Style: Trend Alert – Sheer Volume

As a fashion lover in Australia, it can be very frustrating watching the main four new season runways, knowing we have to wait a whole year, not only the collections to land over here, but for the weather to wear them. Luckily it seems designers are taking note of changes in retail habits and the popularity of global online stores like net-a-porter to create more trans-seasonal pieces in each collection.

Christopher Kane, Christian Dior & Celine

The savvy shopper in Australia can now interpret the new trends as they become available, giving them a seasonal twist to adapt to the weather. One of my favourites from the Spring 14 runways is also one of the easiest to interpret now: Sheer Volume.

From peek-a-boo sheer panels to billowing skirts and bell sleeves, the look sits somewhere between youthful joie-de vivre and a more mature, womanly beauty. The romantic gauzy fabrics are grounded with heavier layers of shaggy knits, decadent furs and embroidered detailing.

Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry Prorsum & Saint Laurent

Whether you opt for delicate lace or floaty, printed fabrics, the key to making this look work over the cooler months here is through the contrast of textures. So throw a chunky knit over that floral dress or thick wool stockings under a floaty skirt. I’d also stick to richer shades of plum, black and aubergine for a moody, Saint Laurent inspired goth-glam; saving the pastels, whites and creams for next summer.

Natalie x

Style: London Collections: Men SS14 gets bolder…with leopard print and lace?!

Guest post by Caner Daywood

It has been flippantly said many times that men’s fashion is “really having a moment right now”, and I think even I have uttered this on several occasions to clients I style and across blogs etc. However, I honestly *hand held on double-breasted lapel and heart* believe that what we have witnessed across the last few days at London Collections: Men (appropriately abbreviated to LCM) has been nothing short of bold, brave and new.

With crazy pastels and neons, mad prints and of course fantastic tailoring the light has truly been shone upon the talent of British menswear designers with many others now starting to take part in LCM like Jimmy Choo.

As a fan of sharp suits and unique tailoring Alexander McQueen‘s / Sarah Burton’s vision of SS14 tailoring is truly transcendent and intrinsic to the brand with their magnificent signature lacework and skull prints that still manage to retain masculine silhouettes and designs.

McQueen SS14

McQueen SS14

McQueen SS14

Set in the urban background of the St Martin’s Old College the juxtaposition of crystal sharp tailoring against the cobbled floor and stone arches drenched in smoke gave the collection a sense of awe and triumph which I think are now becoming McQueen’s trademark for menswear whilst still infusing the signature symbols of the skulls and laser lacework. In my view what McQueen managed to do with their SS14 collection was to really set the bar for the other designers to consider what the future of menswear can look like; not ultra crazy and feminine weirdos like J W Anderson’s halter tops and dresses for boys (click to view) but by infusing an element of gender-f*ck in terms of fabric and movement one can build this new texture and style for a man’s silhouette.

Another designer who stood out for me was Richard Nicoll and his SS14 collection of graphic images and print splashed with colour and fun. In an almost Givenchy-esque manner Nicoll used funky, trendy graphics of men digitally mapped to the clothes which is very vogue right now with the new wave of graphic print emerging.

Richard Nicoll SS14

Richard Nicoll SS14

Nicoll’s collection was very diverse and he didn’t just rely on the strong imagery of the graphic prints but played with colour and other prints too like reptile print which is set to be a huge trend for men next season, as well as leopard print like Katie Eary’s collection which I also loved.

Richard Nicoll SS14

Richard Nicoll SS14

Katie Eary was one of the newer and brighter stars coming from LCM, with others like Christopher Shannon and Sibling, and her eccentric and flamboyant SS14 menswear collection attributes to this. Eary, Shannon and Sibling were all much bolder with their use of colour and print with Eary choosing to go with a collection of burnt orange, flamingo and faded leopard print (yes almost Kenzo-esque).

