THE WEEK IN FASHION: NOVEMBER 21st-25th

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Rihanna in McQ on X-Factor (from fashionforlunch.com)

This has been a wonderful few days for London Fashion Week build-up after two of Britain's 
greatest fashion exports, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney, both announced that
they would be holding shows during February's London Fashion Week. The Alexander 
McQueen house's younger line, McQ will be showing for the first time ever and has 
chosen London for the occasion. McQ's first store will also be opening on Dover 
Street next Spring. Meanwhile, Stella McCartney has held her catwalk show in Paris
for years now but she is bringing a special one-off presentation to the capital. Next
February's London event will be an evening affair to celebrate Stella's association
with the 2012 Olympics, for which she is designing kits for Team GB. Not to be 
outdone by McQ, Stella also has plans for another store, this time in Brompton Cross.
Until then, we can satisfy our Stella love at Selfridges' 'World of Stella' pop-up in 
January. Be sure to check out next week's Grazia for more McQ news from the FashEd.

A stellar 2012 for Stella (image from newsonlineinternational.wordpress.com)

NEWS JUST IN: Just as I thought all the excitement was over for another week in fashion, I've just seen the breaking news on WWD that over $400,000 worth of Louis Vuitton bags have been stolen in an operation by masked thieves last night at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. After last week's Marc Jacobs burglary, the designer is not having much luck at the moment.

Someone's on the run with a hell of a lot of Vuitton (image from coachhandbagclub.com)

A quite odd announcement from the Advertising Standards Authority this week; the images 
of 14 year-old Hailee Steinfeld sitting beside a railway line for Miu Miu's SS11 campaign
have been banned. This is because they show a child in a hazardous situation. Obviously, 
that's completely understandable grounds for banning an image. However, they have have
been all over the Internet and in magazines for months. This makes me think that the damage
is done by now, so why ban the images just as they are being replaced with those from the
Resort campaign anyway? I cannot help but think that is a clunky bit of bureaucracy
rather than a meaningful decision. Am I wrong?

Look away children

On Wednesday evening, Net-a-Porter founder, Natalie Massenet interviewed Christian Louboutin at the V&A museum. You can see the best bits in the video below. Net-a-Porter were tweeting the event live. One of these tweets informed us that Mr Louboutin's dream woman to make shoes for would be Queen Elizabeth II. Interestingly, that very same day, some quite funny pictures were published of none other than Her Majesty (clad in her usual sensible black courts) shooting a concerned look at the Louboutin-esque footwear of Hayrunnisa Gul, the wife of Turkey's President, as she arrived with her husband at Buckingham Palace as part of their state visit to the UK.

Will Mr Louboutin be hearing from Her Majesty shortly we wonder? (image from dailymail.co.uk)

Rumoured supermodel couple Arizona Muse and Freja Beha Erichsen are the stars 
of Chloe's SS12 ad campaign. They were spotted at Chateau Marmont in LA, posing
in dresses from the collection and generally having a fab time. We have hair and tan envy. 

Summery fun for Arizona and Freja (Image from fashionologie.com)

And now for something a little more sobering. Most of us probably think of Arcadia as the behemoth of the British High Street; an almost untouchable retail giant. So, when it was announced yesterday that the company's profits had dropped by 38% and that 250 stores would be closing it was a signal that the economic environment is massively challenging right now. We may have been expecting bad news from smaller chains and businesses but Arcadia's decision to close nearly 10% of its stores shows that nobody is immune.

If you need help with your Christmas party attire then may we suggest you pop along to Harrods which is hosting a day of activities in their 'Way In' partywear department (on the 4th floor) on Saturday 3rd December. Fashion Illustrator David Longshaw will be there drawing customers in their new purchases. Henry Holland will also be transformed for one afternoon only into a shopfloor assistant, on hand to advise customers on the best looks. Actually, that all sounds like a bit of a party in itself, non?

Karl Lagerfeld gets the David Longshaw treatment

As Christmas is on its way, we thought we'd let you know about a couple of good causes to get involved in during the Season of Goodwill...

Erin O'Connor with some of the bags which are up for grabs. 

