EXOTIC GOTHIC – THE GILES A/W 2011 SHOW

When the Giles Autumn/Winter 2011 line was shown last night at the Royal Courts of Justice, it hardly seemed like the same designer of the Spring/Summer 2011 collection of cartoons and cleavage. Giles Deacon works best at a level close to couture and the new collection for this high-lux label was seriously strong.

Giles said “austere, not austerity.  I thought about the nineteenth century obsession with female hysteria; something buttoned up, but at the same time something completely wild lurking underneath.”

Waistbands on cocoon shaped dresses were cinched with black leather and glistening corsets over crisp white shirting with Edwardian ruffles.  High-necked leather tunics showed a flare of dominatrix, jet beading added romance to dresses and waffled brocade and billowing fur for texture.

With all seriousness aside, the humour of the label...the reason I am enamoured  with Giles, was nonetheless still there.  The invites to the show were “official Giles summons” on court paper and the collection included bulging goat hair and dyed black peacock feathers that resembled porcupine spines, which were exaggerated to the point it couldn’t be taken wholly seriously.

What I love about this label is that since his first collection in 2004, with his ever-enhancing sophisticated designs he still manages to pull through the feeling of fun and youthfulness.  This demonstrates, Giles, credited with injecting high-octane glamour into British fashion, that although his couture brand has greatly evolved, it is clearly evident that it's frolicsome origins still play a significant part in Giles’ designs.

Bravo!

Front row guests included Pixi Geldof, Mary Portas, Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman and Alexander Wang.

Watch the show here:  Giles A/W 2011 collection

RETURN OF THE MAC

Burberry Prorsum showed their Womenswear  A/W 2011-2012 collection on Monday 21^st February 2011.  Synonymous with the trench coat, the wardrobe staple has been the British label's bread and butter for years.  The 60’s were an obvious influence within the collection with bubble shaped dresses, tunic coats and flat caps and the epic show finished on a high as the models strutted down the snow fallen runway, making their final foray in transparent plastic macs, which are certain to be a hit come winter!

Watch the video here:

Burberry Prorsum AW 2011 womenswear

A DRESS FIT FOR A QUEEN….OR MAYBE NOT !

London Fashion Week went off with a bang on Friday and it was the Grand Dame’s turn at London Fashion Week on Sunday 20^th February.Vivienne Westwood whimsically portrayed her Autumn/Winter 2011 collection in a some-what theatrical manner, with models such as Daisy Lowe sporting colourful morning-after-the night before make up and enormous coiffures.  Demonstrating Westwood’s evident British origins in her designs, there were obvious nods towards British-ness, including pinstripe knickerbockers, a t-shirt featuring William Shakespeare and huge city hats.

Lauded for her quirkiness on and off the catwalk, Vivienne Westwood is a genius at self-promoting and evidently succeeded in pulling off an attention-seeking piece to get the media’s chins wagging!  Vivienne Westwood snubbed Kate Middleton, saying “ I would have loved to have dressed Kate Middleton but I have to wait until she kind of catches up a bit somewhere with style.”

WE'RE THE KIDS IN AMERICA!

If you were a teenage girl in the 90's, you were TOTALLY jealous of Cher's virtual wardrobe in the classic teen flick, Clueless.  If you say you weren't, I have one word for you......

So when my favourite brand in all the land, Wildfox Couture, decided to base their 2013 Spring/Summer look book as a tribute to Amy Heckerling, the director of Clueless, I could barely contain my excitement... THIS COLLECTION IS WAY EXISTENTIAL TO MY LIFE!!!

With 90's fashion trends seeping back into our closets, this film seems a perfect muse for the California-based vintage-inspired brand to base their throwback collection.  There are indeed some trends from this era we'd like to stay hidden at the back of the wardrobe, such as those facelift-creating ponytails held up by a scrunchy and anything-but-mobile cellphones that couldn't fit in our bags, let alone pockets, but Wildfox Couture have found the perfect gateway to create nostalgia of this "totally fetch"  fashion era!  We're not talking neon biker shorts here! 

"Do you prefer "fashion victim" or "ensembly challenged?".  

The playful collection features scandalously short skirts with knee high stockings, matched with Wildfox's signature tees with slogans such as "Need A Lift To The Mall" and "Shopping is my Cardio"!