Yves Saint Laurent renamed Saint Laurent Paris

   Designer Hedi Slimane has announced the renaming of brand Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris for the upcoming Ready-to-wear fashion line.

   While SLP is a less catchy initialism the original YSL logo will remain in use for shoes, lipsticks and handbags and it will remain the 'house' name. The brands new logo has also been released, and it is less recognisable than the original interlocking letters.

It's an iconic logo that's been around for more than half a century, but now YSL's interlocking initial stamp is set to change.

   Slimane has removed Laurent's first name from the brands logo and now can be categorised alongside brands such as Chanel, Prada, and Versace. The name change is seen as away forward to re-brand the collection, Laurent was also the first brand to release a ready-to-wear collection for sale.

Ciate Velvet Manicure

   After Ciate's extremely successful caviar manicure, they have released a follow up set for the Autumn, it is inspired by Autumn/Winter velvet fabrics (seen on Alexander McQueen and Balmain AW 2012).

   The new set includes a miniature Ciate paint pot, a tube of 'crushed velvet' and a little black brush to apply the velvet with. This will be available from Selfridges from August for £14, £4 cheaper than the Caviar set, and unlike the beads this won't fall off and is far easier to apply.

  However a similar cheaper and more accessible product is Rimmel's Matte top coat, which has been on-sale for over a year already.  This produce retails at £4.59 at Boots UK. 

   I Painted my nails with a green polish from Collection 2000, waited for it to dry and then covered it in a matte finish topcoat, it doesn't alter the colour of the polish and the wide brush makes it easy to make the polish matte.

Colour Changing Nail Varnish

   American nail polish brand 'Colour Club' are set to release a new line of nail polishes called ruby wing, these polishes change colour in the sunlight. They claim that the polish uses 'photochromic' technology and according to Fashionista.com the colour change is is rapid after going outside from inside. It is not set whether they will be available in the UK yet, however I have no doubt that another brand will release their own.

Karl Lagerfeld's olympic collection

Karl Lagerfeld will be releasing two collections (KARL MAN & WOMAN and premium line KARL LAGERFELD PARIS MAN) in person this evening at Selfridges, London

   Karl Lagerfeld has also released a preview of his collection for the Olympics. The three pieces to be released vary from £95-£325. The Collection is typically monochrome and tweed based, but with splashes of gold on the tweed pants and leather jacket. The signature metallic collars come in three shades that have been revealed sofar.

Victoria's Secret London store opening

The first Victoria's Secret store in Europe opened its doors today, it is located in the Westfield shopping centre Stratford, just in time for the Olympics.

   The store's display window boasts mannequins wearing iconic underwear which were worn by the Angels at the label's 2011 show, additionally the Bond Street store's opening date is still to be confirmed. The store's exterior is pinstripe pink with a silver sign. The store is decorated feminine, and resembles every underwear store seen in American film. 

   The very large store is filled with lacy underwear, it is decorated with pink and white light shades, pink armchairs and numerous stands and drawers filled with luxurious underwear. The store supplies its 'Very Sexy' line of underwear and a whole wall of knickers labelled 'Panty Boutique', the store seems to cover every need to purchase underwear.

   The walls a filled with black and white prints, which change to colour images as the area of the store changes from practical underwear to sexy underwear. The centre of the shop hosts the Victoria's Secret perfumes and makeup lines.

Chanel Haute Couture A/W 2012, Piece 20 Description

During Couture week, Karl Lagerfeld's Autumn/Winter collection for Chanel has wowed fashionistas using a combination that seems to be inspired by both children's fashion (ie the glittery tights) and Chanel's target audience of office based females.

   The high neck dress is cut just below the collar bones, to revel the slenderest part of a woman's upper body, while the large layered chiffon shoulder pieces that float when the model walks, the shoulder detail has been used to create the illusion of broader shoulders, this is to make the wearer of the dress look like more of a idyllic hourglass figure.

   The dress is made from a combination of feathered fabric and strips of glittered material, these contribute towards the illusion of a snowy landscape, which is fitting with the full A/W Haute Couture collection.

Chanel A/W Couture 2012

On 3rd of July 2012, Paris Karl Lagerfeld has released yet another breathtaking line of 65 couture gowns and suits, here are a few of my favourite pieces.

   The line is very much designed with the modern working female in mind, but a female that enjoys the appeal of a matching classic skirt suit. The clothes are brought into 2012 using different variations on a jacket, such as a double breasted suit and a jacket fastened by a buckle waist belt. The hair of the models was also made to reflect the modern woman, long hair pinned flawlessly into a faux bob, a style sported by many celebs.

   The cuts of the skirts vary between A line and pencil, two styles which are currently seen in high street stores such as Topshop in the form of body-con dresses and skater dresses. Lagerfeld A/W collection re invents harem trousers using tweed fabric, thus making them an item of clothing suitable for work and not just day to day wear.

    The line seems to be aimed at a younger audience, (20-30's) as sequinned jumpers have exposed midriff and glitter tights are used with several outfits. However the overall line is designed very well for the winter weather, using the idea of snow in the clothes by using pom poms and glittered and sequinned tweed fabrics.

   The finale of the runway show was the following wedding dress, it is a classical a line dress and is made couture by the additional feathered headpiece. The dress combines the 'snow and tweed' theme of the collection into a beautiful finale masterpiece, Lagerfeld is well known for his time at Chanel and for keeping the traditional monochrome theme both modern and classic.