First up this week, huge congratulations to British fashion's Fairy Godmother, Lulu Kennedy who made the trip to visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace to receive her MBE yesterday. Naturally, it was up to former Fashion East participants to dress Lulu for the occasion- it was Michael van der Ham and Roksanda Ilincic for the palace and Jonathan Saunders for the Madhatters tea party at The Sanderson. .
Lulu Kennedy at the palace (image from telegraph.co.uk)
Stella at yesterday's launch in her SS12 pjs, with Phillip Odowu and Jessica Ennis (image from dailymail.co.uk)
In other big British fashion news this week, Stella McCartney has finally unveiled the Team GB kit for this summer's Olympic and Paralympic games- the very first time that a fashion designer has had the role. This was no quiet launch either- a fashion show starring some of the UK's biggest medal hopes including Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Ennis took place at The Tower of London. It's Stella's biggest collection yet, comprising 590 different items of kit catering for over 900 athletes and all their various sports. So far, it is Stella's reinterpretation of the Union Jack which has caused most concern. The Daily Mail reports that 'there is a worrying lack of red from the Union Jack', while Hadley Freeman at The Guardian noted 'the running pants for women with the flag in a gynaecological spot, (are) surely an offence that could result in one being sent to the tower'.
I'm quite a fan of the red trainers myself. Jessica Ennis in her Stella/ Adidas kit
Madonna by Mert and Marcus (image from www.imageamplified.com)
The Mantyhose in action (image from www.imageamplified.com)
You thought all fashion hybrids had been explored? The jegging, the tregging and the shoot (shoe boot) to name but a few. Well, this week Emilio Cavallini and Madonna brought 'mantyhose' to the world. That's 'tights for boys' to you and I. Interesting. The new invention is exhibited in the video for Girl Gone Wild, directed by Mert and Marcus. It's the second single from the forthcoming MDNA album.
Ever since Carine Roitfeld left the helm at French Vogue, it's been great fun finding out about her latest project. We loved her book, Irreverent and now it seems that September will be the next time our Carine radars go into overdrive. She told WWD this week her new magazine will be launched then. They also found out the following...
"Although she couldn’t be pressed on the name, she said it will come out twice a year and resemble a book. There will be no “front of the book” section and its emphasis will be “fashion with a lot of freedom.”
Carine at the Chanel couture in Tokyo this week (image from www.wwd.com)
Karl in the pilot's seat on the Chanel jet plane (from www.wwd.com)
Chanel has decamped to Japan this week for a series of events to big up the brand in the Far East. Remember the airplane created for the January couture show in Paris? Well, that was transported to a Tokyo park for a repeat performance. Also on the agenda was a party to launch Karl Lagerfeld's collaboration with Carine Roitfeld on a photographic exhibition entitled "The Little Black Jacket'. Sarah Jessica Parker, with son in tow, and Alice Dellal were among those who've joined Chanel for the festivities.
Grazia's Paula Reed has been in Tokyo. Here are a few of her best pics...
Karl with his right hand woman, Lady Amanda Harlech
Clemence Poesy with the cherry blossom
A guest at the couture show in the traditional Japanese kimono (all images from Paula's instagram)
Barely a week goes by without some new comment on the photoshopping/body image debate, this week's most lovely contribution comes from The Economist's Intelligent Life magazine which has put Cate Blanchett on its cover, completely free from computer aided enhancement. Like she needed it anyway. This is what Intelligent Life editor, Tim de Lisle, had to say about the cover:
"Cate Blanchett, by contrast, appears on our cover in her working clothes, with the odd line on her face and faint bags under her eyes. She looks like what she is—a woman of 42, spending her days in an office, her evenings on stage and the rest of her time looking after three young children. We can’t be too self-righteous about it, because, like anyone else who puts her on a cover, we are benefiting from her beauty and distinction. But the shot is at least trying to reflect real life. It’s a curious sign of the times that this has become something to shout about"
Image from Intelligent Life
THINGS FOR THE WEEKEND:
Image from www.Vogue.co.uk
Tonight is Sport Relief in the UK. From a fashion perspective, that means Kate Moss, Stella McCartney and David Gandy on our screens in a special episode of Absolutely Fabulous. That has to be worth a donation, doesn't it?
