SS12's SILVER LINING

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

I’m going to confuse you horrendously now because instead of telling you about fashion weeks and what you might be wearing in six or eight months time, I’m going to talk about SS12 a.k.a what to wear and buy right now. September and February are both months which require seasonal gymnastics in the minds of fashion lovers because we're obsessed with what's coming out of the fashion weeks- see yesterday's and Monday's posts- but we're also feeling that now is the time to shop for the months ahead which means rewinding to the stuff we were getting excited about back in September. Silver is what I want to buy right now.

Silver ruffles at Sarah Burton's Alexander McQueen SS12

There’s rarely a time when metallics are distinctly unfashionable, after all they’re fun, good for evening party dresses and go with pretty much anything. But for Spring/ Summer, if you want to be in fashion then sheeny silver is the metallic to go for. In my book, silver is the nonchalant and much cooler younger sibling to revved up. full watt glam gold. 

 The sheen element which lots of designers gave silver for SS12 is very important. It taps into two of the season’s broader trends; Modern Sportswear and Under the Sea. The subtlety which comes from a sheen is much more in keeping with these moods.  Chanel's drawstring maxi silver skirt is the ultimate case in point. The fabric and cut is techy and futuristic, while the floor skimming length conjures the modern girl's version of a mermaid's tail, especially when styled with a translucent, gilled vest.

Chanel SS12

Olivier Theyskens did a similar thing at Theory. For those of us who are not good with full on dressed down, and therefore a bit worried about embracing sportiness in our wardrobes, Theory is a good place to go because the silver in this slouchy tee takes it up a notch or two in the dressed up stakes. The silver looks amazing next to denim too.

Theyskens Theory SS12

At Givenchy, the slithers of silver flounce trims bring to mind the lights bouncing off the fins of deep sea fish.

Givenchy SS12

Andy Warhol's Silver Clouds, 1966

Giles SS12

There were hints of silver at countless SS12 shows, but the most dedicated to the cause was Giles Deacon. His set resembled walking into a roll of tin foil (in a good way!). It was apparently inspired by Andy Warhol's room of Silver Clouds. Giles used numerous silver and swan inspirations in a collection which was really quite opulent. Having said that, this dress is super simple- the shape nods to sportiness. But the more-than-sheen-silver makes it properly beautiful.

At Christopher Kane, the use of silver was more sparing but it illuminated a collection which was about 'the girls you hated at school'. The metallics transported the initial inspirations of bullies and peeling council house wallpaper into a infinitely more angelic and heavenly realm. That's the power of silver.

Christopher Kane SS12

So, what to buy in silver? To my great regret, I will be limiting my personal silver purchases to accessories. This is due to a traumatic childhood experience in which a silver dress I wore to be a star in a nativity production was confiscated because it 'drained' me. Even though I now have access to blusher, I still can't face the memories. For those of you still able to wear silver, I've mixed in a couple of brilliant silver basics.

Acne's pistol boots have become pretty ubiquitous and much copied. They are the boot to buy if you need a one item route to looking on trend. So, we were pretty thrilled to see that MyTheresa has a limited edition run of 50 silver pairs since yesterday. They're not sold out just yet, but hurry.

Silver Acne pistols £400

 I bought a pair of wedges similar to these in Topshop's sale. I think they're great for taking the super sweet edge off a lot of what we'll be wearing this season.

Topshop £75

River Island £40

Alexander McQueen at Matches £560

Topshop £22

All catwalk images from catwalking.com

PREFALL AW12: GETTING TROUSERED

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

As a fashion editor I'm supposed to be analysing the just launching prefall collections to give you a steer on the where fashion is going, but instead I'm shopping for myself.  This is to be expected as the prefall collections are, certainly for me and my friends, the richest source for the designer clothes we hone in on and buy as they arrive at the shops in late summer.

I'm not a woman who buys an off-the-runway look. However fabulous it is, give me the stuff I can wear over and over again please. As a dedicated wearer of trousers (today I'm wearing my navy "Cult of Nobody"jeans AGAIN) I have been looking for inspiration for where to take my trouser style, and happily found it from my personal current favourite crop of designers. These are: Carven, Theyskens Theory, Preen, and Givenchy. Celine is currently off my list as the Autumn collection was too heavy to wear for normal London life, and way too expensive.

Sometimes I feel like the only trousers obsessed woman on the block... Its not that I don't like dresses, I can rock a dress like the best of them, but I love wearing trousers. Are there any more of you out there?

Theyskens Theory Prefall AW12 - these leather jeans are effing gorgeous

Giles Prefall AW12 - digging the flares again

Preen Prefall AW12 - a good shade of orange

Givenchy Prefall AW12 - loving this whole look to the max

Carven Prefall AW12 - i think you would call these "slacks" now theres a word I haven't heard for a while

Images are courtesy of the designers

WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO WEAR SS12?