Katie Eary SS14 – crazy flamingo

Katie Eary SS14 – Leopard print

Katie Eary SS14 – flamingos everywhere

The outspoken Christopher Shannon (whose tweets are hilariously and brutally real) chose to highlight pvc and latex in different neon colours and psychedelic prints which were innovative, fashion forward and quite wearable.

Christopher Shannon SS14 – neon green with blue hair – don’ care

Christopher Shannon SS14 – Zebra’s don’t even look this cool

Christopher Shannon SS14 – who looks grey?

Ultimately these are just some of my personal opinions and favourites from LCM and they represented some of the key trends coming forward and I just caught a glimpse of Burberry and E Tautz’s collections and similarly they were exploding with colour and bold print innovations. It seems to me that finally menswear styles and trends are catching up with women. About frickin’ time!

Style: ZDDZ London – SS13

Hot label alert! ZDDZ London. First things first, before even writing this article as soon as I saw the word ZDDZ I went to the BF, “How would you say ZDDZ?” and the bf (who works in wealth communications and is very corporate) said “Obviously like a bee, ZzzzDDzzzZ.” Scroll to me looking bemused at a) the name of this new, awesome designer from the Endzzz’ (East End for those who don’t know) and b) confused because who knew my BF had swag. Regardless to say, if you don’t know how to say the name ZDDZ, remember the name well now because their latest SS13 collection looks polished, evocative and set to be a big name in the fashion future.

ZDDZ’s SS13 collection is fricking fantastic and their claim to “remix urban impressions into a new angle of sophistication” is clearly seen in the way they intermingle hard, edgy, almost graffiti-like prints with feminine cut-out designs in sexy, slivery silk. Ahhh breathe in that sensuality.

ZDDZ describe their SS13 collection as “a selection of pieces that are practically spray painted in chaos, throwing away feminine conventions to present daring fashion for the everyday.” Wow, heavy right. But truly their collection is so wearable right now. Okay, obviously not RIGHT now in the UK with our arctic weather, but right now in terms of spring 2013 and fashion’s movement towards an edgy yet flirty moment with clothes.  The Marni-Commes-Des-Garcon-almost-Helmut-Lang-style feel to ZDDZ’s collection represents a design team truly on the pulse of fashion especially with style icons like Rihanna and Rita Ora paving the way in this peek-a-boo / sheer/ skimpy trend explosion, and who are easily envisaged in any of the ZDDZ collection.

Even if you aren’t brave enough go full-fashion-hog with the skimpiness of the silk shorts and cutaway and the print, just mixing some of the graphic ‘chaos’-style print with an everyday look will immediately bring you into the fashion now. Likewise you could wear tights with the shorts and just have your top half exposed with the cut-outs because, we all know from watching shows like Mr. Selfridge, being a little flirty with fashion is so en vogue and worthwhile, not to mention who doesn’t like a nice sheer bit of flesh on show. Heyyyy.

Go check out ZDDZ London at http://zddz.co.uk/ and follow me for more talk of the love of sheer, short shorts and the like @BowTieBoy_CD.

Style: Cristina Sabaiduc, Martina Spetlova and Jayne Piersons SS13 at London Fashion Week

Guest post by Caner Daywood

Not to sound like one of my screen ideals, Carrie Bradshaw, who waxed on about ‘Vogue’ being her Mecca (circa Season 4 just in case) but for any fashionista from London the idea of finally going to London Fashion Week is akin to Charlie finding the last golden ticket and going to see Willy Wonka.

London Fashion Week (LFW) is truly unique to the others in as much as the sense of abandon and the fearless rebellion of the designers is much more at the fore and much more celebrated here. For me fashion has been one of my greatest comforts ever since I was about 4 when my father placed my first metallic gold bow tie around my neck combined with a ¾ length wool-combi Dior jacket from Harrods. So being invited to go to LFW and view a series of collections was something I leaped at – fashionably of course.

