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

PETA unveil new anti-fur campaign

Image courtesy of PETA

I absolutely adore the new PETA advert depicting a traditionally uniformed member of the Queen’s Guard with a severed bear head on- keeping his head warm in place of the traditional Busby hat we’re accustomed to seeing. This great image is part of a campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals against the use of bearskin helmets by guardsmen. The group wants the Ministry of Defence to switch to fake fur, as it claims each helmet uses the entire pelt of a Canadian black bear, which for me is a pretty horrific estimation and I can’t believe this fact is not already in the public’s consciousness!

I think they’ve got it spot on in terms of high impact, and I think it’s great that they are consistently working so hard, and with this new campaign targeting the very heart of Great Britain – the MoD and the Royal Family – hopefully people will take notice and as a country we can slowly change our attitudes towards fur.

Its sounds a bit wrong but I quite love that it’s a digitally enhanced image with lots of blood and gore as for me this is much more appropriate than former campaigns which have seen all manner of female celebrities photographed getting their clothes off. Whilst I appreciate that these ladies are using their profiles to help the cause I don’t feel that the campaigns depicted the reality of the situation and were hard hitting enough, so for me this bold move can only pay off. I for one cannot wait for the posters featuring a blood-drenched Guard to be put on the side of 25 London buses– I think the reaction will be amazing.

At present the MoD are staunchly defending their bear maiming practices - such a colonialist attitude, I’m sure you’ll agree - but have conceded that they’re not opposed to trialling synthetic materials as long as they ‘meet the requirement for a high-quality product that performs adequately in all weather conditions’.

SS10 PRESS DAYS: Part One

This week I’ve had the good fortune of being invited to lots of press days in central London and discovered many great brands and designers some of whom were completely new to me. Over the next few days I’ll be posting some of the highlights....

Whilst not at all what I had expected to find at a fashion press day I completely fell in love with the floral installations of Melissa Riva. Located in the entrance of the spacious basement showroom Melissa’s arrangements could have come straight out of a Tim Burton film. Having set up her own brand aged 22 Melissa now literally caters for any occasion and likens her custom-made arrangements to couture fashion as no two bouquets will ever be the same.

A Dutch milliner who caught my eye is Irene Bussemaker whose quirky range of SS10 hats are simply amazing. Absolutely loved her vintage inspired designs from the beautiful multi-colour patterned silk through to the more individual monochrome styles– cleverly showcasing her diversity which she probably attribute to her stint as Phillip Treacy’s apprentice.

Inspired by world travel and the spirituality of Yoga and meditation luxury jewellery brand Satya create items using only sterling silver with some being dipped in gold. Really like all of the gold chains– and love the mannequin’s look of wearing them all together– a trend I might be following next summer if I can source the cash that is.

Another great designer who didn’t disappoint is Qasimi who’s beautifully coloured ancient spiritualism of the Byzantium era inspired collection featured many a big shoulder creating a beautiful line and silhouette embellished to the hilt with Swarovski crystals, studs, stones and antique materials all hand sewn. Drawn was I like a magpie to shiny objects, I’d simply love to play dress up in these show stopping pieces.

A controversial designer whose work I had never seen up close and personal before was Charlie le Mindu. Yikes! is the only apt word that describes his collection. It was amazing to see and examine the detail and quality of his pieces from skirts with poker straight then crimped hair down to his flesh coloured PVC bodysuits.

What was most shocking to me and at the same time most appealing was his travel bag which in addition to human hair featured a pair of antlers as decoration for the handles and the four feet of an animal (perhaps the same deer?) to prop it up. Absolutely an astonishingly amazing design which was clearly painstaking executed to perfection. Whilst I respect the immense skill and innovation of his work I can say with great certainly that I am not Charlie’s ‘target’ consumer. I mean, what would PETA say?

A stand out favourite of the showcase for me was the collection of Omer whose pleating skills are absolutely phenomenal. From the polyester statement piece situated near the entrance made to look like newspaper or the highly wearable and sexy silk dresses, his collection is vibrant and kooky with mass appeal.

What I love most about Omer’s collection is his ability to fuse ideas by juxtaposing features of different periods which is reflected in his elegant shift dresses which feature luxurious silk pleating around the shoulders and Pop Art-esque belts printed with exposed camera film– genius.

Other stand out pieces include the Madonna circa the Immaculate Collection pleated silk corset , which was displayed in its two colourways with a plastic chicken hanging upside down between them. Whilst a tad on the kooky side there was thankfully a very plausible explanation for this; chickens were the inspiration for this collection.

What I admire in Omer’s work is his clear attention to detail and coupled with his neutral colour palette of flesh, cream, grey and black his designs are both classically chic and timeless.
Another designer who caught my eye at the Blow press days was Keko Hainswheeler, whose work I recognised instantly as he was the best model for his wacky embellishments whilst on season three of Project Catwalk. After unfortunately being voted off in the second round Keko has gone from strength to strength producing handmade commissioned pieces for numerous publications such as i-D and Dazed.

What I liked about Keko’s pieces was the fact that they’re so personal to him and reflect his personality. Expect lots of bright acid colours, ethnic beads and stones and plenty of embellishment. Reminds me ever-so-slightly of a young Judy Blame– one of my great fashion icons!

A designer whose sense of humour I absolutely loved was that of Norwegian Fam Irvoll. Her knitwear collection titled ‘I Love Gays' featured lots of cute and flamboyant accessories which included strawberries, bananas and cherries on necklaces, alice-bands and brooches.

Stand out pieces were her beautifully constructed sweaters which had large embellishments around the shoulders keeping in theme with several designers who opted to carry over statement shoulders for another season.

From strawberries to the cutest little mice Fam’s statement shoulders inject some much needed humour and wit making her dramatic garments knitted masterpieces. A personal favourite for me was the white ruffle detail strapless dress which had a large red headed soft doll attached to the front, which pretty much took over the whole dress. Brilliant for those who like to dress with LOTS of personality, but not to be worn by shrinking violets for fear that the doll might take possession of more than just the dress.

For those who like their purchases to be functional yet flamboyant London Undercover is a witty new brand specialising in injecting some life and much needed humour into the old British staple, the umbrella. Designed by British graphic designer and founder Jamie Milestone, this kooky debut collection of umbrella’s come in a variety of shapes and styles including a cafe table cloth with full English breakfast and Fish and Chips wrapped in newspaper.

Having already collaborated with London Underground and acquiring Paul Smith as such a fan that he’s stocking them in his own stores, I believe this is one young London label that is going to be huge! Absolutely love it and can’t wait to get my full English umbrella.

Last and by no means least I would like to introduce you to the work of J Smith Esquire and his eye-catching collection entitled ‘Light’. Comprised of both couture and ready to wear pieces each are made with personal treasures and beachcombed relics which are then woven together using subleached blond threads.

Themed around the idea of Shipwrecks this beautiful collection has an underlying nautical theme using lots of rope and antique lace to create truly unique and iconic statement pieces.
I’d also like to really briefly mention the work of Dean Sidaway who has created some show stopping embellishments for shoulders. Focusing on the strength and vulnerability of the shoulders Dean has redefined their role upon the body by creating innovative organic shoulder-pieces from naturally sourced and inspired materials– such as they keys piece (pictured). Each piece is aimed to serve as a pocket of memory, with romantic wings evoking the nostalgia of the past.