What I’ve been up to….

Hello! And huge apologies for my silence over the last few weeks, I am back at uni and studying like crazy. I thought I would share some of my latest moodboards for the penultimate project before designing my graduate collection. This is a kind of pre-collection so the concept and overall mood will continue to my final pieces. The concept is retro-futuristic sports-luze which continues from some projects I did last year. I am referencing architectural curves and will play around with layering and pleats to create structural designs.

Doll Face

Exciting things are happening in beauty at the minute, from the debut Marc Jacob’s range to a continued evolution in nail art. Being a sucker for pretty things, I’m loving to the kitsch collaboration as follows…..

 

Alber Elbaz has teamed up with beauty powerhouse Lancome and the results are classic products with a doll-like illustrated twist.

IV magazine

Hello! IV magazine is a project I’m working on with a group of fellow fashion degree students at the moment. We’re really enjoying this project so if you’d like to keep up to date with what’s going on with my work life and the magazine then get involved and show IV some love!

http://ivelectric.wordpress.com/

New Breed

Long gone are the days of Paris Hilton-esque tiny rat dogs peering nervously out of Birkins bags. Harvey Nichols’ SS13 campaign shows some more sizeable pups taking residence in the new seasons designer handbags. Super-cute!

Fresh start

Organza insert skirt – Topshop £48.00
Knitted cropped jumper – Topshop £30.00
Metallic ballerina – Zara £49.99

Super easy healthy eating

As January begins we are all slapped in the face with ‘new start, new you’ diets promising us perfect bodies and glowing skin. Unless you have a serious amount of time and money to invest in this I would say that for the most part, starting every morning with a fresh pineapple and kale smoothie is slightly unrealistic and who can afford a whole food lunch every day? I don’t dispute that eating like this would be fantastic – I would if I could but it’s normally a cup of tea in my travel mug and some form of sarnie for lunch. For me healthy eating comes in waves, sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes I just want a big cake either way I know that what I put into my body will affect how I feel – when I eat junk I feel slobbish and when I start the day with a fruit smoothie I am more energized. I’ve been putting some thought into easy ways to inject some healthy eating into your routine which wont break the bank and will fit into an existing routine.

Super food drinks

All above drinks available from Holland and Barrett
(From left: together multi vit and detox, The berry company pomegranate and blueberry juice boxed, vita coco coconut water, alo alovera and honey drink)

It’s not difficult to add a healthy drink into your daily routine, especially if like the ones above they will easily fit into your bag. At the moment I’m trying a variety to see which ones I like. I’m already a big fan of the Together drinks (far left) which taste fresh and nourishing and are a feel-good boost on a long day. They’re not super cheap ranging from, £1.39 – £2.45 but if you eliminate a coffee from the day it works out at about the same. Also if you drink a lot of water they add a flavoursome addition to the day. Another idea is substituting dairy milk for some more nutritious alternatives like coconut or almond. Now, I’m a blue top dairy drinker – full fat and I don’t think I want to change this but what I like to do is have a separate red top (1%) 1 pint cows milk that I use in tea (because I’m British I drink a lot of it!).

When I can I like to start the day with a smoothie, here’s a delicious looking one I will try this week from a fantastic food blogger bakedbree (she owns this image – click on the smoothie below to be taken to the original source on her website).

Alexander McQueen on Saville Row

Having started his career as an apprentice tailor on Saville Row at celebrated tailors ‘Anderson and Sheppard’ and later ‘Gieves and Hawkes’, it seems fitting that the brand baring the British fashion icon’s name is soon to open on Saville Row. The store will offer menswear and accessories from the Alexander McQueen range. Bespoke suits will also be available to buy in a creative partnership with ‘Huntsman’. Some pieces which will be availible made-to measure  were showcased in Milan at the Autumn/Winter 2012 collection show. The menswear collections, which are traditionally shown in Milan or Paris, are to be shown in London from January 2013, which is highly appropriate for such an iconic British brand. McQ, a diffusion line has also opened at Dover Street Market after being moved in-house in November 2011 and is also shown in London.
It seems Sarah Burton is going from strength to strength with her entrepreneurial approach to the McQueen label and whilst I have not always been her biggest fan (- I’m not a lover of her s/s 2013 range for Alexander McQueen at all!) I do feel that the opening of the shop on Saville Row pays great homage to the incredible talent that was Lee McQueen.

Eyes On: Adeele

As one of Models 1’s new faces Adeele is destined for great things. Her flowing blond hair and striking bone structure result in gorgeous photos – she’s definitely one to look out for.