DRESSING UP WITH FARFETCH.COM

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

If you're a regular reader then you will know FEAL are good friends of FarFetch.com, the fashion website which lets you shop the edit of 240 designer boutiques from around the world. It's great because it has all the ease of internet shopping but takes away some of that element which can sometimes feel quite clinical of pages and pages of stock rolling before you in a "Buy me, buy me" kind of way, with no real sense of edit. FarFetch.com allows you to enter stores from all over the world and yes, any given label will probably be stocked at at least a few stores but it will be a completely different part of the collection. That's because a buyer working for a French boutique will be catering to very different tastes to one in Latvia or the US. You can behave the usual internet shopper way and scroll through "skirts" or "shoes" OR pretend you're browsing in Miami one minute and Berlin the next. The legendary Browns has recently joined up.

Image from FarFetch.com on Facebook

This week, FarFetch.com showed that they're not just one step ahead of the game when it comes to retail, but also rather forward thinking with their engagement strategy. Enter Tuesday evening's #digitaldressup event which was like a cross between a kids party and a press day. FarFetch.com had gathered samples from the AW12 selections of some of the stores that feature on the site, including shoes and bags, laid on drinks, a photographer and bravely let a load of bloggers loose for a dress up in the pieces.  I suppose it was a little unfortunate that it felt like the hottest night of the year so there was no way that after a long day sweltering in the London heat, anyone can have felt all that fabulous or up for struggling into a whole new outfit, even if it was comprised of uber amazing designer pieces- who dares sweat in Stella? Anyway, some were brave enough and others were provided with a model to dress up rather like a life sized doll in outfits we picked out.

The FarFetch.com team challenged me to dress my model like she was going to work then out for drinks- fairly standard but obviously elevated by the fact that there were Phillip Lim clutches, J.W Anderson skirts and ACNE jumpers among the selection of pieces to choose from   I eventually plumped for a ridiculously cool red sleeved Givenchy blazer (from Concept Store Smets, Berlin), Mary Katrantzou typewriter print dress (from Feathers, London) with a bottle green Calvin Klein satchel bag (not online just yet) and Giuseppe Zanotti heels (from Dante 5 in Bari, Italy)- fashion yumminess. My main thought being the rather predictable one of wear the blazer to work then slink it off for drinks to show off your clingy, sexy yet super edgy dress.

Well done again FarFetch.com for a brilliant event concept. I can't wait to see what you do next.

P.S As we're now into SS13 fashion show season, there'll be no fashion news for a few weeks as usual but I'll be bringing you the latest from the shows and you can click on the new SS13 shows tab to watch live. Happy Weekend!

SS13: NEW YORK FASHION WEEK IS HERE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

It's that time of year again people, we're about to see what designers think we should be wearing next Spring/ Summer. Here follows four weeks of almost constant shows from New York, London, Milan and Paris, hundreds of thousands of tweets, a myriad of new ideas from designers and the formulation of loooooong wish lists as we see new things we simply cannot live without. I can't wait.

There are so many places to keep up with the action including Style and NowFashion which are putting up live looks. I've just pulled this beauty from the Creatures of the Wind feed as it live updated. Brilliant.

Creatures of the Wind live from New York via Style.com

We're going to have a live feed of some of the shows from New York and London, after tomorrow it'll move to a new tab so remember it's there (don't worry, I'll keep reminding you and you'll see it at the top of the page!). From New York, you'll be able to see the likes of Charlotte Ronson, Diane Von Furstenberg and Reem Acra live as they happen then you can see many, many more on demand afterwards including the much anticipated Holmes and Yang show. In case you didn't know, the Holmes in that belongs to the former Mrs Tom Cruise, Mother of Suri hence the anticipation for the label's first NYFW outing- that's at 9.30am local time ( next Wednesday by the way.

Coming up on this feed we have...

Richard Chai at 11am (4pm in UK)
Tadashi Sodji at 2pm (7pm in UK)

Tomorrow...