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

Nope, I'm sorry but Carine Roitfeld, Lisa Marie Fernandez and Anna Wintour (and more I'm sure) have beaten you to it. I know, I know, we thought fast fashion happened in Primark and Zara, not at Burberry and Givenchy. But think again because some of fashion's best connected are already wearing pieces which are probably warm off the models' backs. Are we jealous? Noooooo.

Lisa Marie Fernandez shows off her SS12 Pilotto in Paris (Image from graziadaily.co.uk)

One of my favourite shows of this season was Peter Pilotto and I thought I was safe in the knowledge that I had nine months to find a way to acquire a little piece of it. Swimwear designer Lisa Marie Fernandez had a head start on us all, earning her chance to premiere the prom dress by collaborating on the scuba ensembles which were standouts in the collection.

Peter Pilotto SS12

Anna Wintour arrived at the Louis Vuitton show on Wednesday morning in an African print trench coat from the Burberry SS12 show which she had taken a front row seat a mere two weeks earlier.

Wintour arriving at Vuitton (image from zimbio.com)

On the catwalk... Burberry SS12

But prize for the most astonishingly speedy turnaround goes to Carine Roitfeld who wore a variation on a number of looks from the Givenchy show the day after it took place.

Carine makes it real-life worthy with a silky blouse and shortened tails (Image from telegraph.co.uk)

On the catwalk...Givenchy SS12

SS12: UNDER THE SEA

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

JW Waterhouse's The Mermaid. This season's collections are moving the image on

As one might expect from Spring/Summer collections, we have seen a myriad of references to all things seaside related during this fashion season; Mulberry took us on a seventies day out at the British beach, Daks (amongst others) was all fifties riviera, Craig Lawrence used sand as his starting point and Jonathan Saunders was all about Miami. But in Milan and Paris, some of the key collections have left the familiarity of the waterside and plunged to the mythical depths of the ocean to draw inspiration from sea creatures, shells and mermaids. 

Givenchy SS12

At Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci served up a streetwise version of mermaid-ness. There was the irridescence of a pearl scattered seabed and a scaled effect which echoed a translucent ocean dweller but the addition of a blazer and flash of leg meant these did not descend into being unwearable back on dry land.

Givenchy SS12

At Versace, Donatella referenced her brother's signature baroque prints and presented a sexed up modern mermaid,who looks like she might be off to the Marine Bar to sit on a shell and scout out the sea horse talent.

Versace SS12

Versace SS12

Versace SS12

At Alexander McQueen, it was all about drawing comparison to the textures of coral and pearl for Sarah Burton. Padded hips and fishtails, not unfamiliar features of a McQueen collection, leant themselves to the creation of  a mermaid silhoutte. The lace caps, called fetishistic by some, emphasise the other worldly, sea bed effect.

Alexander McQueen SS12

Alexander McQueen SS12

Alexander McQueen SS12- This looks like it's slicked in sea water

Finally, at Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld drew on one of the house's most important symbols, the pearl, and paid homage to its oceanic origins not only in the clothes but also on the pure white, ocean floor set. The pièce de résistance was Florence Welch, singing from inside a giant clam shell, 2012's incarnation of the Mermaid fantasy. 

Chanel SS12

Chanel's ocean floor set at the Grand Palais

Florence serenades the audience from her shell stage as the models encircle the set, spines encrusted with pearls.

All images, aside from The Mermaid (from JWWaterhouse.com), from Catwalking.com

THE AW11 CAMPAIGNS WE LOVE

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

The arrival of the BIG September issues has finally brought together the slow trickle of campaign images which have been released throughout the Summer. The excitement these ads create is a sensation in itself, especially if they feature a notably young/ famous/ odd person (delete as appropriate). They also bring the brand's new fashion message to the masses. Basically, they're kinda significant, but you knew that already, right? But which ones are actually doing their job and drawing us in?
Here are our top picks....
1. MIU MIU
Miu Miu's decision to use fourteen year-old Hailee Steinfeld provoked rather a lot of debate when it was announced. Although using very young models or actresses is by no means confined to Miu Miu, we were interested to see the direction they would take with the pictures - would they try to make her look like an adult? Or, would the brand play it charmingly tongue-in-cheek and show Hailee simply enjoying the best game of dressing- up EVER? Judging by the latest Bruce Weber shots to be released, they went for the utterly charming approach...

Miu Miu sequins- just what every young girl wears to pop out for a pizza. 

Awwww. Not so much a snow angel, as a shoe angel

This is rather sad. Like nobody will play any more.