For the next week, Save the Children are hosting an online designer bag auction to raise funds for their No Child Born to Die initiative. There are plenty of beauties to choose from including bags previously owned by Sienna Miller and Samantha Cameron. Also in the mix are some beauties from Alexander McQueen, Sophie Hulme and Christopher Kane (his liquid clutch which Erin O'Connor is holding is AMAZING). You can bid until 4th December. If all that doesn't make you visit the site, then perhaps Tilda Swinton can persuade you... She says:

“Bid high! Bid so much higher than you think you will or can! Think of a dicey number and double it. And then double that. No fancy bag can ever carry what your generosity will mean to the children it will help to live. Make this beautiful object truly valuable by investing real money in real life - and carry the evidence with pride. Don't count the cost. Think of it as paying something back for all there is to be grateful for in your days.”

If you're still feeling charitable then Volcom are asking for your donations of denim you no longer want... More details can be found here.

PARIS FASHION WEEK: A LITTLE BIT OF THE NEW CHLOE

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

I've been posting my daily doings during Paris over at my antipodean friends Sportsgirl's website this week, leaving the blog free for the things that fall between the fashion news so competently reported by newspaper, web and magazine ladies of the press. Of course I am one such, but unlike most of my contemporaries my blog is an aside from my journalism work, and therefore purely personal with no advertisers or editors to please.

Paris Fashion Week has been pretty brutal, really. The schedule is insane, and the heat, well, I'm not going to moan. But it is downright weird to feel the sun searing your skin in October in Northern Europe. I've just come from the Chloe show, an excellent debut by Clare Waight Keller, who fresh from having her third child managed to make the collection different enough from her predeccesor Hannah McGibbon, yet still Chloe and, cruciallly, gave it a fresh new vibe that was more woman than girl.

Here are a selection of my photos from the Chloe show. Forgive the quality, I've got a new lens and am still trying to get it to focus on the right object.  Though in the below instance, its interesting and amusing to see the faces of the audience, who seem to be doing everythign but watching the show (though of course they are, another model is coming along out of the picture.)

The designer used a pleating motif through the collection

Mixing nude and geranium pink was the order of the day at Chloe

Photos: Fashion Editor at Large

IN GRAZIA THIS WEEK....

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

We still cannot get over our Isabel Marant obsession. Our fringe-boot lust seems to reach new heights every day.

We couldn't fit this amazing shearling on the page but we still wanted to share it with you. We're thinking white patchwork mega coat plus burgundy leather skinnies plus white fringe boots equals AW11 Marant heaven.

The Kristin shearling is £665 at Selfridges

The Fashion Editor at Large also has her own column this week in which she spills the beans on the new fashion stalking/shopping obsession that is http://hardlyeverwornit.com/ . Click in to play 'Guess the previous owner' on items such as a vintage mink bolero (Ms Moss maybe?). The FashEd is also boldly stepping forth into AW with a full-on snake print look which she carries off rather fabulously don't you think?

FASHION GETS INTO THE GROOVE

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

Jigging about and getting energetic is probably the last thing on everyone's mind on Monday morning, but it seems that the fashion industry has other ideas. Having been perusing the Resort 2012 lookbook images, it couldn't escape our attention that a heck of a lot of the models seemed to be leaping around like they are hardcore members of Pineapple Studios.

Gone are the days of boring studio shots - busting a move seems to be the future. Not that we are complaining, it sure makes sorting through the new collections more fun. Now what we want to know is this: when are the images going to become GIFs? Even more enjoyable!

Here are our fave Resort 2012 shots featuring models on the move.

Max Azria

Chloe - shot on the streets on Paris, these pics reminded us of film stills, or particularly chic paparazzi shots.

Lanvin (above and below) Daphne Groenveld not only wafts around showing off the garments to their maximum potential, she's also clearly not afraid of a good 'hair swish' or three.

Missoni: slightly more sedate, but nevertheless,  having a model stride through the incredible backdrop made these looks come alive.

Theysken's Theory

Giles' multi-fluro-patterned-craziness for Ungaro looks incredible in these wind-machine shots. Glamour to the max.

It's Daphne again, striding about for Versace. Can this girl not sit still?

Vionnet: showing us the best way to model a skinny flare.

And finally, Lindsay 'The Pout' Wixon turns senorita for Z-Spoke. You can just see her ruffling that skirt and salsa-ing off the page!

