrop for Pam Hogg’s show at On/Off. The trouble began when the hydraulic lift made a few unplanned pit stops at different floors. Fashion people and normal people were forced to endure an extra two minutes of each other’s company. The fashion crowd faced the discomfort with their usual resilience and wilful
Pssssst... REPORT & IMAGE BY BECKY DAVIES
09:00 MARK FAST* BFC TENT 09:00 MARY KATRANTZOU* BFC TENT 10:00 OSMAN YOUSEFZADA SW7 11:15 JOSH GOOT WC2E 11:45 INBAR SPECTOR VFS 12:15 PETER PILOTTO* BFC TENT
13:30 FASHION EAST SW1 14:30 MEADHAM KIRCHOFF* BFC TENT 15:45 BORA AKSU ON/OFF 16:45 HOUSE OF HOLLAND* SW1 19:00 NASIR MAZHAR* N1
09:30 COOPERATIVE DESIGN VFS 10:45 ASHLEY ISHAM ON/OFF 12:45 AVSH ALOM GUR VFS 15:00 SPIJKERS EN SPIJKERS VFS
17:30 EMMA BELL VFS 18:00 FUTURE CLASSICS ON/OFF 19:30 FAD VFS 21:30 HOUSE OF BLUE EYES E1
The word from editors who have already sneaked a peek at Osman Yousefzada’s autumn/winter ’09 collection, showing today, is that it could be his best yet. Taking inspiration from India, the Middle East and The Matrix, it is “regal”. “Actually,” Yousefzada corrects himself, “not so much regal as what posh people would wear. It is one woman’s wardrobe: she lives on a spaceship, is terribly cultured and drinks Red Bull Martinis.” Cue boiled-wool dresses, silk-satin cropped jackets, razorsharp structured edges and white shirts with ruffles that form a halo around each shoulder. Definitely more Dynasty than Eastenders. We will be tuning in. Yousefzada is showing today at 10am
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obliviousness. “I tried to call you!” said one Russian girl in Basso & Brooke. “I was in South Africa!” said her friend in a Stephen Jones hat. By the time it arrived at the ground, there were more than a few red faces, and they didn’t belong to the chosen ones.
Visionaire co-founder Cecilia Dean, below, rocking a front-row-fabulous hairy coat. Too hot for Sainsbury’s?
ILLUSTRATION BY HOLLY FULTON
RCA graduate Holly Fulton’s show today follows a spell at Lanvin and an Atelier project with Swarovski. Fulton’s first show was planned for September 2009, but Lulu Kennedy fast tracked her to this week. The result, says Fulton, is “quite a selfish collection because I didn’t think I’d have to make it. I just did what I wanted.” Obsessed with Art Deco, she has hand-enamelled hundreds of discs varying shades of blue and hand-sewn them onto a boxy shift.
Another features jigsawed pieces of shiny black perspex produced from “a painstaking” drawing and turned into a three-dimensional geometric pattern of zig-zags and triangles. Yet another uses Swarovski crystal transfers to create a T-shirt dress of gleaming triangles. “This collection is to see how it’s received and we’ll go from there,” she says. “People have sought me out before now. Hopefully that will continue.” No doubt. Fashion East is today at 1.30pm.
Reality Chick REPOR T BY ANNA-MARIE SOLOWIJ
Backstage at a fashion show is the last place you expect to hear people talking about ‘reality’. But for some reason (the recession perchance?) this season’s beauty buzzword is just that. Having recently pored over the almost emotionally revealing images of non-retouched models in the launch issue of Love, perhaps we’re ready for a new kind of visual truth. Key protagonists in this new mood are the make-up artists and
hair stylists responsible for how models appear in shows and shoots. Ironically, the beauty industry could be said to have pioneered the trend in the first place. Now it has come full circle and fashion is selling us back the look this season, packaged as the ‘new’ reality. Val Garland described the make-up mode at Nicole Farhi as “real-looking, rather than real”, and for this show she pinched the models’ cheeks in place of blusher. For Twenty8Twelve, James Kaliardos
produced a really natural make-up “because girls look good like that”. At Nicole Farhi, hair stylist Sam McKnight defined this mood as “earthy sexuality”. But the ultimate reality mood emerged at Luella, where models starred as… themselves. Make-up artist Gucci Westman enhanced each girl’s own individual look, while Guido just emphasised each girl’s personal hair style. “Some of these girls aren’t even models,” he said. “They’re just them.”
