Creative-Idle featured on the Wardrobe Mistress blog

Earlier in the week I met with Willow Magic of fantastic e-tailer Wardrobe Mistress for a brief Q+A on my personal style.

**This week Willow Magic met the fabulous creative Rachael Oku, Founder of Creative-Idle blog and Associate Editor of Six Magazine

Name: Rachael Oku
Profession: Blogger/Founder of Creative-Idle, Associate Editor of SIX Magazine and Sub-Editor.
Location: London
Passion: The worlds of fashion and modern art

I work in fashion because… I get to meet and work with a wide array of brilliantly creative people and rarely are two days ever the same. It’s thrilling to call something I will always do as a hobby my job. That said, I have always had a love/ hate relationship with fashion: sometimes I feel it is too frivolous a pursuit, but most days I cannot contain my excitement for the latest collections…

What makes my work interesting… is the variety. As the founder of a blog and website I call the shots and have creative freedom, enabling me to write about and embark on projects that truly interest me. Working for SIX Magazine is a dream as I am constantly challenged to find new S&E designers to feature, and hopefully I’m helping to propel S&E fashion further into the mainstream consciousness.

I get my fashion inspiration from … novels such as The Great Gatsby and Vile Bodies and old 40s and 50s films. Favorites are classics such as All About Eve, Gilda, and How to Marry A Millionaire. TV show Mad Men sums up the style of most of my vintage fashion choices, and I am, like most women, guilty of being inspired by fashion magazines. The Glamour Of The Gods; Hollywood Portraits exhibition currently showing at The National Portrait Gallery sums up the aesthetic I strive to achieve.

My Style in a sentence is… ever changing, although I must admit it is largely dependent on my mood and the weather when I wake up. At the moment I’m loving smart masculine accessories and the ensuing intrigue of men on the tube!

My luxury must-have item is… can I say my Paul Smith glasses? Necessary and stylish in equal measure.

What’s your best Style advice… simply to be yourself. When I was younger I bought into fads as I wanted to look like my peers, but in recent years I’ve realized that there is nothing better than looking like yourself – unique. My top tip would be; dress to show off your personality!

Wardrobe must haves:
A good pair of brogues
A staple pair of tried and tested jeans that match everything
Black suit / tux jacket
Structured handbag (preferably vintage, very Betty Draper/ Margaret Thatcher)
Cases full of vintage statement accessories
Beautiful printed fabrics

Most treasured item in your wardrobe and why… This would have to be my new embossed leather briefcase that I got earlier this month from Camden Stables Market. I’m a sucker for all things vintage (this is from the 40s or 50s), and goes perfectly with the preppy/ masculine look I’m rocking at the moment. Alternatively I still love my vintage navy Dior handbag that I’ve had for about a decade.

What is your favorite piece on the Wardrobe Mistress site right now… a very tough choice, but I’d have to say the khaki coloured Dolce + Gabbana party dress – it’s gorgeous and a bargain too!**

Visit the Wardrobe Mistress website to read the article in full.

Fresh From The Production Line: Oliver Goldsmith

P. Oliver Goldsmith (pictured centre)

“I don’t believe in those theories about certain styles suiting certain shaped faces. Life is too short. If you find a shape you like, have it and never mind what anyone else thinks.” – Oliver Goldsmith, 1965.

Clippings of iconic coverage

A few weeks ago I was invited to the launch of the brand new sunglasses collection by Claire Goldsmith. Not knowing too much about the brand beforehand I was blown away by the West London store and showroom, charting the eponymous brand’s heritage and great legacy in high fashion. Worn by all of the supers, actresses and most popular rock stars alike, Goldsmith designs often graced the pages of Vogue making him synonymous with the world of celebrity and an arbiter of style.

Some of my favourite heritage styles (above and below)

Founded in 1926, P. Oliver Goldsmith was the first designer to view sunglasses as accessories in addition to being a tool to protect eyes from the sun – creating a series of innovative styles in the late ‘50s which were to make a bold fashion statement. Worn by the royalty and celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn (think big white oval frames), Michael Caine, Grace Kelly and Peter Sellers, Goldsmith pioneered an altogether new concept in eyewear being the first to create a range of winter sunglasses, and spearheading collaborations with high fashion houses such as Givenchy and Dior.

The polaroid wall of celebrities

Looking through the back catalogue of samples and trying on all of the iconic styles was a somewhat special experience, especially when I could see Polaroids of present day celebrities snapped in their favourite styles – making the whole shopping experience a glamorous affair for customers.