I heard about the Horniman Museum's The Body Adorned exhibition earlier this week and I can't wait to go. I love walking around London, seeing what everyone is wearing and trying to identify all the style tribes. The Body Adorned looks at how Londonders have come to create their own trends and ways of standing out, as well as the history which has impacted on those decisions. Here's the trailer for the exhibition, I'll hopefully be reporting back from there sometime soon...
We can finally see series 5 of Mad Men from Tuesday on Sky Atlantic- hurrah! We love these ads from the 1960s which The New Yorker has dug up to get us even more excited about the return of Don, Joan and co. Have a wonderful sunny weekend!
What would she say about mantyhose?
Pyjamas to rival Stella's (all ads from www.newyorker.com)
Heaven is Real (Kate eyes shut) 1991 by Corinne Day
Heaven is Real (Kate eyes open) 1991 by Corinne Day
In my other life I collect fashion photography. Also in my other life I would have these prints on the wall of my study and looking up at them I would feel happy and soothed by the angelic beauty of the Mossy aged 17. As it is these prints are top of my fantasy Christmas wish list. I gave Corinne Day's gallery Gimpel Fils a quick call just now just to see how much they cost, a step I haven't taken before. I usually just admire them on the website. They cost £10,000 each + VAT.
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity."
We are getting massively overexcited about Christmas here at FEAL HQ today, with plans for a Christmas jumper competition in full swing and festive songs blaring out- I've already heard Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas' approximately 15 times today. However, the world of fashion does not stop for mulled wine and mince pies just yet... Here's the week's news.
Yesterday, the winner's of the NEWGEN sponsorship for AW12 were announced. The FashEd was on the panel and is very excited about seeing the winners' shows and presentations come February. This is how the line-up looks for the ladies...
Backstage at David Koma SS12. Neon plus Maori tattoos= amazing. Image from (lloyd-evans.com)
Catwalk sponsorship:
David Koma Holly Fulton J.JS Lee J.W. Anderson Michael van der Ham Simone Rocha
Presentation sponsorship:
Christopher Raeburn Thomas Tait
Installation sponsorship:
Nasir Mazhar SISTER by SIBLING
Exhibition sponsorship:
Huishan Zhang James Long Lucas Nascimento Palmer//Harding Tim Soar Woman
Gaga in Rocha SS12 (Image from thinkboutthings.com)
Simone Rocha's SS12 collection was greeted with rapturous responses from the fashion media. In the January issue of ELLE magazine, Lady Gaga continues to showcase Rocha's designs (she was wearing a different SS12 piece in London last week). I went to J.JS Lee's presentation at the last LFW and am still thinking about her candy floss inspirations. So the Simone Rocha/ J.JS Lee back-to-back show in February will be penned in ink on our schedule. The FashEd calls the duo 'London's Young Minimalists'.
Image from style.com
While we are still obsessing about Florence in a shell and October's Under the Sea themed show in general, Mr Lagerfeld has moved on swiftly; on Tuesday he unveiled his Paris-Bombay collection for pre-fall at the Grand Palais, transformed from pearlescent sea bed to Maharajah banquet. Pre-fall and resort collections have been touted as the place to find wearable, commercial pieces but Lagerfeld's take on Indian dress poo poos on that idea. However, this DOES show a streak of genius because India is one of the biggest emerging markets for luxury retailers so appealing to them is very shrewd. The beauty which results is a pleasing addition. Sam McKnight worked on the hair for the show and told Vogue that he was inspired by 'Sadhu Holy Men and Rajastani Princesses'
Images from Sam McKnight on Vogue.com
We've been poring over Helmut Newton images all week- look out for more on our Tumblr later. So it was fitting that today we got a peek at the shots which will grace Pirelli's 2012 calendar. Ok, so it's basically lots of models with beautiful bodies, which is something in itself after news came this week that some clothes are now being advertised on digitally created bodies, yes we're talking to you H&M. Lisa Armstrong argues that these pictures are all about promoting a body perfect enough for porn. I agree- especially given that they're for Pirelli, thus blatantly targeted at blokes. But I cannot help but appreciate these images of Kate Moss (who looks divine, but has roundness where many models do not) and Saskia de Brauw. What do you think?
