LFW: Trend report

As London fashion week draws to a close and we prepare to bid goodbye to our fine capital’s Somerset house and bonjour to a chilly Paris, there are some clear trends emerging from the recent shows which will undoubtably prove popular next year.
As well as the unsurprising florals and whites (‘Florals for spring, groundbreaking’), we see a journey through the 90s, from the early grunge days to a later more feminine time. Slip dresses are key, featuring at Preen and Meadham Kirchoff. The key colours are light blue as well as the combination of pale pink and red, as seen at Burberry, Mulberry and Zoe Jordan. Timeless embellishment is shown at Ashish and the silhouette is clean and sophisticated à la Whistles and David Koma.

However if you can’t wait, here are some pieces to invest in now which will carry you over to next season.

Pink Coat, Topshop £98.00
Ear Cuffs, Roberto Cavalli £535
Slip dress, Kristensen Du Nord £259.30
Cut out boots, Topshop £90.00

Thanks for having me Zoë Jordan!

Summing up my time at Zoë Jordan in any brief way would be nigh on impossible. For me the past five months have been an overwhelming combination of excitement, fear, stress, exhaustion and joy which can only be accredited to pursuing a career in fashion.

My journey with this brand started in May and its safe to say I was in over my head. Never having studied business, I was on a steep learning curve as to the inner workings of a luxury design house far away from the creative world I knew. Days included phone calls, packing lists and learning to be ‘sharky’ something which definitely didn’t come naturally to me.  As my time progressed I was given slightly more creative tasks, tracing off patterns on occasion, managing the social media and photo editing although one of my favourite projects came in the form of writing the garment descriptions for the Autumn Winter 2013 stock and are now shown on the newly re-vamped website. A big ongoing project of mine was to re-work the existing brand profile and brand book which I am pleased to say arrived safely at completion just before the show although I truly feel for the next intern whose task it is to update!
I’m not going to sugar-coat it, the job was hard; maybe because it was in an area of the industry that I don’t know much about and maybe because it was far removed from the creative tasks I prefer.  Personally, the lack of knowing protocol proved the most challenging aspect for me and bothering people with the same ‘where can I find blah blah blah’ questions made me feel like a bit of an incompetent idiot! For the most part I did feel like the staff team wanted me to learn and the highlights far outweighed the negatives. Fit modelling for the toiles and samples was the clear winner of best task; wearing a dress from toile to show sample was incredible and really illustrated the journey these garments travel from the design team’s sketches to the precise pattern cutting and the excited buzz when samples return from the Polish factory. The hugely inspirational team were great to observe and work alongside.

  Working with the wonder-women in the office upstairs (upstairs business, downstairs creative) was truly inspiring and the transferable skills I learnt were a.) the secret to keeping your shit together is knowing how to prioritise and b.) the importance of self-confidence. I learnt to throw myself in 100% even when feeling nervous and think that this attitude is key for success in the fashion industry.

Show Day
Leaping out of bed at 4.15  on show day (following 4 hours sleep) was un-nervingly easy, I think excitement took over and in my ultra preparedness I managed to arrive (along with my uni friend, who was working as a dresser on the show and one of the other interns) 20 minutes early. Following a quick set up and double check of my list, i snapped away backstage as hair and make up began and prepared to dress my lovely model. Before I knew it the show music was blaring and the bevy of beauties were roaming the runway to a catchy mix which was firmly fixed in our brains as it had been the office soundtrack for the previous week. The show itself went smoothly receiving great reviews and the catwalk images look great.
A few days later, I returned to the studio and was greeted with cake and a show goodie bag as well as a lovely card. Saying goodbye to everyone was sad but I plan on visiting in the future and staying in touch. I’m truly grateful for this fantastic opportunity and feel lucky to have been part of such an inspirational brand.

For my LFW adventures, make sure to follow me on Instagram (click the pic)

Adieu in Advance: F-Week at Zoe Jordan

This week at Zoe Jordan will be undoubtably coffee fueled, hectic, intense and exciting as we prepare for the SS14 show  at 9am Saturday 14th September. In advance of this, I apologise for my radio silence as I will be working late and wont have time to blog. I will however do a big big write up of my time at ZJ the following week. But do not fear, you can still follow my adventures on instagram as well as some behind the scenes and all round pretty things HERE. To watch the LFW live stream of the show, set a reminder and watch HERE. And click HERE to read all about the inspirations and ideas behind the new collection. I’ve tried on some samples and let me tell you, they’re delish! So if a softly tailored, sports-lux aesthetic is for you, now is the time to get acquainted with this babe of a brand.

The SS14 mood board which i helped to create showing 90’s graffiti inspirations.

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award!

What a treat, thank you to the lovely Curls and Couture (http://curlsandcouture.wordpress.com/) for the nomination. This seems like a really good way to promote the blogs you love, below you will find some of my faves.

The rules….

• Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them.
• Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
• Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award who have less than 200 followers.
• Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
• Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them

And here are the 10 questions as asked by Curls and Couture:

1. Why did you start your blog and what’s the inspiration behind it?
I started my blog as a digital journal for my fashion design degree but it has grown to be a written and visual record of beautiful things and fashion news.