So there you have it: for Resort, it's all about models who move. Fashion has dictated that it's time to start throwing shapes that would make Louie Spence proud...

DON'T WHIP YOUR HAIR - SWISH YOUR SKIRT

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

There's an abundance of light and playfulness in the new spring collections. Personally I am feeling very strongly for wearing long, to the point I can't imagine wearing anything shorter than ankle length for the next few months. This will be hard as currently I own only two long black dresses. (Time to click-and-buy the new Olivier Theyskens for Theory.....) Still, there's always trousers. The lightness and length that abounds in fashion now has a further halo of appeal: swishing.

Karlie Kloss swishing her heart out backstage at Lanvin by Jason Lloyd Evans

                                           Chloe SS11 backstage by Jason Lloyd Evans

As a little girl anytime my mother dressed me in a maxi lengths or circle skirts (it was the early 80s) I loved nothing more than spinning and swirling around watching the fabric float and undulate around me.
While perusing the backstage photographs of the very talented photographer Jason Lloyd Evans - he is the go-to guy for all the major brands and global fashion magazines for his backstage and beauty work - I saw the young models were having a ball with all the floaty, gauzy fabrics designers were using for spring.

D&G SS11 backstage by Jason Lloyd Evans

Even the grown ups were at it Milan , captured below by Tommy Ton during the mens shows. Do you think we ever grow out of this childish desire to enjoy a swish?

                                       Tommy Ton shoots skirt-swishing in action at the Paris Menswear shows

Photos: Jason Lloyd Evans, Tommy Ton 

FASHION AND THE CHARLIE GIRL OBSESSION.....

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

A Charlie by Revlon TV ad from 1979. Does that collar detail look at all familiar to you Hannah MacGibbon of Chloe?

Hannah McGibbon of Chloe has been watching Charlie TV ads on YouTube...

Girls, have you been looking in your wardrobe for trousers you don't own (yet)?

Are you suddenly hankering after a silken blouse in a shade of burnt toffee, pink or oatmeal beige that is a close match to your skin tone? AND looking to match your skirt/trousers and shoes to said blouse for a fabulous one-tone effect?

Are brogues your shoe of choice for Spring?

Is "looking like a career girl" when you go to work becoming an a.m dress-policy? 

Have you been swinging your hair about unneccessarily in the last few weeks?

Just in case you didn't catch it the first time...some more Chloe AW10 by Hannah MacGibbon

If you have answered yes to any one of these questions you are in touch with the new practical reality of fashion that is advancing onto a high street near you over the next six months, or has swung - see Zara now, and every label worth mentioning for AW10.

With the recession still biting, and many, many stylish young women loose on the job market, there has been a notable fashioning up of the daytime working wardrobe of every female I know aged from 20-50. Competition is rife for jobs, especially those in the media and I know I would go for the best put together, most professional and stylish looking young woman if I were hiring. The same goes across all professions. To be taken seriously now, you've got to look like you mean business.

This is why the catwalk designers - for years sending out a relentless army of red carpet worthy dresses - have suddenly gone all career-wear on us. It is also why I love what Jil Sander is doing for Uniqlo. That woman is so ahead of the curve.

For the first time in almost a decade, fashion is not about a fantasy night out "chanelling" some A-lister, bygone icon or basing an outfit on a trend mood (eg "rock goth"), it is about actual clothes that are well designed, functional, elegant and with that long forgotton quality, panache.

The last time in my memory career-wear has powered up the fashion chart was in the late 1970's. I was just out of nappies then, but I do believe my future in fashion was sealed by the Charlie perfume TV and print commericals, some of which are shown here.

Charlie Girl had it all. A fabulous wardrobe, a successful career, men singing to her and fawning at her feet, and she smelled mighty fine. She was also terribly light on her feet, leaping from pavements at every opportunity. I love Charlie Girl, and every young woman born after the on-air date of these commercials will be seeing this look as if for the first time, and thanks to Chloe, Stella, Ferragamo and Celine, my prediction is she will love it all as if for the first time as the year progresses.

Bring on the bootcut trousers! OMG did I just write that????

Picture credits: Chris Moore/Catwalking.com