Saskia de Brauw (images from daily mail)
Those McQueen skullcaps seem to have captured the imagination of cover stylists for January. I know I've already mentioned Gaga in Elle but not only is she rocking Rocha but McQueen is the star of the front cover. Gaga is bedecked in the coral gown and eye mask. Meanwhile, Rooney Mara is fully skull-capped for Dazed and Confused. Quite beautiful...
January Dazed, image from www.racked.com
Gaga by Matt Irwin (from fashiongonerogue.com)
They say that economic downturns can be good for some. Given all the pre-sale discounts, you'd think that retail wasn't one of them. On the whole, I don't think it is but there's always one.... and it had to be Mulberry. The luxury accessories company reported a 62% increase in profits to £72m. We can see why too; the firm which originated in Somerset has fashion appeal. Editors and celebrities flock to the LFW show which always has an elaborate theme which is hyped weeks before when invites are sent out and they are so amazing that everyone tweets pictures of them. But Mulberry also has a more classic customer base which is attracted by its sturdily made pieces. A visit to the store could provide a tan saddle bag or purple python piece of arm candy. Somehow, the two sit very happily together. It probably helps that the Princess of Selling Clothes, Kate Cambridge/ Middleton has been spotted many times over the years with a Mulberry accessory. Most recently, setting off for Canada with a navy Polly Push Pocket. Then last week, she wore (yawn, sorry, you've probably heard it all before) Mulberry's teal tea dress to meet key members of the media at Buckingham Palace. With that seal of approval, we don't expect to see profits plummeting anytime soon.
Celebrity and witty design has proven a money spinning combination for Mulberry, illustrated here as Emma Hill, Creative Director poses with Kristen Stewart and Kate (image from elle.com)
Tippi Hedren in The Birds (image from tvrage.com)
You know by now that I find it hard to resist putting up pictures of old school movie stars once in a while. Happily, the news that Sienna Miller will play Hitchcock heroine Tippi Hedren in a new film about the director's obsession with her, is a perfect excuse for another.
Finally, if you'e ever wondered how 12 models are shot for 12 pictures for the world's most famous calendar then watch on...
This week's news begins with some of our favourite editorial images released in the past few days... Italian Vogue Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani has been shot by Terry Richardson and styled by Katie Grand for the cover on Industrie, the magazine which charts the lives of fashion's insiders.
Editor becomes model
Kate Moss is transformed into Ziggy Stardust for French Vogue's Music issue. Shot by Mert and Marcus.
Image from telegraph.co.uk
Resident Italian Vogue photographer Steven Meisel has captured Karlie Kloss in a series of nude and clothed contrasted images for the publication's January issue. Entitled 'Body by Kloss' , it's making us think twice before delving into the mince pies...
Transsexual model Lea T has scored her first major cover this month with Elle Brazil. She is dressed in Givenchy as designed by her good friend Riccardo Tisci.
As our friends at Editd so astutely point out, the Versace x H&M collaboration has had huge effects across the world of fashion and had a huge uplift in social media awareness for Versace and Donatella. We have definitely seen how lots of the SS12 high street collections have been 'inspired' by the line, of which there's more to come in January. For their next partnership, H&M have chosen a much more fashion-insider brand, Marni.
Although editors frequently sing the praises of the label designed by Consuelo Castiglioni, it does not have the fame and brand power of Versace. Lots of people were pointing out on Twitter when the news broke on Monday that Marni would probably be confused with Armani by those who didn't know better! The collection which as with Versace majors on print, launches on March 8th. We expect rather a different queue to those Versace ones the other week.
Marni's designer Consuelo Castiglioni and H&M's Margareta van den Bosch style a model wearing a dress from the collection (image from vogue.co.uk)
I had a dig at Dame Vivienne Westwood a few weeks ago for what I perceived as her hypocrisy at launching stores in China and then supporting OCCUPY London. So, I was very pleased to hear this week that she has donated £1 million from her business to Cool Earth, a climate change charity which is campaigning to halt deforestation in Borneo, Peru and the Congo Basin. Westwood said 'Governments…are so slow that we can’t wait for them any more. We have to get this thing moving and hope that they’ll join in'.