Some examples of classic styles (above)

Examples of the production process and a choice of acetates for custom-made pairs

What I love most about the brand is that it is - to this day - a family business with grand-daughter Claire at the helm since 2005, when she reintroduced some of Goldsmith’s most iconic frames taken from the private family archive. Since 2010, Claire has put her own stamp on the brand, creating seasonal capsule collections that play on the brand’s unique heritage, whilst establishing a fresh design aesthetic targeted towards a new generation.

Claire Goldsmith's newest collection

Of her collections Claire says: “I decided it was time to put my own mark on eyewear designs to see if I had what it took to create timeless, classic eyewear too... I hope CG (Claire Goldsmith) will be the vintage of the future.”

SS11 Press Days: Four Marketing

A good couple of weeks ago I went to the Four Marketing press day and have held back on writing about it for a while as its so far been one of my favourites of the season, due to their rich client list and great showroom and general friendly atmosphere.

The Missoni SS11 collection is by far one of the best I've seen from them in recent years, ever-so-slightly pairing down the thickness of their summer knits and streamlining both the direction and quantity of pieces (although, that maybe should be credited to the Four Marketing merchandising team...) The collection is bright, light and features several stand out pieces including the stunning white silk pleated number (above), which for me is a modern take on the dress Marilyn Monroe wore in the iconic steam grate scene in The Seven Year Itch.

Another great stand-out item is the subtle pastel body-con dress beautifully modelled above - great cut, and really flattering. I also really like the cute knitted shorts (pictured below).

With holiday/ beach being a major theme for Missoni (as you'd expect from such an iconic Mediterranean brand) accessories were at the fore, particularly a plethora of printed beach bags.

A new brand with an inspired name by Natalie Wood is Australia's Something Else, who for SS11 have produced a great collection of relaxed separates. Based on a barren, desolate landscape the SS11 offering, 'Middle of Nowhere' is all about layering whilst being highly textural and light. Boasting a smoky colour palette of natural dusty tones set against stark black, stand out garments include the slogan t-shirt and cleverly constructed knitwear (pictured below).

The final brand I was eager to see is that of Galliano who didn't disappoint. Whilst the majority of Galiano pieces I'd never wear - as opposed to his collections for Dior, which I adore season after season - I really like the bodice dress below and for some reason think it'll be really popular celeb-wise next season.

The two pieces below caught my eye in a very European way...

What was great to see was Galliano recreating his trademark newspaper print, where having the opportunity for the first time to have a really close read and inspection, I gleamed that the stories within are actually about Galliano himself, which for me is a very nice touch if not a little bit eccentric, which I like more.

As a great lover of yellow, I absolutely adore this light-weight Galliano coat, although being a perfectionist I feel it's a bit too mustard, however I think it's great and has definitely made it onto my lust-list. Funnily enough comparing the collection in the showroom and the look book, a distinct Japanese flavour comes across in the styling (of the latter), with garments layered and distressed as much as possible, reflecting Galliano's personal aesthetic to a tee.

Other brands I saw again and loved were Tween, a great young, smart menswear label (who had a great rustic pastel colour palette for SS11) and Money (below), which is a streetwear brand, who take their brand name quite literally using money (namely genuine dollar bills, although this season I spied a mocked-up £1 note) to decorate their garments and accessories.

AW10 Press Days: Part Five B

At the Relative Mo press day last week I fell head over heels in love with Louise Goldin's AW10 collection. I loved the padding effect, especially in leather - amazing!

 

I didn't think I was really that big a fan of Julien Macdonald as I've found his last few collections a bit hit and miss, but hoorah... this collection I love. I really liked the equestrian inspired jackets and the uber chunky knits, with my favourite pieces being the knitted string vest tops.

A new designer to me was Duro Olowu, whose prints were to die for. I enjoyed every piece in he collection, especially how all of the prints clashed so majorly - exactly my kind of styling!

As reported during LFW, Orla Kiely's AW10 collection was simply divine. For the upcoming season there were luxurious and overtly feminine pieces a plenty. I loved the buttoned-down understated feel of the collection - right up my street!

Great boots from the master that is Galliano. I especially liked his take on the brother creeper, and I'm certain these knee-highs will be on every celebrity worth their salt in the coming months.

DIOR 

 

For me Nathan Jenden's collection was one of the best showcased at the Relative Mo press day! I absolutely adored this bright dress embellished with plectrums - so original and creative. I'm very much looking forward to calling this in for photoshoots in the coming months.

Yet another designer whom I wasn't too familiar with was Aitor Throup, but I loved the way in which he displayed his collections very simply, utilizing the rails available, but setting his collection apart wonderfully.