Herve Leger by Max Azria, New York fashion week Spring/Summer 2013

  Herve Leger's new collection featured the signature body-con dresses, with a twist of quilted fabric.

    Quilt-making was the main inspiration behind this collection and it is a fresh perspective into Spring / Summer 2013. The dresses are a combination of the famous Herve Leger body-con dress and skater A-line dresses.

The models wear fabric which has been quilted into solid structures and often solidified by belts which look like PVC to draw attention to the small waist of the models. Some of the collection seems to reflect the current nineties revival as the tight summer dresses boast spaghetti straps and a mini length.

   The shoes seem to be similar to Victoria Beckham's s/s shoes, they are heeled shoe boots and have a peep toe with buckle detail. The swimwear collection uses chains and animal print, the fabric also looks as if it has been plaited, and uses strips of fabric to resemble belts on some of the swimwear.

   The collection seems to reflect many Autumn / Winter trends of grunge and Gothic revival, the collection looks to be very successful and cleverly designed to develop from A/W.

Sellotape stripe nails, Black and Gold

Step one - Paint the whole nail the base colour, here I chose black.

Step two - cut the sellotape into thin strips, when the nail is completely dry place the tape over them diagonally.

Step three - ensuring that the tape is stuck down firmly, paint over the whole nail using a second colour, here I chose glittery gold, both polishes by Models Own, available so see in my past post.

The finished product on a false nail.

My nails :),I have ordered thin tape designed for nails and will be posting more patterns in the near future, check for updates!

Model's Own nail varnish

   Model's Own nail varnishes come in large bottles and have a good range of colours, during summer 2012 they collaborated with Hed Kandi and released several glitter nail polishes, designed for holidays.

L-R

Champagne, Black Magic, Purple Mystique, Misty Grey.

Lady Gaga opens Philip Treacy's London Fashion week show

   Lady Gaga opened Philip Treacy's Spring/Summer London fashion week. Treacy released fashion collections between 2001-2003, and has made a big splash in his return to fashion.

   Star Lady Gaga opened the show wearing a fuchsia trademark veil, the show taken place at the Royal Courts of Justice, London. The show furthermore only featured black models including Jourdan Dunn. The audiece included Dita Von Teese and Kim Cattrall.

   The show taken inspiration from Disney character Minnie Mouse by creating sequinned ears and making fascinators of mini-fairgrounds. The show also featured a large amount of Michael Jackson, one of the models even wore the exact jacket he wore in the video for Thriller, Jackson's music was largely used as the show's soundtrack.

Barry M Nail paint

I decided to upload a picture of my collection of nail polishes, with each of their names. Barry M is my favourite brand of nail polish to use as they have a wide range of colours and shades, they also release 'nail effects' nail polishes frequently, their new polish is Chameleon, I still need to buy and review this nail varnish.

My collection

L-R
Nail effects black (311), Nail effects pink (314), Aqua Glitter (340), Cyan blue (294), Blue Moon (317), Block orange (301), Berry I/C 308).

Glitter tip nails

Step one - paint the nail with a base colour coat (here I haven't used one)

Step two - using a clear nail polish (or a polish the same colour as the glitter you will use,) paint the tip of the nail and sprinkle the glitter over this while it is still wet. Leave to dry.

Step three - after the nail varnish and glitter had fully dried, remove any excess glitter by tapping it into the pot and neaten up the nails using cotton buds. Finally coat the nail with a good top coat.

No 7 Nail polish

   I usually buy No 7 polishes when Boots give out the No 7 £5 off vouchers, making the nail polishes £2.

L-R
Minty Fresh (320), Sing the blues (290), ME ME ME! (250), So Strong Nail care, Violetta (44).

McQueen London Flagship store opens!

   The new Alexander McQueen flagship store opened today, in time for London fashion week.

   The affordable 'McQ' store is on Dover Street in Mayfair, the boutique stands three storey's high and sells women's and menswear. The store is designed to be the epitome of luxury, with the changing rooms made from suede and velvet, it is designed to feel like a comfortable boudoir. 

