Thursday 13 December 2012

Once upon a time...

Despite being head over heels with the bright city lights, sometimes it all seems a bit too smoke and fog for anyones taste.... and when that happens to me there are some places I love to retreat. A new found getaway for me is Somerset House, perhaps most famed for hosting LFW but also home to some brilliant galleries.


I visited Tim Walker: Storyteller the other week very early on a tuesday morning and found myself absolutely enthralled. Every image, every iconic installation (remember Lily Donaldson sat astride that Spitfire in Vogue 2009) in dreamy hyper-real beauty. Thanks to the grey day outside and the early hour I was left almost completely alone to enjoy this Alice in Wonderland paradise.

The fusion between model, costume, set and wonderfully imaginative props is something truly unique, not to mention the way it is captured by Walker on film.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Queen V

Its not everyday that the supposed ice queen swoops down from her fashion hide out in LA to grace the streets of London, but lo and behold, little ol' me found herself face to face with none other than Victoria Beckham to discuss everything from the Spice Girls (cringe- though she did offer to sing out of key for me) her two own phenomenally successful fashion lines and her hopes for future talent in the industry.

Having to keep a secret of that scale is no mean feat I tell ya, and it all came about by chance really. For those of you who know, I study at London College of Fashion and it was actually a collaboration between LCF and legendary Fashion Biographer Colin McDowell who is currently holding a serious of live talks with key players within the industry of which VB was one. LCF were able to offer me and a handful of others a platform to meet and talk to Posh herself.

Arriving fashionably and typically late, to a small central london lecture theatre she cut an uber chic figure dressed in signature form fitting black- a dress of her own (but of course) Victoria Victoria Beckham SS'13.

The discussion between her and Colin McDowell was intimate, revelling and unusually, touching at times. What is so captivating about her isn't the star quality, the immaculate heels or handbags, its how down to earth she is. One of the few people I could sight as a true role model, increasingly so as the conversation progressed onto family, media stereotypes and being given a voice in the industry.

Three things have stuck with me; the drive/desire behind setting up her eponymous label as she shares the beginnings of her line with us. While fielding questions about judgement and preconception within the industry she proved her Louboutin glad feet to be firmly on the ground, describing the debut of her first line in New Yorks Waldorf Hotel and how after worrying about her flower arrangement in the early hours of the morning Hillary Alexander mentioned the attention to detail at the start of her collection review.

Its this attention to detail and desire which has made her label so successful, and whilst acknowledging fame did 'give her a voice' it also came with its preconceptions she had to fight to overcome. A stereotypical comment she has heard time and time again is 'does she actually design? or just put her name to it?'... This was a topic she clearly felt needed to be address and spoke very openly, as if we, as fellow future fashion industry professionals needed to be reassured of. Its clear by the zeal alone in her voice that these collections are very much hers. From designs inspired by her achieves of Desginer vintage to a tongue in cheek print which has caught her eye, each fit is overseen (or over-skyped) and tweaked accordingly.

It is the same type of passion which illuminates her eyes when she speaks of her family, some of whom she had with her there (Romeo, warning, future heartbreaker) Mrs Beckham is a family woman through and through, joking of moving to Hong Kong to be with David and how she was late due to feeding Harper and her inability to cook, it seems no subject was off limits and she warmed to the crowd.

The final part of the evening I spent with 9 others exclusively in Victorias company as we got to discuss her business in more depth and she discovered a little about our lives too. Staggering into a private room to the left of the lecture theatre was the first time I have ever been truly starstruck... Not because she is intimating but because I desperately wanted this warm and funny lady to like me. Any fears i had were diffused instantly, first to enter the room, she reached out her arms to me, asking my name and saying it was a pleasure to meet me. We chatted about my work, and aspirations to become a buyer, my blog and how it was part of her collections which were the inspiration for me to return to university.


Monday 3 December 2012

Parallel Universe

Another fashion film as I seem to be obsessed at the moment, and it somehow justifies the hours I spend trawling youtube when I'm supposed to be writing. Sums me up at the moment, this week has been a whirlwind to say the least and I've got some amazing things to share.

Campaign film featuring the Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection, directed by David Sims and featuring Suvi Koponen. Fashion films seem to be having a moment right now, check out some other favourites, Moncler 'Dont Steal the Jacket by Bruce Weber and Quentin Jones for Victoria Beckham, speaking of which.....