2. Most cherished item?
My wedding ring!

3. If you could live in any decade, which one would it be?
I always think I could have made more of the 90s if I was a tiny bit older so maybe the  80s?

4. Favourite subject at school?
French

5. What item could you not live without?
My iPad, failing that a filofax!!

6. Do you prefer sweet or savoury dishes?
I love all food, so a combo of both would be perfect.

7. Best holiday you’ve ever had?
To my Grandpa’s old house in the Pyrénées. We used to go every chance we could, it was like a second home with better weather.

8. Favourite colour and why?
Sparkly – does that count?

9. Would you rather live without eyeliner or nail varnish?
Nail Varnish, but I don’t mind being without either.

10. Your biggest achievement so far?
Home: Marrying my gorgeous man
Work: Probably getting an internship at Zoe Jordan – such a great experience!

Here are my questions for the bloggers I nominate:

1. How would you sum up your blog in a single sentence?
2. What is your real name/nickname and where in the world are you?
3. Do you have a saying or a personal motto?
4. If you had a spare £500 to do with as you please, what would you do with it?
5. Who is your favourite fashion designer?
6. What is your favourite high street shop?
7. What one item will you be purchasing for this Autumn/Fall?
8. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
9. Has anyone ever given you any great advice? If so what is it?
10. What’s your favourite item in your wardrobe?

My nominees:
http://aspoonfulofstyle.co.uk/ – Easy to read and wittily written.
http://jessnash.tumblr.com/ – An incredible Illustrator and photographer WITH an online shop – Perfect-o!
http://cupcakinglydeliciouscakediaries.wordpress.com// – For anyone who loves cake!
http://cottonbeauty.wordpress.com/ – Beautiful illustrations
http://amysfoodadventures.com/ – Warning, this blog will make you hungry!
http://alillesssugar.com/ – Yummy and healthy food. I’ve tried some of the recipes – delish.
http://cityclecticdesign.wordpress.com/ – Gorgeous and aspirational interiors.
http://ireneperelli.wordpress.com/ – A cute all-rounder with some great recipes
http://ohlidia.com/ – Proper cooking that real people can do!
http://afullspoonof.wordpress.com/ – My latest discovery, food porn at it’s finest.

Gisele for H&M…. and she’s singing!

Kate Moss, Carla Bruni, Cara Dele-everywhere and most recently Brazilian babe Gisele Bundchen are but a few who could be entitled ‘ Super-model Songstress’. Gisele, as well as modelling for H&M’s Autumn Winter campaign (Launching on September 12th) has released a cover of the Kinks’ classic All Day And All Of The Night which is available to download on iTunes with a percentage going to UNICEF.

Supersize Your Outerwear

Whilst the notion of supersizing probably takes you to a place of gargantuan burgers and shakes you could swim in, I’m moving away from these connotations to a place where oversized means enveloping your outfit in snuggly fabrics ready to brave the impending chills of Autumn.

From Left: Orange Biker, River island £85.00
Alpaca-blend Coat, Jil Sander £2,160.00

Fluffy Boyfriend Coat, Topshop £89.00

Oversized two-tone coat, Stella McCartney £1,940.00

Being a shopaholic is better than being an alcoholic…. right?!

Maybe that’s an exaggeration – both are not ideal. One could kill you, the other your bank balance. I’m sat here with a cup of tea and the dog on my lap trying to justify this afternoon’s spree but if it happens once in a blue moon – I guess that’s ok….So moral conscience ( a little too easily) pushed aside, here are my beautiful buys. If you’ve had any satisfying sales buys recently I’d love to hear about them.

His and Hers postcards (60p each from Paperchase). I love putting postcards in frames for cheap art but these would be really cute as place cards for a party.
Make up because obviously all products run out at the same time leaving you barefaced and traumatizing to look at.
Sweets for a cinema trip this pm (Meet The Millers, not One direction, promise!)
Notebook £8.00 from Paperchase.
SALES: Necklace and bracelets all 70% off at Accessorize. Trousers £10.80 at Warehouse.

Big Girl’s back to school

Zara bag £99.99
Paperchase A5 grey linin notebook £8.00
YSL rouge volupté lipstick £23.50
Weston phone case £33.00
Reusable mug find similar on amazon

Sunday Excursion : Brick Lane

One of my favourite things to do  at the weekend is visit the numerous markets our fine country has to offer. Previously I have written about Columbia Road flower market which remains one of my favourite Sunday spots – rain or shine; iced or piping hot latte, there are too many beautiful boutiques and blooms to pass up on. A short meander down the road brings you to the bustling Brick Lane. If you’re after some vintage fabulousness, flea market hunting or sumptuous street food (Holla to ‘Meat Porn’) you’ll love this buzz. With so much to look at and real bargains to be had it’s best to get there with time to explore, cash in your pocket and your haggling hat on. I bought a mexican wrestling mask for my brother, some beautiful white dahlias, pancakes with maple syrup and bacon and a top-secret christmas present for Matt.