Rebecca Minkoff at 3pm (8pm in UK)
Nicole Miller at 6pm (11pm in UK)
Charlotte Ronson at 7pm (Midnight in UK)

Check here for the full schedule and ENJOY SS13 unfold before you.

                   

BOWIE WOWEE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Let's get our Bowie on (image from telgraph.co.uk)

Oh you pretty things, it's time to reach for the orange eyeliner, spike up your mullet and throw some shapes because David Bowie is back. Not that fashion ever forgot exactly but if recent events are anything to go by, the artist formerly known as Ziggy Stardust is bursting right back into our dressing frame of reference. As with many things fashion, it doesn't stop there because Bowie's entire career is set to be made into a sure-to-be awesome exhibition at the V&A which will be sponsored by Gucci- a hint at what to expect for Frida Giannini's forthcoming SS13 collection?

Bowie in his striped bodysuit by Kansai Yamamoto for the Aladdin Sane tour
 1973 (image from telegraph.co.uk)

It first became apparent that there was something Bowie-ish in the air when Sarah Burton presented Alexander McQueen Resort 2013, a collection jam packed with shimmering metallic fabrics and embellishment, slick bell bottoms and matching sharp tailored jackets. As Tim Blanks writes in his review for Style.com, "Burton went... back, to Bowie at his most creatively and visually extreme in the mid-seventies". That was the time of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and, er, some pretty intense drug use. There are also "banana" trousers which look like Burton's take on Kansai Yamamoto's striped bodysuit from 1973.

Banana trousers and sharp suits with Bowie influences
 from Alexander McQueen AW12 (images from style.com)

Then came Miu Miu's AW12 which looks like Chloe Sevigny getting dressed up to go to a David Bowie fancy dress party. It helps that she has that innate boy/girl thing going on which is such a Bowie signature as well as her side slicked, quiff-ish fringe and colour block make-up. The "Behind the Scenes"video is soundtracked by Phantogram, an Indie pop duo who cite Bowie as one of their biggest influences. I love that their name comes from the optical illusion created when two dimensional appears three dimensional in a not dissimilar way to the geometric prints which underpin Miu Miu's latest collection- though they were probably chosen more because they had a great modern Bowie-ish sound which also suited Sevigny's lounging, tea drinking activities in the shots by Mert and Marcus.



One of the things I think the V&A does best is bringing their exhibitions to life with music and video, this was done to great effect with Blade Runner at the at the Postmodernism  show which finished in January this year. David Bowie Is... will include footage of performances and videos as well as artwork, set designs, costumes, photography and much more from the huge Bowie archive which houses over 60,000 objects. Gucci's Frida Giannini says Bowie is "one of my greatest inspirations" so we're hoping for some special contributions from the design house, perhaps more traditionally known for its equestrian heritage and classic luxury aesthetic than rock star associations. Furthermore, as the title suggests, maybe the exhibition will give a broader view of Bowie's genius- as afforded by the incredible archive access the curators will have been privy to- underlining the bits which didn't get quite the attention they deserved the first time around. One thing's for sure, I'll be needing a McQueen banana leg jumpsuit for my visit.

David Bowie Is... runs at the V&A from 23rd March to 28th July 2013. Find out more and get tickets here

ALL ABOUT NATALIE MASSENET, NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Last night,  a number of highly respected fashion news websites including Business of Fashion and WWD "learned" that Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet is to succeed Harold Tillman as Chairman of the British Fashion Council next year. Although there's been no official word yet from the Massenet or BFC camps, it seems like the deal is done. That means the future of British fashion will be entrusted to the hands of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. But who is Natalie Massenet? Tatler editor Kate Reardon used to work for the woman who set the bar for online designer shopping. She wrote a great profile piece for Vanity Fair which I thought I'd share with you here. I think it sums up rather nicely why everyone who cares about British fashion will be rather happy about this appointment.