Continued from page 1
Robin Shulie, a buyer for the Maria Luisa boutiques foresees a possible silver lining for designers who have to sacrifice a catwalk show for something subtler. “Tough times breed ingenuity. And in fashion you also have to be creative about the way you communicate,” he says. “Who knows? We might become less plagued by the kind of blind marketing that has driven many of the big brands in the last few years. I hope so anyway.” Three more London labels opting for an alternative presentation this season are Aminaka Wilmont, Modernist and Temperley – although each claims the bad economy was not the deciding factor to abandon the runway. “They will have to work a lot harder to maintain visibility for sure, but there are many ways of keeping your name out there,” offers Ruth Chapman, the co-owner of Matches. So it seems that even in the barmy world of fashion, substance ltimately wins out over style – at least for the
alternative to the catwalk? “The creative energy of a show is difficult to replicate in a showroom,” says Barr. This is especially so for designers in the debutante stage, who are just making themselves known to the fashion fraternity. “I understand they need to reduce expenses now, but to be able to catch our interest it’s very important to keep doing a show,” says Colette’s chief buyer Sarah Lerfel. For young brands still consolidating their profile, or in the early stages of nurturing a loyal network of retail clients, spending too long off the catwalk can mean fading off the radar. Some buyers are more open to the prospect of a fashion industry less reliant on the catwalk cliché.“I don’t see it as a huge negative effect,” says Cindy Ho, fashion and merchandising director of Villa Moda in the Middle East. “Especially with younger designers, there’s always another way to put clothes on a stage.” TO VIEW THE LONDON FASHION WEEK DAILY ONLINE GO TO WWW.LFWDAILY.COM
Tush, tush! If you haven’t already been down to the NEWGEN exhibition, get your blooming skates on, or else risk missing: NEWGEN recipient Craig Lawrence’s statement, oversized ribbon-knits; Cooperative Designs, who consult on Hussein Chalayan’s knits; Ben Grimes’ LPBG label, which Browns have already snapped up for autumn; leather accessories label and NEWGEN recipient Borba Margo; Irwin & Jordan’s LFW debut collection; and Linda Farrow’s Barbie glasses, which will be sold exclusively at Colette during Paris fashion week. Otherwise a couple of notes for you diary: Tuesday – unofficial emerging talent and NEWGEN day! Mary Katrantzou, Mark Fast, Meadham Kirchhoff, Henry Holland, Nasir Mazhar and Peter Pilotto. Totally unmissable! Wednesday: menswear day! From MAN (James Long, Christopher Shannon, JW Anderson and Topman Design) to knitwear trio Sibling, who have decided to screen a film of their collection, Carolyn Massey’s twisted classics and b Store’s runway presentation. It’s a busy, busy day in manland.
merchants peddling the product. But the catwalk has evolved into the industry standard for a reason. Live action is still the sexiest sales pitch for the swish of a satin skirt, or a collar delicately clutching the nape of a neck. Vintage Russell Sage a/w ’01 Photography by www.catwalking.com
04 •
LONDON, TUESDAY 24 TH FEBRUARY 2009
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www.londonfashionweek.co.uk
Bob & Peac
Kip, David & Stevie
n Hack hes Geldof, Jefferso
Sims
Erin O’Connor & Ba
Ooh, Ladies
Easter Bonnet
Piers Gimp & Mr Moustache
an Tali & Lola Fruchtm
• 05
LONDON, TUESDAY 24 TH FEBRUARY 2009
y Garnett
Mickey Mouse & Supernoki
PARTIES
V&A V&A Voom
Ciao, Regazzi!
Erin & Beret O’Bonkers
MULBERRY Kaya Sco
LUELLA PRE–SHOW
delario Kanye W
est
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALISTAIR GUY
Pixie Geld
of & Luell
a
Michael Pom Pom
Sniptastic, Monsieur & Madame Chapeau
Mary Fashion
Hot Lips & Lobster Boy
PARTIES STEPHEN JONES V&A PRIVATE VIEW
James Lipsius, Alice Tozer & Alex Bradley
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAX FLASH
“wer r u? i’m all on my tod”
Party on, Andrew!
