LFW Diary AW12: David Longshaw

A designer who creates witty illustrations and fun-filled stories that result in bright and vivacious garments is David Longshaw.

This AW12 sees his famous cult-character Maude share the centre stage with protagonist Lucia:
*Having fallen down a hole and in to a dress Lucia (who is trying to escape a frightfully dull wedding) is a tad surprised to be greeted by two talking fabric mice; Maude and Doris. In turn Maude is surprised to hear Lucia has no idea who she is.
‘How can you not know who I am! I'm Maude, Editor-in-Chief of MAUDEZINE, the future fashion bible’...
Fashion waits for no man or fabric mouse.*

Once upon a time was not how it started- the story of Maude by David Longshaw from DAVID LONGSHAW on Vimeo.

Longshaw originally devised Maude, the fashion fabric mouse while studying at Central Saint Martins and since the character has been recreated in 100% cashmere by Saville Row tailor Richard James.

Creating a collection that could be classed as ‘transitional’, the emphasis is on form, with cocoon silhouettes and statement shoulders taking centre stage: beautiful prints of illustrated characters and florals evoke summer.

Collaborating with Kirsty Ward for the fifth consecutive season on jewellery, Longshaw once again renews his relationship with milliner Katherine Lee to create to exquisite Maude pieces.

LFW Diary SS12: David Longshaw

David Longshaw is a designer I adore. Bursting with quirky stories and illustrations, each season’s theme is inspired by a short story with this season’s being Father Said...

“For this season I’ve written a story called Father Said about a girl who takes her boyfriend on a fateful seaside trip. As well as creating the story and illustrations, I’m also working on a short animation of the story depicting the main protagonist, Sophie wearing pieces from the new collection. Father Said starts off with all going well. Sophie takes her boyfriend on her trip to the seaside…”

“The sun is shining, they have fish and chips and walk on the beach then they spot the chance to row to Puffin Island. With all the talk of puffins, as she rows, Sophie suddenly has a flashback to a nightmare she had after reading a sweet book her boyfriend had given her, about a puffin with a disproportionate head, with one eye big and one eye small. She suddenly lashes out with the oars in hand and smashes her boyfriend over the head with one. The blow is fatal… so as all rational people do, she rows to shore and buries him – planting flowers over where he lays. For the rest of her life she plans to wear a flower each day in his memory.”

Deftly utilising collaborator Kirsty Ward’s chunky statement jewellery to great effect, Longshaw has also teamed up with milliner Katherine Lee this season on a special show piece. Walking a perfect line between tough and whimsical, Longshaw’s beautiful and characterful illustrations no doubt offer his customers individuality and empowerment in equal measures.

Brand Of The Week: David Longshaw

A designer who has been on my radar since my first foray into fashion journalism whilst at Amelia’s Magazine, I have followed the career of David Longshaw eagerly - especially in recent seasons - coveting the wonderful accessories made in conjunction with his girlfriend and incidentally SIX Magazine favorite, Kirsty Ward for the past two seasons.

An esteemed illustrator having won the Colin Barnes Drawing Prize in 2005, Longshaw has an unrivalled talent for creating individualist characters that centre in his own narrative stories. Sponsored by Swarovski Elements garments are sculptural, colourful and in short, match Longshaw’s signature to a tee. Longshaw’s work is witty, imaginative, thought-provoking and above all; beautiful. For the first time AW11 sees the designer collaborate on a capsule footwear collection with footwear designer Heather Blake.

The AW11 collection is inspired by the following shirt story:
‘Seriously Rose, I can’t bloody believe it here, they’ve stuck me in the middle of sodding nowhere with these religious nuts who expect me to go to church with them and sit shitting cross stitching by the fire ‘of an eve.’ What do they think it is, the bloody 15thCentury?’ They don’t drink and they don’t f****ing swear. There’s no one my age I’ve met other than one or two who are destined to die virgins unless one of them changes sex and their parents force them in to an arranged marriage to procreate more dull, wierd looking bastards! ‘Don’t even get me started on the sodding birds! It’s supposed to be quiet in the countryside, but every morning at 5am all I get is bloody tweet, tweet, tweet; they even tap on the window- I thought it was someone at the front door at first. It’s a nightmare when you’ve got a hangover. I managed to smuggle in some booze but I’m running low.’ Tora, a wayward girl, gets sent to live with her tea-total, religious, cross stitching, aunt and uncle in the middle of nowhere, to try get her on the straight and narrow. She takes a soft toy named Frank with her, which has a pet shoe and a love of whisky.