It's no fun being extinct, says Vivienne Westwood
After winning Red Carpet Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards on Monday, Stella McCartney was happy to hand the limelight to Jennifer Saunders (in full Edina get-up) on Tuesday as she turned on the lights at Stella's Bruton Street store. Ever since the very first images of the forthcoming Ab Fab episodes were released, we've known that Eddie has transferred her Lacroix fixation to much a more now Stella addiction. Later, we learnt that Stella is going to be making a cameo appearance in one of the episodes, the first of which airs on Christmas Day. Oh we feel spoilt! And to whet your appetite for Ab Fab's return, a little teaser clip was released this week... Enjoy!
'Eddy' with Stella and Emma Bunton who both star in the new episodes (image from dailymail.co.uk)
Next week, Thirty Seven Feet , a new designer shoe hire concept, will be launching with a pop-up shoe emporium at the Old Truman Brewery to raise funds for charities such Small Steps and Muscular Dystrophy. There will be a launch event on Thursday evening which you can get tickets for by visiting the site. There are loads of exciting items up for grabs including pieces previously owned by celebrities and donated by top brands like Mulberry and Lanvin. We here at FEAL encourage you to pop along to make some purchases, all in the name of charity.
SHOPPING ROUND-UP...December is traditionally the time for many things, one of them is FASHION SAMPLE SALES. The FashEd tells me that they are not always great but if you get there early and with sharpened elbows you may get what you want. Here are a few we recommend.
On 8th December, creator of utterly divine shoes, Nicholas Kirkwood, will be holding a sample sale. Prices start at £25 (!) and doors are open from 10am. Be sure to get down to The Music Room, 26 South Molton Lane to get your hands on some beauties.
Nicholas Kirkwood SS12- sadly these won't be at the sample sale but items of similar fabulousness will be available
Barberini Fashions will be having a sample sale on 9th December (12pm-8pm) and 10th December (10pm-6pm) at Unit 7, Suna House, 65 Rivington Street. Some of the brands there include Pam Hogg, Ashley Isham and Magenta 8.
Erdem SS11 (image from catwalking.com)
LFW darling Erdem has a sample sale on December 8th (1pm-8pm) and December 9th (10am-6pm) at The Future Gallery, 5 Great Newport Street, WC2H 7HY. Prices start at £80 and the pieces will be from SS11 and before.
LFW darling no.2 Christopher Kane is getting in on the action too with a sale on 8th December from 1pm to 9pm at Mercer Street Studios, 16 Mercer Street, WC2H 9QE. Bring it on!
To see a full list may we direct you over to Susie Bubble's sample sale calendar.
Welcome to another week of news from the fashion world, brought to you by FEAL. Happy Weekend!
I'm going to start this week's news on a sort of business-y note as I've been a bit perplexed by a lot of the big money news which seems to have emerged over the past few days, despite the doom and gloom of the financial pages. I'm no economic whizz kid but I do find it baffling that while Europe is apparently in deep crisis, spending at the Frieze art fair was brisk and Marc Quinn's statue of Kate Moss in a rather tangled yoga pose was snapped up for a mere £577,250 at a Sotheby's sale; the lucky owner is apparently a private individual from Europe, lucky them!
Marc Quinn's 'Microcosmos' (Image from Vogue.co.uk)
A couple of big fashion houses have posted massive profits this week as well, and not just due to expansion in the East. This week LVMH and Dior both reported rises of around 15%. Of course, Asia is where the greatest opportunity lies for luxury brands; LVMH saw a 27% increase in the last four months. That said, Europe and the US are not THAT far behind with profits rising by 7% and 18% respectively in those areas. One of the many brands under the LVMH umbrella is Celine, where Phoebe Philo is still being lauded for her game changing collections; results were said to have been 'remarkable' there, perhaps showing that it is not just a catwalk phenomenon which Philo has masterminded. It's worth highlighting as well that Dior's lack of solid design direction doesn't seem to have done them much harm at all- clearly perfume and leather goods can ride even the most potent of media storms.