Natalie Massenet in Net-a-Porter's distribution centre in New Jersey(image from vanityfair.com)

"It would be easy to find Natalie Mas­senet as scary as all hell. She’s the intimidating former fashion editor who, when she founded high-end fashion e-tailer Net-a-Porter, in 2000, changed the way we shop for luxury fashion forever. She worked her backside off and sold the Net-a-Porter Group (which now includes Mr Porter and the Outnet) in 2010 to Richemont for $350 million. She remains an active shareholder and still works at the company, luxuriating in the title of founder and executive chairman.

Here’s what else you should know about her: She’s obsessed with When Harry Met Sally and can work a quote from it into any conversation within three sen­tences. She has a passion for margaritas, which she weakly defends as simply a vehicle for salt (her favorite flavor). She sneezes when she eats mints, cries when she laughs, cuts her own hair, and has an almost adolescent capacity for sleep. “I’m the laziest person I know. I’m really binary,” she says. “When I’m working I have a hard time switching off, and when I’m not working I have a hard time thinking of ever wanting to work again. I guess I’m like a rock—if you don’t push me, I’ll just sit. The only time I can’t sleep is on a plane, when I am literally keeping it in the air with my brain.”

Massenet was born to an English mother (who was a Chanel model and movie stand-in for Sophia Loren) and an American father (a journalist and publicist who accompanied Brigitte Bardot on her first tour of the States and worked on Lawrence of Arabia). She spent her early years in Paris and then at 12 moved to Los Angeles, eventually graduating from U.C.L.A. and relocating to London to work for Tatler.

Natalie’s early career included some “real­ly bad modeling in Japan” and working as a receptionist for John Hughes “during the Home Alone days, when I would frequently take naps at my desk after lunch,” she recalls. “I now have a soft spot for receptionists who stay awake.” Her success is due to dreaming big and believing that “the power of your thoughts can influence how events turn out. I’m a positive person—when bad things happen, I can see the silver lining. As a result I think I’m very lucky, even though I probably have as much bad luck as anyone else, and that translates into seeing opportunity.”

Natalie is slim and delicate, in a way that makes other women immediately feel galumphing, but, she says, “I always thought I looked kind of like Keith Richards, and sometimes I think I look like Michael Jackson in his mug shot. But as I think Keith Richards is pretty great-looking, I’m embracing that part of me. What I’m striving for is Audrey/Jackie, but what I end up with is Keith/Michael.” Like Keith/Michael, she rocks"

SPORT INSPIRED: OPENING CEREMONY'S NEW ANNUAL

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Last night I finally got myself along to Opening Ceremony's pop up shop in Covent Garden. It was full of delectable pieces from familiar designers like Maarten van der Horst and Marques'Almeida but also introduced me to Norma Kamali and Chloe Sevigny's cute skater skirts and animal print knits. Struck with indecision, the only thing I came away with was Opening Ceremony's newly released Annual- a new book/ magazine hybrid which will be published in limited edition each year with a different theme.  In a no brainer kind of way, this year's is all about Sport.

The book, because really that's what it is given it's £20, is full of shoots where models do yoga poses in Carven, ride horses in Jonathan Saunders or renact forgotten Olympic sports like the tug of war wearing Band of Outsiders.  Embedded amongst these are profiles of young athletes, sport themed memoirs and interviews with inspiring sporty people. I know that leafing through its pages will keep me entertained for hours, plus it's a nice, offbeat reminder of what has been the most brilliant few weeks of Olympic and Paralympic sport. The annual is edited by Rory Satran, OC's head of online development and digital platforms. I thought that was interesting in itself- OC's digital co-ordinator heading up a big print project shows that the brand a. takes both media very seriously b. sees that there should be continuity between the two. In her editor letter, Satran says "Opening Ceremony is like a geeky fashion Olympics, with the original New York flagship as our home stadium.... The company takes its name from Baron de Coubertin's modern Olympic games" most importantly though "sport brings us together, and adds fun and meaning to our lives".

