BRIT fever

So yesterday was the second instalment of my two days at the BRITs, and in all honesty by the time the ceremony started I was ready to get the hell outta there. There’s only one word to describe the scene; chaos.

Brits Brochure

So now that I can disclose what I was doing there, I can say that I was with the catering team (gotta pay the bills!!!) and with the best luck in the world I was responsible for 5 A-list tables. Situated in the front row, as close as I could get to the stage, my tables boasted the likes of Leona Lewis, JLS, Kasabian, and none other than Phil Collins. Whilst my tables were great, and Kasabian were absolutely lovely, a huge part of me was a bit disappointed I didn’t get Jay-Z, but in hindsight this might have been for the best, as he didn’t take his seat until the show had gone live. Instead I also had Lily Allen, who sadly failed to grace my lovely table with her presence, although as she was the first performer – I think I can let her off!

As the ‘talent’ arrived I was in prime position to watch all of the celebrities flood top their seats once dinner was announced, although rather than a flood, it was more like a slow but steady stream – with everyone coyly hanging back wishing to remain out of sight for as long as humanly possible. Lucky me literally rubbed shoulders with so many celebrities (but a lot of whom I was unsure as to how they got invited as it’s supposed to be strictly nominees and presenters...): JK Rowling, a suited Dizzee Rascal, Bat For Lashes (aka Natasha Kahn), A raspy-voiced Alesha Dixon (wearing a very short dress indeed, with horrible mismatching orange shoes), a diminutive Kylie, Mika, Holly Willoughby, Sinnita, Louis Walsh, Catharine Jenkins, Alexandra Burke... and the list goes on. Looking back now, quite hilariously Courtney Love really got my goat as she was saying hello to so many people that she held up traffic across the floor for what felt like an eternity, holding two very hot plates of yummy food.

Before all the guests arrived, I managed to catch the latter half of the full run-through, and got to see Kasabian practice a couple more times, I’m guessing due to the pyrotechnic complications. Whilst her singing was actually really good, I had to endure about four rehearsals of Cheryl Cole and dancers. Whilst I quite like Cheryl, I’m afraid I just don’t like the song Fight For This Love, as it’s just a bit too whinny – and four times over it was almost too much for my little brain to bear. What I will say is that I was impressed by how much effort she put into each and every performance, so much so that her and the dancers alike were a little weary after the fourth run.

Something that partly made my day (which I would have never expected it to), was hearing Robbie Williams round off the dress rehearsal. As the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’ is always last (being the most prestigious and all), Robbie sang several of his hits, plus a Take That number at full pelt. Anyone who knows me will know that I’m not a Robbie fan, as I don’t think he’s that musically talented, however I’ll always be quick to say that I believe him to be a great showman and performer – which I discovered first hand. Like everyone else of a certain age nationwide, I too know all of the Robbie lyrics ever written which was what was so great about the performance. It’s not every day that you get to sing along to the man himself while working, let alone in what could only be classified as a ‘closed set’ in military lockdown.

A surprisingly overwhelming experience – which I guess for some reason I wasn’t fully expecting. I’m hoping it was in reaction to Robbie’s realisation of his big moment, as if he was just taking in his gargantuan achievement for the first time.

And that’s it... the rest you (by now, at least) know already.

London College of Fashion MA_10 Human catwalk show

Imagery throughout courtesy of Creative-Idle, unless stated otherwise.

Last night the world and his wife were out in full force for the MA_10 Human catwalk showcase held in the serene Raphael Gallery within a closed Victoria and Albert Museum.

As one of the first to worm my way into the gallery – after enjoying the champagne reception in the foyer – myself and H were in prime position to spot who was arriving and who was falling down the stairs! As you might expect taking pride of place in the front row was the Daily Telegraph’s Hilary Alexander who rather deftly walked up along the front row to jot down which other famous faces were to be in attendance – clearly a lady well versed in documenting fashion shows!

Representing the British Fashion Industry were head of the British Fashion Council (and owner of brands Jaeger and Aquascutum); Harold Tillman, Editor-in-chief of Vogue.com; Dolly Jones and a naturally beautiful and healthy looking Amber Le Bon; the new model of the moment fronting campaigns for Myla and River Island. Also present were founder of On I Off; Lee Lapthorne – who last season forayed into the fashion fore launching a range of scarves – and Jaana Jatyri; founder of Trendstop.com. Representing the music sphere was Mika who – thankfully not singing - appeared in good form chatting away with Jodie Harsh (whom he arrived and left with). Between Jodie Harsh and 2003 Turner Prize winning potter; Grayson Perry, the front row was awash with bouncy blonde hair extensions and wigs – and enough glitter to make Tinkerbell jealous!

To my great surprise I saw several familiar faces starting with one of the champagne waiter’s Joe, whom I worked alongside at a wedding last month. Also in attendance were not one, but two Tony’s who both formerly lectured me in ways of Fashion Promotion before departing for greener pastures at LCF a few years back. Another familiar face from said university was an old classmate Siavash – recently for his stint in Big Brother 10, where I do believe he came second.