Will Young & Zaiba
Vanessa Lunt, Kirsty Smith & Mike Pickering
Mrs Rubbish
Jodie Harsh
Simon Daily
Ships Ahoy
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Jean Genie
Barometer
BACKSTAGE REPOR T B Y A N N A - M A R I E S O L O W I J
There are many routes to this year’s destroyed-jeans look. Stylist Richard Sloane’s were artfully ripped by Tsubi. Grazia’s Mel Rickey (pictured) ordered her Meadham Kirchhoff ones immediately after the September show. Dominic Jones, who’s designing a jewellery range with Alice Dellal, did his himself. “They’re Diesel, from a charity shop. They were ugly as sin, but I soaked them in full-strength bleach. Then I used a cheese grater. The mud stains are real though.” Photography by Alistair Guy
So much for returning to one’s roots. Having spent all week backstage, watching the creative process, I wondered what it would be like to be part of a team. Given that I can’t draw a straight line, the job of makeup assistant was instantly ruled out. So I spent five hours today as junior assistant in charge of hair pins, supposedly helping (but more likely hindering) Peter Gray and his team at Jasper Conran’s show. As a teenager I had a Saturday job at a local salon – it involved washing brushes and combs, and sweeping the floor – so, as you see, I’m perfectly qualified for this sort of thing. With two different hairstyles to put together – one a complicated twisted bun to be dressed with a Philip Treacy beret, and the other inspired by Nastassja Kinski’s bleached wavy bob in Paris, Texas – there was no time to lose. I’m rubbish at blow-drying my own hair, and doing someone else’s is even trickier. Within seconds, I had been removed from blow-drying duties and put to work dispensing blobs of L’Oréal Professionnel Tec Ni Smooth Essence instead, working it through sections of hair. I was then put in charge of holding
LOUISE GOLDIN A GIRL WHO KNOWS HER PRIORITIES. SHE MADE SURE TO HUG HER PROUD GRANDFATHER BEFORE DEALING WITH BACKSTAGE CONGRATULATORS. AHHHH DINNER LADIES AT LUELLA, SERVING TEA. PERFECT FOR AN EARLY MORNING START GLADYS BRIX START’S DOG MODELLED IN MULBERRY, PUTTING ALL OTHER MODELS IN THE SHADE THE TENTS VIBRANTLY STATIC FLAT SPOONS THE SOUPS AT MARIOS SCHWAB WERE LOVELY. GETTING THEM FROM CUP TO MOUTH WAS A LITTLE TRICKIER PANTY LINERS PANTY LINERS IN FRONT ROW GOODY BAGS? COME ON HEELS IT’S TIME TO PUT OUR FLATS ON!
Osman Fez, Shocked of South Kensingto
Hairstyle Trial
REPOR T BY JESSIE BRINTON
Tree Hat & Skeleton
n & Column McDowell
Banana Miranda and Le Plonker
Designer Inspirations P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y A L I S TA I R G U Y
the hair up and out-of-the-way, while two hairstylists blow-dried it. Next, a ponytail, as a preliminary step to the bun. After five minutes of careful brushing, spraying with Elnett, combing and then running tongs over the head to smooth down wispy bits, we were ready to secure the ponytail. Forget scrunchies, or even bungees, millinery elastic is the pro-choice ponytail harness. Wound round and round the hair, then tied by looping one length over the other
twice (rather than the usual once when making a knot) means you can let go and the hair won’t come loose. Next, hair nets – I had no idea that hairstylists dyed nets to match the hair – such perfectionism! Then my moment of glory: ‘passing up’ hair pins to the stylist, so that the bun could be secured in a perfect sinuous twist. If you were impressed with the hairstyles at Jasper, you should be, they took long enough.