 "The Deep End" shoot is seductive and fresh and basically makes you want to plunge in and do 50 lengths. The images were taken by Zoe Ghertner and styled by Lester Garcia (who works with Jeremy Scott's). It is all about the contours of the body, the meeting of flesh and water and the kind of peace you get from gliding through the pool- well, that's what I got anyway. It reminded me that I really need to read Swimming Studies- reviewed here- a comprehensive look at the sport written by a former Olympic hopeful who still has a kind of love/hate obsession despite giving up her dreams when her family moved away from where she trained. I have heard many good things and am tentatively hoping it might be to swimming what Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is to running.

Anyway, here's a taster of Ghertner's gorgeous shoot. You can get Opening Ceremony's Annual online here. 

COMING SOON: DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

I'm a sucker for stories of society greats. I got through the quite enormous Mitford sister biography in a couple of days and any film/ book which has the words "heiress"or "debutante" in the description is most likely on my bookshelf. Quite often, the women in these stories are better known for their scandalous love lives, raucous partying and stupendous shopping activities than their career achievements, which are sometimes quite spectacular in their own right. Invariably, the best stories come from those born towards the beginning of the last century, whose lives span the two world wars. Common sense might dictate that this would have been an utterly miserable and un-festive time. Obviously, I'm not stupid/ in-the-clouds enough not to know that for the vast majority who lived through that time of poverty, death and uncertainty it really was unimaginably awful.

From Diana Vreeland Allure Baron de Meyer , 1925 on our Fashion Editor at large tumblr

But there is something magical about that mid-century time which seems to show a rather heroic coping mechanism- my Grandma tells me stories about playing tea parties in the rubble of houses floored by bombings in Cardiff or waiting for Hitler at the entrance to their air raid shelter with her toy broom, ready to attack the Fuhrer should he find his way to their street in Cardiff. But it's the upper classes- the lucky few who we hear most about, I know- who make me see this time with rose, or should I say sepia, tinted glasses. Like in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph, one of my writing heroines Justine Picardie, the newly appointed editor of Harper's Bazaar gave an anecdote-rich account of the life of Diana Vreeland, a society character, yes, but also legendary fashion editor of US Harper's Bazaar and American Vogue. Vreeland was definitely not ignorant to the perils of the onset of World War II but her personal situation does make you smile, in a "problems you wish you had"kind of way:

"With the outbreak of war in 1939 came a change of tone, although Vreeland proved reluctant to leave Paris - where she had been ordering couture - until the last moment, when a friend insisted that she boarded what was to be the last passenger ship to sail before battle commenced. 'I'll never forget that afternoon,' she later recalled, 'coming down the rue Cambon - my last afternoon in Paris for five years. I'd just had my last fitting at Chanel. I don't think I could have made it to the end of the block, I was so depressed - leaving Chanel, leaving Europe, leaving the world of… of my world.' "

Vreeland's Harper's Bazaars at the Venice exhibition this summer (image from wad.com)

Obviously, Vreeland didn't just fanny about in her couture for the rest of her life, but put her point of view to good use, becoming one of the most important image makers of the twentieth century. Her work is exquisite and inspiring. Now, her granddaughter in law, Lisa Immordino Vreeland, has embarked on a trio of projects to reacquaint a new generation with Vreeland's work. The book has been out for some time and an exhibition has been taking place in Venice this Summer. Now the final instalment coms in the shape of a documentary film Diana Vreeland: The Eye has to Travel which speaks to people who knew Vreeland and shows footage of the editor while charting her quite extraordinary career. In a typically fabulous moment which might be from a modern fairytale, which sums up why I like stories such as hers, that trajectory began when the then- editor of Harper's Bazaar Carmel Snow spotted Diana Vreeland dancing with her husband at a New York ball. No interning for her then. 

The film is out on September 21st, so today is a kind of heads up to make sure you put that date in your diary and hunt out your nearest showings which I suspect will be on sporadic dates at the end of this month and the beginning of October. Check out The Curzon for further updates and showings if you're in London.  it'll also be showing at Filmhouse in Edinburgh. If the cinemas are out of reach then the DVD will be released on the 24th and is available for pre-order.