So there I was in the thick of it getting settled into my back-row seat when H made a break for the hallowed pews of the front row where we were allowed to take the place of a privileged couple who couldn’t grace us with their presence – luckily for me. From my front row seat (did I mention that we were opposite Hilary Alexander no less?) I settled in to watch the MA designer showcase. With a modicum of seven menswear shows from 19, last night was most definitely ladies night.

With several stand-out collections, it was hard to predict who might win the awards, but one thing was for sure – these designers will be hot on the heels of the fashion pack when they debut next season.

Sophie Condie

Among those who commanded my attention were Sophie Condie; whose women looked like birds flitting down the runway. With many of the garments painstakingly hand finished with feathers, the attention to detail was phenomenal. What really stood out from this collection for me, was how well it partnered the dramatic, yet beautifully sculptural headpieces designed by Rob Goodwin (MA Fashion Footwear) who also designed the out-of-this-world footwear which innovatively featured several nails as features – and as the spike heels themselves.

Rob Goodwin, image courtesy of LCF

Another women’s wear design whose collection was well received, was that of Eliana Dimitriakopoulou whose garments all featured brightly coloured dyed faux-fur, which on first sighting (without my much-needed-glasses) looked like the Muppets doing a star turn on the catwalk.

Eliana Dimitriakopoulou

Eliana Dimitriakopoulou, courtesy of LCF

With chic separates and faux-fur jackets peppered here and there, the main garments were a variety of dress shapes and cuts which each featured the acid-bright faux-fur on the front and were sheer black at the backs with full length zip detail. My favourite dress from this collection was a pared-down soft faux-fur asymmetric dress which whilst looking simple in its draped construction, was a real gem which solidified Dimitriakopoulou’s credentials as a designer to watch due to both her technical abilities and versatility.

Eliana Dimitriakopoulou

Another stand out designer was Steve Corcoran; whose neutrally toned menswear collection, of mirror encrusted military regalia, turned the Raphael Gallery into a mini-disco (and most probably blinded every photographer in attendance, including myself, hence the lack of pictures).

Steve Corcoran

One of my favourite collections was the androgynous menswear designed by Thomas Miller. Whilst the clothing was well designed, it was a bit too muted for me, so instead I got very excited about the accompanying accessories designed by Sarah Williams (MA Fashion Artefact).

Sarah Williams- bag

I already love old leather briefcases, vanity cases, and all other 60s inspired luggage, so naturally I fell in love with Sarah’s take on these classic items. Each bag was beautifully structured, yet still maintained a playful element as the line was slightly off, making the bags look highly individual in a purposefully skew-whiff way – adding lots of charm to Thomas’ collection.

Sarah Williams, image courtesy of LCF

Whilst on the subject of accessories I also really liked the shoes worn by many of the male models in the opening collection by Keiko Kida. Whilst it is slightly ambiguous as to whether Keiko actually designed and constructed these double-brogues himself, I loved them none the less. **update**The designer was kind enough to get in touch and let me know that he did indeed make and design the shoes himself!

Keiko Kida

Twelfth to hit the runway was the collection which caused much controversy – that of Merve Tuna. Holding no victims she proudly sent her female models down the catwalk in what animal lovers and animal rights activist groups (such as PETA) would find highly disturbing– dead animals.

Merve Tuna

Not only featuring fur, there were enough paws, faces and trotters decorating each garment to drive a taxidermist to distraction! Unfortunately from the front row (am I seriously complaining about that?!) I got an horrendous close-up of what can only be described as a boar-face bag (sadly I was too shocked to click with the camera). ** Found one **

Merve Tuna, image courtesy of Dazed Digital

Whilst his designs were innovatively forward-thinking they clearly aren’t the garments that (if any from the 19 collections shown) you’d expect to see hanging up in a shop anytime soon, no-matter how boutique-y.

Merve Tuna

What was very apparent throughout the show, was the clear sense of humour shining through the direction, reflected in sometimes apt song choices - such as ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline for Merve Tuna’s rather off-beat taxidermy heavy show, and also reflected the more bizarre - with Soo Youn Seo sending her models out to the Simpson’s theme tune.

Young Li Lee

My favourite designer of the night was the outstanding Young Li Lee, whose sculptural embroidered lace dresses really stole the show. Super elegant structured bodices and pencil skirts shined forth, each embellished uniquely by overstitching, appliquéd lace, or bondage-esque braces, with each built-up beautifully and finished with such delicate attention to detail that the results were simply breathtaking.

Young Li Lee

Harold Tillman (centre)

After the finale Harold Tillman was called to the catwalk to present the awards. In hindsight it was Technicolor that the winners knew who they were as they were the penultimate and last designers to show which meant that when their names were announced the female and male models respectively were still wearing the winning collections – you see what they did? So enough of the suspense, up first with an award for ‘Commendation’ (that’s silver to you and I), was the superb Young Li Lee.

Young Li Lee collecting her award

Sven Hoppe collecting his award

Closing the show and therefore cleaning the board was Sven Hoppe who was presented with the ‘Prestigious’ Student Collection of the Year Award.

Private View
MA Fashion Artefact, MA Fashion Curation, MA Fashion Footwear
Thursday 4th February 18.30 - 20.30 Mall Galleries

Private View
MA Digital Fashion and MA Fashion Photography
Thursday 11th February 18.30 - 20.30 Mall Galleries