The collections I saw were captured in fashion films in courtyard of Somerset House and showcased pieces from Cristina Sabaiduc, Martina Spetlova and Jayne Piersons’ SS13 lines. The whole environment in the cinema was quaint, modern and crammed full of models dispersed amongst a myriad of uber-chic, uber-stylised fashionettes. How lovely.

After a slightly late start – it is fashion after all, so to be ‘fashionably late’ is actually quite vogue – the first fashion film began and I managed to wedge on my 3D sunnies for Cristina Sabaiduc’s The Meeting Place. Cristina’s film…. well to say it was pretty obscure is slightly downplaying it. I ADORE more abstract art, like I even watched that horridly indulgent Melancholia film and am constantly pressed to watch Bergman, but the rolling film of girls randomly fluttering their eyelashes didn’t tell me loads about the culture of Sabaiduc’s brand or even anything about the clothes. However, when the clothes did appear I partially understood what Sabaiduc was aiming for with her ‘exploration of dualities’ as the combination of urban surroundings with the natural colour palette of the clothes was evident and strong. The clothes seemed very loose, almost free in their tactile quality of light and fabric, but the psychedelic nature of the film, made in collaboration with artist Jo Holland, left me (and the guy besides me who said, ‘Was that weird or just me?’) wondering if the art had any true meaning and more to the point if I cared.

The next film instalment, BRAVE by Jayne Pierson, was much more up my alley, in terms of the styling by Danielle Rees and Pierson’s design. Just before the film I was lucky enough to grab a few minutes with Jayne Pierson where she told me about her inspiration for the show loosely based on The Brave New World and Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the contrast between the inner self and the familiar experiences leading back to home. Pierson’s film was far more accessible than Sabaiduc’s and the fashion was more alluring to my own style palate as her high-end fashion shimmered across the screen in a cut-scene where the child (or more accurately Jayne’s own child) transforms into a beautiful laser-cut clad, Alexander McQueen-esque warrior with the matching McQueen-esque AW12 visor to boot. What a fashion spectacle to behold! Pierson’s vision for the film was very natural and ethereal and the clothes echoed this in their purity of colour and intricate design. Her models and the collection itself represented bravery and strength with back-combed manes and helmet-like visors which gave the impression of a modern-day, angelic Valkyrie. Pierson is not new to this fashion game and it shows. Her idea of ‘surreal harmony’ in fashion is both enticing and irresistible to the style veterans amongst us who would wear her pieces with pride, like say Daphne Guinness (who Pierson told me she likes as well) or even me – yes I could rock those visors with an everyday outfit and feel Pierson’s ‘mystical-future aura’ anytime.

#fashionlust

The final showcase in the series was by Martina Spetlova whose collection consisted of energetic lines and a unique use of woven leather, which made her looks seem the most ‘ready-to-wear’ of all three. Spetlova’s film was much more linear and obvious too with no arty gimmick it was just gorgeous patchworked or pleated fabrics captured brilliantly by a floating camera with bursts of block colours. Spetlova’s collection was vibrant in terms of colour usage with deep greens and strong reds interpolated with intricate laser-cut pleating which I likened to other designs seen from Krizia or Peter Pilloto and also alludes to the oriental trend that is huge right now. Spetlova’s two looks she displayed after the film, beyond being easy to wear (I would die for a pair of those over-sized shorts) and exciting in their fashion-forward quality, underlined the talent and serious potential longevity of Spetlova’s fashion career.

So, I came and I conquered London Fashion Week and it was everything and more than what I expected, from the beautiful creativity of the collections and designers to my wonderful goody bag. Although I often feel slightly alien-like and ostracised for my individual style by the ‘Topshop/Highstreet-clone’ massive that pervades society – that day I wore a rabbit/fox combi gilet and Etro bow tie – at LFW I felt like I belonged in this universe of sci-fi visors and lasercut pleats. And that is what the best fashion offers us all.

Twitter – @BowTieBoy_CD