C O M P I L E D B Y C AT H E R I N E B U L L M A N
Autumn/winter ’09 Crib Sheet For all your fashion reference needs… Slashing + dream-catchers + zombies = Ann-Sofie Back PVC + YSL + fun = Sibling
Nancy Cunard + Josephine Baker + bananas + bangles = Jojo&Malou Twisted + biker + chic = Armand Basi One
Modest + resolute + fragile = Richard Nicoll
Euphoric + forest + experience = Ossie Clark Hope + belief + fate = Todd Lynn The Big Bang = Peter Pilotto
‘Jet Set Masala’ = Eley Kishimoto
Geometric + structured + signature = Jaeger Land girls + harvest festival + urban cool = Caroline Charles
The court of Louis XIV + slim, tailored silhouette + symbols of status = Basso & Brooke Dark, deadly flowers + rare, exotic birds = Modernist
Folk couture + glamorous volumes = Avsh Alom Gur
Bonking: it’s time for celebratory sex! = Piers Atkinson Millinery
Sculpted LBDs + body armour + power panels = Hannah Marshall Saucy + sheer + strict = Jasper Conran
Eighties cult film classic ‘The Hunger’ + Paris + leather = Noir Very + nice + clothes = Paul Smith More is more = Ashish
Pin-tucked masculine tailoring + Thirties London + organic organza voluminous detailing = Maria Grachvogel Turn-of-the-century Sandringham + Fifties Philadelphia = Norton & Sons Techno grunge + rave culture + UFOs = Topshop Unique
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LONDON, TUESDAY 24 TH FEBRUARY 2009
Buyers’ Delights
Hogging the Limelight
REPO R T B Y A L I S O N B IS H O P
REPOR T BY CARYN FRANKLIN
From the new hotties to the cool oldies, London Fashion Week is certainly keeping the buyers happy this season. Rebecca Osobado, assistant designerwear buyer at Selfridges: “There’s a shoulder thing going on – at Paul Smith and Twenty8Twelve there were some good shoulder details. Also cinch-waists and sculptured pieces, scallop-edging, fringing, laser cuts and trompe l’oeil optical illusions are all trends we’ve picked up on.” Armand Hadida, L’Eclaireur, Paris: “London has both commercial and new talent. Erdem’s collection was beautiful – it’s great for our market. And something else altogether is Mark Fast – he’s so hot I can smell it!” The double act – Brix Start Smith, owner of Start Boutique, and Yasmin Sewell, creative consultant at Liberty: Brix: “My husband loved Richard Nicoll so much this season he wants to do the buy himself – he loved the chic, sophisticated elegance of the trenches, the contouring dresses, the nudes and
metallics. He’s really growing up in such an elegant way.” Yasmin: “Marios Schwab kicked some ass. It’s a super-sexy silhouette, the way he cuts is remarkable – I want the entire collection.” Caren Downie, buying director, ASOS: “I loved Todd Lynn for his sexy tailoring and covered up looks. Christopher Kane was stellar – a great collection to buy from, too. Richard Nicoll was another one who showed his best collection yet – he’s come a long way.” “We’re doing a new collaboration with Louise Amstrup, so I enjoyed her show, and William Tempest is another one to watch. If these types of young designers can do diffusion lines for ASOS then we’re looking forward to working with them.” Robyn Suchele, Maria Luisa, Paris: “We come to London for the new talent for sure. I loved Richard Nicoll – he could be designing couture in Paris with that collection. Christopher Kane was a great retrospective – all the textures and the subtle colour mixes worked well this season.”
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went on back then,” says Hogg. “That’s why this season was so right for me to return. There is a buzz and I am part of that.” Not simply a style statement, Hogg’s clothes provide content, too. “I put myself and my life into my design. It’s about empowerment and individuality. There is so much of the same thing going out, but I like characters and my models were a mix of looks. Everything is cyclical.” Having worked across film, music (her DJ work financed the fabric for this show) and fashion, Hogg is a maverick, post-punk energy and a product of her time. “I never wanted backing back then. Sales from my shop in Newburgh Street financed my shows, but I know I need more structure this time round to capitalise on what I do.” Hogg’s clothes are true, sexy, yet restrained: her chevron contouring in metallics and brights broker the perfect balance between clubland and commercial. “I was still sewing the finale dress as the music started, so I left all the needles and threads hanging and it looked authentic. There was a lot of adrenalin in that dress.”
REPO R T B Y L U C I E G R E E N E
REPORT & IMAGE BY BECKY DAVIES
his knitwear roots, with oversize cable-knit mini dresses, cobwebbed sparkly tunics and loose-knit wispthin vests. “It’s the same Macdonald girl, but a bit harder and more aggressive,” said the man himself. One of the secret ingredients to the last two seasons was the smart hiring of Vogue Nippon’s directorat-large, and campaign clever-clogs, George Cortina. Known in the industry for working extensively on high-profile campaigns, the link up
of Cortina and Macdonald is one of a few savvy moves implemented post-investment from Matalan. “My approach to Julien’s show was to keep it simple, let the clothes speak for themselves,” said Cortina – whose assistant, society girl and stylist Sophia Hesketh, is bringing her own dash of glitz. “It’s a bit rock, a bit glam and a bit London, and now it’s more grown up. It’s still Julien, it just feels cooler.” We couldn’t agree more.