   Sarah Burton is quoted as saying "We want to create a story and a home for McQ and the flagship on Dover Street is an extension of this world." the store will feature catwalk pieces and ready-to-wear clothing.

The store is situated at 14 Dover Street, London.

London Fashion Week 2012

   London fashion week began today and runs from the 14-18th September 2012. It opened with a catwalk show from Antoni & Alison at 9am, shows are available to watch 'live now' or 'live', but only a select few.

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk.

Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2013 Ready-to-wear New York fashion week

   The new Marc Jacobs collection is a drastic change from last seasons layers, embellishment and texture. The Spring collection is completely minimalistic.

   The collection is casual and filled with everyday essentials, mostly using a striped pattern. Last season's collection had dresses manipulated by pleats, this season opened with a T-shirt over shorts, followed by a model wearing an oversized monochrome striped coat, revealing skin underneath. 

   The collection is a combination of 1960's monochrome and grunge revival, both of which have been seen in many other S/S 2013 collections so far. Most of the fabrics used were either cotton or fabric, until the collection advanced to evening wear, Jacobs said: "We reduced everything to t-shirt."

   Several of the dress T-shirts were given drop waist skirts,“I was transfixed by the placement of the skirts on the hips,” Avansino said. The accessories in the collection bore matching stripes, shoes were flat or kitten heeled, also drawing inspiration from the "Mod" look of the 1960's, the collection is receiving largely positive reviews.

Blake Lively wed Ryan Reynolds in Marchesa

   Blake Lively married Ryan Reynolds on Sunday night and wore Marchesa, the dress was a "one-of-a-kind couture bridal ballgown" designed by duo Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig.

    It is said that the wedding dress was a "hand-draped silk tulle bodice adorned with custom crystal and rose gold embroidery," as revealed in a statement from the brand. Ryan and his party all wore Burberry suits which had been custom made by Christopher Bailey.

   The wedding took place in a small ceromony at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, made famous by being used as the set of the film The Notebook. The couple met while working on set for the 2010 film Green Lantern.

Alexander Wang Spring/Summer 2013 New York fashion week

   Alexander Wang's S/S sexy new collection, with each outfit strategically cut, Wang made sure the clothes were the focus of his show.

   The collection consisted of mostly monochrome colouring, and a dominant theme of geometric leather cut out shapes, the collection is simplistic, sexy and sporty. One dress in particular, (which was worn by Erin Wasson) had slits from the ribs to her knees to expose her hips and thighs, yet remained to be classy.

   The ides of sport clubwear is something Wang has made part of his signature look, dresses bore hoods and zippers, with flashes of metallic. Wang states that: "The juxtaposition of tension and suspension are captured between structure and fluidity while dissected pieces build on a new silhouette, which embodies lightness and delicacy."

   This seasons collection perfectly combined urban and glamour, the show ended as the room fell dark and a black-light shone on the models.

Corinne embellished dress by Alice & Olivia.

   This dress by Alice and Olivia is available to purchase at Harvey Nichols.
Buy Here!
The tulle skirted dress is largely inspired by the 1950's, the cocktail dress comes in one colour only, cream. the dress is one-shouldered and the top of the dress is embellished using pearls, the fastening is an exposed zip on the side of the dress. bodice is polyester, the skirt nylon while the lining is 90% silk and 10% Spandex, making the dress highly comfortable in comparison to other full skirted nylon cocktail dresses.

Victoria Beckham Spring/Summer 2013, New York fashion week.

   Victoria Beckham's 2013 S/S collection has surprised many, with her signature 'collar' making a less frequent appearance.

   Beckham's interest in fashion was apparent throughout her 'Spice Girl' years and has been releasing Ready-to-wear collections since 2009. Although it is said that she is a very organised designer, this time she confessed that she didn't sleep the night previous; "I've been awake obsessing about a collar, can you believe?".