I am no photography expert, but to my amateur eye these images look just a touch soft at the edges, which gives them an even more innocent allure. It's almost as if they were taken spontaneously to capture a precious moment of a little girl growing up, by a parent or relative. In reality, they are the result of careful styling, will create millions in revenue and appear in some of the most expensive advertising spaces on the planet. So, I am taking my proverbial fedora off to Miu Miu for creating this adorable effect.

2. MULBERRY
Mulberry continues the slightly whimsical, childish theme with its Fantastic Mr Fox themed campaign. This is unmistakably the work of Tim Walker, tricking the eye as the page is turned to reveal bemused models and their Mulberries dwarfed by giant foxes and owls and other woodland curiosities. To recreate this effect for yourself, simply get you and your favourite bag down to the Southbank Centre where the supersized straw fox will provide the perfect prop!

A Taylor bag - seen above in large and small versions - and a pretty pleat is all you need for Mulberry themed country high jinks

3. PROENZA SCHOULER 
Proenza Schouler have chosen to underline their particular take on the print story which continues into this season by framing Zuzanna Bijoch's poses for Willy Vanderperre with graphic, simplified echoes of the patterns on the clothes. I love that this campaign is really just all about the clothes and the ideas behind them. Pared back and stark.

An exquisite autumnal palette

4. BALENCIAGA
Balenciaga, shot by Steven Meisel, gives us the juxtaposition of old and new- Nicholas Ghesquiere's sharp, modern pieces are worn in a convent- like setting, and then in a super futuristic, pristine cube. We are particularly seduced by the smokey surrounds and sharp architecture of the 'old' images. Balenciaga's subliminal message seems to be 'these clothes can worn anywhere, as long as it's as chic as they are'.

Balenciaga looking sharp

5. CHANEL
How could we not include these mega-cute Chanel images- a collaboration between a trio of the most-wanted people in fashion, Carine Roitfeld, Freja Beha Erichssen and King Karl himself (who took the photos). The FashEd is particularly enamoured by the shot of Freja looking a little dishevelled with a message scribbled in eyeliner across her forehead. My favourite is the extremely feline whisker and flowers-for-ears combination. Again you can recreate the look for yourself by popping to your local photobooth armed with eyeliner and/or some cat ears, easy!

6. GIVENCHY
While Mulberry takes us on a woodland romp, Givenchy prefers a more exotic rainforest-esque setting. Mariacarla Boscono is cast as a kooky bird of paradise, holding court in her den of sumptuous print and colour.

Givenchy shot by Mert and Marcus

7. MARC JACOBS

This post would not be complete without a mention of our unmitigated delight at Helena Bonham Carter's teaming up with Marc Jacobs and his long-time collaborator Juergen Teller. An absolute stellar choice of ambassador for Marc's AW dottiness. 

A lesson from Helena- You don't have to be a 14 year-old to make fashion fun.

And last but not least, we love this slightly skinny, suitably stubbly indie boy, with his luscious mop of hair, hanging out in his Diesel pants.

 Images courtesy of FashionGoneRogue.com, Diesel.

THE TRENDS A/W 2011 - FETISH

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Part of what I've been up to since returning from the shows is deciding on the trends for Autumn/Winter. As regular readers know trend-hunting is a geeky hobby of mine as well as being proper work. Making educated guesses is fun -and after viewing hundreds of shows, visiting dozens of showrooms and taking in every fashion retailer press day in Britain I reckon I've got it sussed. I will share my predictions on the way we will wear next season over the next week. There is something for everyone, and I mean everyone!

1. MEET THE FETISHISTA

Gaga smoking for Mugler by Nicola Formichetti

Visible underwear, lots of shiny stuff and boob handling at Mugler by Nicola Formichetti

Marc Jacobs

Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci is decidedly pervy.  Yes, an outfit comprising a cat-woman riding hat, Bettie Page bra and thigh revealing sheer netting over thigh socks CAN be feted as fashion.  

Ferragamo takes the simple Helmut Newton photography approach to the fetish trend, using a chignon, smear of red lipstick and judicious leather slicing to full dominatrix effect.

How to fetishize the fetish of Louis Vuitton at Louis Vuitton

Its dirty, its leathery, and it plays peek-a-boo with thighs and torsos, and ooo there was a lot of it about at the shows. Marc Jacobs topped and tailed the Autumn/Winter 2011 show season with fetishistic displays using Latex and strictly tailored ponyskin at his Marc Jacobs collection, and The Night Porter style peaked military caps, handcuff bangles and severe sheer at Vuitton.

The nearest most fashion lovers get to kinkiness is leather trousers. So it remains to be seen if they will take to Latex pencil skirts, rubber knee high boots, corset belts and control underwear as outerwear. 

Personally I liked Lena at Les Chiffoniers stretch leather dress with peekaboo net underskirt.

TOMORROW:  MOD GIRL