Designer Dish Henry Holland Bacon Butties
Club Scout
A new, sophisticated direction noted at Julien Macdonald for the second season running won widespread praise yesterday. “I loved it,” said Net-A-Porter.com’s Natalie Massenet enthusiastically after the show. “It’s as if he’s been reborn.” Macdonald’s collection worked a rock-and-roll theme, with bodyconscious mini dresses, zippers galore, Eighties pointy shoulders and skintight grey-leather trousers. The designer also returned to
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LFW may revolve around the official schedule, but off piste is just as important. William Tempest, 24, who has worked for the likes of Giles Deacon, showed his own label at the VFS venue yesterday, having been awarded the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Merit Award for 2009. “VFS is a great platform for me,” he said after a stellar show. “Making the clothes is what I love. All I had to do was turn up with them and everything else was taken care of.”
Usually I have scrambled eggs on brown toast The other day I was trying to be healthy, so ordered scrambled eggwhites with roasted tomatoes. But then ended up ordering two rounds of toast because I was still starving.
House of Holland shows today at 4.45pm
Bacon and eggs are very close to my heart My parents got divorced when I was three, so we’d spend a week at mum’s and swap to dad’s every other sunday. Dad would always cook bacon and poached egg muffins for breakfast when we got to his.
Last time my mum stayed, she bought me a box of porridge oats I haven’t touched it. Mum’s way of looking after me is coming to stay, washing-up, ironing and filling my freezer with healthy stews and soups. Last year, when I was a bit thin, she sneakily put coconut milk with 75g of fat per tin into my soups without telling me. I was a little manorexic I have to admit. The pressure of being fashionable was getting to me…
I eat out for breakfast as often as possible I try to organise all my meetings at The Wolseley or Claridge’s. If you sit at the table next to the clock upstairs at The Wolseley, you get your own bell to ring for the waiters.
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When I was about 12, I started cooking at home At the time both my parents worked, so I used to have to do the vegetables. It was my job to chop, peel and boil. Then mum or dad would cook the meat. When I was 14 I was promoted to cooking complete meals. It was a good diversion from homework.
BY
Free Range Liquid Egg White
Spag Bol is my speciality The secret is nearly a whole bottle of red wine in the sauce. At work, it’s easy to forget to eat sometimes. On bad days I’ll just eat carbs, mostly from Pret.
Fat Free • Cholesterol Free Available in selected Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Booths and via Ocado
Editor’s Choice
Who better to edit the fabulous spring/summer 2009 collection in store now at H&M than the fashion editors themselves?
3. REBECCA LOWTHORPE, FASHION FEATURES DIRECTOR, ELLE
This floor-length beige coat really calls out to me because it reminds me of something I loved to death in my teens. I’d wear it over anything – jeans, shorts, prints, colour... it’s fabulous. I also love the zebra-print all-in-one.Great for holiday wear. Zebra catsuit, £24.99. Long coat, £79.99 H&M Stockists: 020 7323 2211, or visit www.hm.com TO VIEW THE LONDON FASHION WEEK DAILY ONLINE GO TO WWW.LFWDAILY.COM
k a re
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Rocking Out P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y A L I S TA I R GUY
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LONDON, TUESDAY 24 TH FEBRUARY 2009
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY C ATWALKING.COM
“If you are just copying the Eighties then it’s bollocks, but if you are using the energy and taking it in another direction then it’s fresh,” says Pam Hogg – whose show yesterday, at On/Off at the Science Museum, pulled a crowd of assorted Eighties icons from Siouxsie Sioux to Dougie Fields and Princess Julia. Nina Hagen and The Cramps provided the audio for Hogg to showcase her special mix of gothicrock and femme fatale – all wrapped up in attitude that bought the true essence of the decade back into the room and the audience to their feet. Hogg has never pandered to trend. Nevertheless, her fitted futuristic panelling is back in vogue again, with a whole host of young designers exploring the era in terms of form. From Danielle Scutt’s powerful vision of femininity to Richard Nicoll’s high-shine transparent macs and Gareth Pugh’s angular futuristic silhouettes, all have made more than a passing reference to the aesthetic Hogg pioneered. “I love it that designers like Gareth Pugh, who I feel really has greatness, are inspired by what
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Dip two squares of a Dairy Milk chocolate bar in your coffee Just as they melt, slop them onto a Rich Tea biscuit. Layer that with another biscuit and squidge it all together. Then dip it in your coffee. It’s divine. That and St John’s wort are the best cures for depression. A couple of years ago I tried the GI Diet to help with panic attacks I was working as a fashion intern at Sneak, studying at college and had bar jobs at night, plus weekend shop jobs to pay the rent. It’s what you have to do when you’re starting out. I do have a really strong work ethic, but just pushed it a bit too much. The GI Diet really helped. Now, if I have white bread it’s the culinary equivalent of crack. You can get a buzz off it, it’s so unhealthy. That’s why these bacon butties are only for special occasions.