   The models wore female brogues designed by Manolo Blahnik, at the request of Beckham, and gladiator sandals from VB's new collection, Blahnik told British Vogue, "She loved the classic men's brogues that we do, so we created a women's version for her."

   The dresses from the new collection, similar to previous ones are simple, elegant and feminine, which makes them perfect for a wide range of ages. The dress below features a small pressed collar, a body-con skirt with a visible high waistband, the skirt is also layered to give the illusion of a more womanly figure, but still does not detract from the model's slenderness. The top of the dress is plain, with short shoulder sleeves, there is a panel of lace fabric in the centre of the cleavage which reveals some of the skin underneath. 

   The collection uses typically Spring/Summer colours such as crisp white and tangerine, but also black is used in a surprisingly large amount of the items. The collection includes day dresses, evening dresses and day time clothing such as Summer jumpsuits. (pictured below). The satin jumpsuit has spaghetti straps, very loose trousers and a cinched waist belt.

   The new collection is largely focused towards tailoring, including collared dresses, tops or skirts teamed with a VB take on blazer jackets. The results of an increase in use of tailoring is a youthful boyish collection for females, the new collection was a change from the previous, and it does not disappoint.  

Noir, the Rockstud collection Valentino

   Black bags are a fashion staple in every wardrobe, luckily Italian fashion house Valentino have released black leather studded bags, the Noir collection.

   The collection also includes heels and pumps, previously Valentino's Rockstud bags use pale silver studs, which work on almost every bag, however this collection uses dark silver studs and crystals to glamorise the leather collection.

   The collection is made from leather, calf hair and crocodile skin, the range is innovative, with handbags starting at $795, (which converts to  £496.369).

View the collection

London named most fashionable City

   It has been announced that London has been named the most fashionable capital in the world for the second consecutive year, an attribute of this could be the 2012 Olympic Games.

   New York was ranked second, Barcelona third and Paris in fourth. The results are from a yearly poll which is conducted by Global Language Monitor (a US-based company), the list is made after studying social networking sites, blogs, print and media outlets.

The top ten most fashionable cities:

1. London
2. New York
3. Barcelona
4. Paris
5. Madrid
6. Rome
7. Sao Paulo
8. Milan
9. Los Angeles
10. Berlin

London's fashion night out 2012

   Last night marked LFNO 2012, and the coverage of the event is al over Vogue UK today, the event is said to be the biggest FNO yet. The official T-shirt was successful as it sold out at the Condé Nast Wordwide store in less than an hour. 

   Emporio Armani's Secret Garden Party had artist Labrinth, British staple store Burberry was filled with shoppers, who also got to enjoy the band 'Southern'. Topshop joined in on the FNO action with 'Delilah' taking to the windows for a gig. The event seems to have been highly successful and is receiving positive praise everywhere.

   Louis Vuitton's mannequins were replaced by models dressed in the same outfit, and stayed statuesque throughout the evening. Diane Von Furstenberg's window display shown a mannequin wearing the official FNO T-shirt.

   Chanel used human vending machines in Covent Garden, they sold the new Chanel nail polishes. The machines were manned by hidden people who dispensed the product selected by the user into Chanel bags. Furthermore the ques at Alexander McQueen were the length of Old Bond Street, the shoppers waited for a chance to draw a winning card at the label's special prize draw.
   

Henry Holland glow in the dark underwear

   Henry Holland has released the first full underwear range for the brand, and it glows in the dark.

   The collection is for Autumn/Winter 2012, and is exclusive to department store Selfridges. The range includes pieces for both Men and Women, and consists of bras, briefs, shorts and baby dolls. All in an ultra-voilet colour range of lime, pink and coral.

Vogue quoted Holland as saying:

"I wanted our first full underwear collection to be loud and proud. The neon adds a great flash of colour when worn to be seen with low-cut summer pieces, and it also glows in the dark - what more could you want?" he says.