Having fallen in love with Longshaw’s forthcoming AW11 collection at the Iroquois press day back in April, I can’t wait to see what VOGUE.com’s ‘Designer to Watch 2011’ and ELLE’s ‘Rising star of 2011’ will have in store

LFW Diary AW11: Kirsty Ward

A designer I was really looking forward to seeing at Blow PR's Ones To Watch on the inaugural day of LFW, I was sad to have missed seeing the hotly tipped Kirsty Ward make her mark on the international fashion stage. Unluckily I queued too late and didn't get into the show, but luckily Ward also exhibited with Vauxhall Fashion Scout, where I managed to meet her and obtain a close-up of her inspired AW11 collection a couple of days later.

As dramatic, unique and groundbreaking as I'd hoped, Ward's designs are a vision of sculptured brilliance, breathtakingly playing on the structure of the silhouette, harnessing a clear penchant for boned, textured clothing, that was also highly visible in her debut. Having graduated from an MA in womenswear at CSM a couple of years ago, Ward was instantly whisked off to Italy to join Alberta Feretti’s design team, where she stayed for a year and a half. After founding her eponymous label in 2010, Ward has gone from strength to strength designing jewellery for David Longshaw’s AW10 collection and of course debuting with her own SS11 collection last September.

Focusing on her striking and complex costume jewellery, Ward uses this as the starting point for her fashion collections, taking inspiration for AW11 from images of both funny women and chairs. A designer’s designer, Ward loves to make garments that she would want to wear herself, which for me is the benchmark of a true designer – reflecting your own taste and aesthetic being paramount. With a muted earth colour palette of black ash, snow and lava shades, I’m thoroughly impressed with Ward’s collection, emphatically proving to up-and-coming designers that unique practices are the way forward if you want to achieve this kind of maga-watt result.

SS11 Press Days: Best of Blow

Many, many weeks ago I attended the Blow PR press day and true to form it was one of the highlights of my season. Its quite hard to put my finger on why exactly I love their client list so much, but I'm pretty sure its because they generally support the newest and most progressive fashion talent around, and I love that they promote designers who don't even retail, which as a member of press and an eager potential consumer is both very exciting and intriguing.

With a really subtle nod to S&M I genuinely love these playful latex rubber costume outfits designed by William Wilde. I love the little details such as PVC bows and frills, which I'm certain are no walk in the park to perfect. Entitled Madame Boucherie, SS11 sees Wilde's inaugural collection - which is all hand-glued - transcend the realms of burlesque to create sexy outfits and lingerie, which is worlds apart from the made-to-measure bridal wear he previously turned his hand to.

Another new designer I spied is Flik Hall, whose third collection, Mannequin Parade showcases her aesthetic for bold silhouettes, captivating prints and penchant for toy limbs (as depicted below)!

A firm favourite whom I've now written about on two previous occasions is Fam Irvoll who has gone to town with oversized florals this season. I especially love the yellow high-waisted skirt (pictured below).

I absolutely love the elegance, timelessness and shift dress simplicity of David Longshaw. With kooky necklaces, embellishments and feathers galore, Longshaw is proof that the devil is in the detail.

Another designer showcasing for the third time is Welsh-born Jayne Pierson with her SS11 collection entitled, Twin Parrallel. Vaguely reminiscent of Vivienne Westwood (I suppose the imitable designer's signature style was bound to influence Pierson during her time working for the Dame), I love the different textures and superhero type colourways, which include lots of gold.

At first I was slightly freaked out, as I'm well known for not being taxidermy's biggest fan, but once I got over my preconceived notions about foxes in particular, I really responded to RP Encore's concept. Using skills I didn't even know were possible RP Encore has deftly turned corpses (among foxes and ravens) into beautiful accessories, taking casts of their claws and teeth, typifying her aesthetic with the fox clutch bag which is surprisingly roomy!

Created by mechanical engineer and metal worker Clare Whit, I absolutely love the costume pieces below, especially the rather heavy soldered platform shoes.

Another designer I love, whom I had in mind when talking about designers who don't actually sell their work is Dean Sidaway, who works as a stylist, design consultant and lecturer at Central Saint Martins. Fingers crossed one day I'll be able to afford to privately commission one of his pieces.