Everyone still wants a bit of Celine, according to LVMH results (Image from FashionGoneRogue.com)
The importance of the Asian market is underlined by the expansion which many brands are currently undertaking. The latest is Vivienne Westwood who opened her first Chinese store in Shanghai earlier this week. Dame Viv is in China to take part in lots of activities promoting the opening including being guest of honour at the opening of Shanghai Fashion Week. Never one to be seen and not heard, she's also promoting her concerns about the environment and sustainability by addressing the 'Can China survive the world green economy?' conference.
Dame Vivienne Westwood at the opening of her new Shanghai shop
Enough of the business chat and on to some excellent images by Steven Meisel for W magazine's annual art issue. He has employed the talents of various stars including Linda Evangelista, Karen Elson, Coco Rocha and Joan Rivers to create fake ads for imagined products dreamed up with a little help from the W team. Among them the predicatable next project of Petra Ecclestone and a retro spin on shampoo promotion. I've included some of the images below and somewhere in there is Anna Dello Russo, can you spot her? Hint: You have NEVER seen her quite like this before.
All images from nymag.com
When I read this next story, it made my skin crawl with its subtly anti-woman undertones. Christian Louboutin has been explaining why he thinks women love shoes so much. He says 'That's why women are happy to wear painful shoes. For some a little discomfort is balanced by something else, which has to do with desire. You feel yourself, empower yourself, know yourself. You are aware of your body. This little act of discomfort pays off in lots of other ways... There is an element of seduction in shoes that doesn't exist for men...The language starts with the shoe and radiates over the whole body. A woman can be sexy, charming, witty or shy with her shoes. Shoes for men are about elegance or wealth; they are not playing with the inner character''
Image from ftape.com
I'll let you make your own mind up about whether there's any element of truth in that account of why we wear heels, and we can't argue against the fact that Louboutin has had an epic effect on what we wear on our feet. In the interests of balance, I thought I'd post an extract from Caitlin Moran's amazing 'How to be a Woman'- 'The unwearability of high heels is self-evidently all around us- coming to a head at the average wedding reception, a uniformly high-heeled occasion. In our minds we see it as an elegant and serene gathering of women in their finest. One of the big chances of the year to pretend you're at the Oscars, in your stilettos. In actuality, of course, it looks like the annual AGM of the Tina Turner Impressionist Union- women staggering around in unaccustomed verticality; foot flesh pouring out over tight, unkind satin, toes going numb for days afterwards''.
Image from telegraph.co.uk
Miu Miu's decision to hire Hailee Steinfeld as the face of their AW11 campaign caused quite a stir with the debate divided between those who thought she was freakishly young and those who thought the images were charming and sweet (and lots in between). So, the Resort campaign starring 34- year old Guinevere Van Seenus represents something of a leap for Miu Miu. Guinevere was chosen by Erdem earlier in the year to model his Resort 2012 collection, inspired by Hitchcock leading ladies. In a matter of months, the Miu Miu woman has doubled in age and transformed from childish slip of a thing to assured lady, quite the genius move or confusing?
Erdem Resort 2012 (Image from fashionologie.com)
In an interview the FashEd did with Donatella Versace a while back, she told us that the Versace for H&M collection would revive lots of the prints which the label was famous for back in the nineties. True to her word, there is a wealth of fabulously flamboyant baroque references in the full lookbook for the collection which we got to see for the first time this week. It's so darn bellisima, bring on November 17th!
Versace for H&M- Image from telegraph.co.uk
Finally, we may not all be able to fork out the £60,000 paid for a Tracey Emin at Frieze but for a mere tenner you can get your hands on Emin engraved soap at Liberty's Beauty Hall. The project is part of Emin's support for Art Against Knives project which she is involved in 'Because I am against people stabbing each other. Full stop'. Each soap comes wrapped in a poem which Emin has composed especially for the collaboration. If you can't make it to Liberty then you can purchase yours here.