For Henry’s complete recipe, and to view more behind the scenes photos, go to: www. dailyrubbish.co.uk DESIGNER DISH cook book, published by RUBBISH, coming soon! Words by Jenny Dyson Photography by Valerie Phillips
Fashion etiquette BROUGHT TO YOU BY COLIN WAXMAN
Today: wardrobe issues. Darlings, it’s okay for the press. Some old coat and a Marni necklace sees you through from morning until night, but not for Mr Waxman. Could you please tell me how to go from client to client to client show on this back to back schedule, when the first client demands a skinny jean and a leather jacket, the second a tailored suit and the third something deconstructed in Hoxton? The only answer: a back of car wardrobe. Except this season, with
GEORGE WU Design & Film
ILLUSTRATION MATT BLEASE
cutbacks, your one and only PR megastar is having to do it all on the tube with an oversized man bag. So forgive the lateness of the shows – it’s only because the PR was arrested on the district line in only a pashmina and a pair of Calvin’s, and they can’t start the show without me.
Has anyone got knits? Heard in The Daily office. LFW’S THE DAILY CREDITS Created by Jenny and the Cat Club EDITORS Jenny Dyson & Cat Callender MANAGING EDITOR Jana Dowling DESIGNERS George Wu & Bianca Wendt CHIEF SUB Vicky Willan
Love Colin xxx Colin Waxman is a PR guru and fashion strategist. He shall be blogging exclusively for RUBBISH inbetween spa trips to recover from LFW. Stay tuned at www.rubbishmag.com
Overheard!
DISTRIBUTION & MANTERN George Ryan
Spotted! Fashion pack en route to Stephen Jones hat party at the V&A, from left: Mrs Rubbish, Hilary Alexander, Erin O, Giles and Column McDowell. Created exclusively for Rubbish by Amelia Pemberton www.doobydolls.co.uk.
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REPORTERS Jessie Brinton, Becky Davies, Lauren Cochrane, Lucie Greene BEAUTY CORRESPONDENT Anna-Marie Solowij STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Anna Bauer & Alistair Guy
Beauty Spot: Return of the Mc REPOR T BY ANNA-MARIE SOLOWIJ
When Pat McGrath comes to town it’s a big deal. The British superstar make-up artist rarely gets to show her work on the London runway. “Normally I think of London as a break between the New York and Milan shows,” said McGrath. That changed last season, when, with her friend Edward Enninful styling Issa, McGrath thought it would be fun to do the make-up for a home-town show. This season, the two paired up again for Aquascutum, and McGrath
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Catherine Bullman, Kila Car-Ince, Gabrielle Medina PRINTED BY THE GUARDIAN with special thanks to Richard J. Thompson
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNA BAUER
revisited Issa for no better reason than she likes designer Daniella Helayel and admires her work. Without these relationships London would probably miss out on McGrath’s talent. Perhaps in fashion terms the city suffers from a lack of scale – the big productions tend to happen elsewhere and McGrath is a big production girl. Hell, even her luggage is legendary – she is known to travel with more make-up trunks than any other artist, one of
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which is reserved for false lashes. Not that Pat’s one to let a little thing like that bother her. For tonight’s Issa show, while the rest of London is paring back, keeping it real, this creative tour de force is doing “crazy Barbie”. With blue-and-green sparkly eyeshadow, fuchsia lips, hot-pink cheeks and enough highlighter to land a plane by. Trust McGrath to defy the trend by going maximal. Catherine McNeil backstage at Issa
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