Central Saint Martins - Bring On Autumn/Winter 2010-11

The joys of online streaming, what was about to unfold in front of me, a glance at the latest trend, a moment of fashion history in the making? Need it be mentioned, that the likes of the supremely talented Alexandra McQueen and John Galliano have all strolled successfully out of the Central Saint Martin’s Ma course. And quiet fittingly, starting the show was a tribute to the late McQueen himself, passionately setting the scene, his voice echoed around the darkly lit tent as he recounted his St Martin’s journey.

Setting the standard for the evening, you could see the pressure that the class of 2010 had to cope with. Though, recently St Martins has been developing its very own trade mark styles, and this season was no exception – judging by the 22 collections on Professor Louise Wilson's runway. As blue strobe lighting twirled around the catwalk and ‘Friendly Fires’ slick tune of ‘Photobooth’ hit the speakers, the show began with great aplomb. Barefaced models, perched on over sized Lady Gaga style platforms strolled down the runway totally composed - albeit with one or two stumbles and the odd lost shoe.

But by no means of the imagination, was the odd stumble to repress the forward thinking dress sense. Highly sculptured 3D forms morphed with knit wear to jersey, matte fabrics collided with crisp, clean lines and laser cut edges. Stitching became reminiscent to Balenciaga (Spring 09), whilst the tubular, clinched waists, thanks to Anja Mlakar certainly balanced out the extravagant hip and shoulder proportions.

Then, on the opposite end or the graduate spectrum, moving away from the body con look, came A-line tunic tops - confronting bold jagged lines, multi-layered wovens and highly textured knits. There was something to suit every ones taste. However there was nothing remotely simple about the futuristic range of collections. Each garment (surely, up to Professor Wilsons standards) brought an uplifting sense of freshness to the runway.

On the night Jackie Lee, (joint Harrods prize winner with Lilly Heine) – presented the most prominent slightly grungy work wear collection, with a mix of clean lines, skirts over trousers and perfectly presented lapels. So, minimalistic that even the shape of the cuffs and collars became a dominate feature. Whilst the top L’Oreal Professionnel award went to Rok Hwang, who’s stunning collection of bold and graphic star studded, maxi length dresses were all certainly show stoppers. Set to quiet literally propel him in to a fashion star.







Moving away from the shorter, sexier silhouettes of the previous Central St Martins shows, this year’s graduates pushed sophisticated styles that their elders would be proud of. In fact, the enormous over the top, structured T-shirt shapes by Tze Goh and the elegant pom-pom dresses by Shao-Yen Chen, will surely never be forgotten, particularly by the hundreds watching online.

Posh, Pencil Thin Frocks

One positive to starting your own fashion blog, is that people often hurl recommendations you way. ‘Have a look at this’ or ‘what do you think of that.’

Well, ‘that’ thing in question today is Victoria Beckhams’ fourth line of designer dresses, which she presented in New York yesterday. And the verdict, even though I have never actually worn a Beckham dress in my life is, yes I really want one of them.

I started to flick through the collection of images whilst I was supposed to be working. Ok, at first I was slightly ashamed, if not guilty of the fact that I was actually really impressed by the range, (I was hiding the computer screen from my fellow workers whilst taking a sneaky peak).

But at home, safely out of sight of prying eyes, I studied each dress with my beady eyes to try and find fault –I couldn’t.

Though less than five seconds later, it hit me, furiously I saw the frail, limp limbs of models portraying the ‘Posh pencil thin body’ – is this the right message to be sending out? I think not. Given the alarming way in which the forties style frock – albeit beautiful – tightly clung to the models body, to reveal the fact that her thighs were indeed the same size as my arm. Yes, quite literally models are now dying to be skinny. Just think of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, who died in 2006 – need anymore be said.

Shaken, I continued to browse the rest of the collection. Oozing Hollywood glamour, each garment jumped off the page with great grace and style (images as shown). But again beneath each dress, lay the clearly defined Posh replicas, (not to mention - supporting the over sized sun glasses and pout).

Do we really all want to look like this? Imagine a world where every ones head was like a huge lollipop, wobbly around on a skeleton size frame. Yes, I must admit (through gritted teeth), Posh does look great – tight leather pants tick, lace bustier tick; she can wear it all in Hollywood’s fashion land. But in reality, will Armani burst into tears if Mrs Patterson from, 25 Green Street, Normal Land, can’t fit into his beaded ball gown to go to Tesco. I think not. In which case do we need to be bombarded with these waif thin - Posh styled models. Particularly when the designs themselves, throughout the whole collection are forward thinking, wearable and yes, suitably flattering for the majority of body shapes - the curvaceous J-lo is all ready a fan. Put perfectly by, British Vogues’ Lauren David Peden “Beckham presented a beautiful collection that evolved her body-con aesthetic, whilst still leaving room – literally - to breath.”

In summary, the collection is not in a completely opposite dimension of Hollywood fashion rubbish, as perhaps first thought. Poshs’ ranges have come a long way from the school teacher look of 09. But, viewing this collection will have you alternating between different emotions from rage to jealousy and then even awe before returning down to planet earth. Albeit if you want to copy the complete Posh look go for it no ones stopping you, (though be warned of the recent spotted bunions - from perching on sky scraper heels), or just play it stylishly safe and buy the ‘it’ dress of the moment.

Though, on this recommendation I was not warned that the dresses will set you back a couple of hundred pounds, (think a £1000 for an evening dress). So, thanks for the recommendation - it's now got me hooked. No, I don’t want to look like Posh, but yes I do want an ‘it’ dress - so maybe I will start saving, but I certainly won't be dieting to get the 'pencil Posh look.'

Certainly, the dresses won’t make you as famous or as thin as Posh, but it will put you in a similar celebrity, spending league. I guess we all have to start somewhere.

News - Don't forget the Burberry 3D glasses

Its good news for us Brits this week as Burberry is staying put in the fashion capital for London Fashion Week (from the 19th Feb). But don’t fret if you haven’t been invited on to the front row list – let’s face it, it’s a pretty hard task unless your Emma Watson or Gwyneth Paltrow. This year the British brand will be streaming the show around the world in 3D. Ok, so the glasses may look slightly nerdy but just think of the experience - to witness the show first hand and practically in front of you. “3D technology will bring our global audience into the London show space allowing them to see the colours and fabrics” said Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative Officer. This is certainly an event to good to miss; the catwalk show will be held at The Chelsea College of Art, on the afternoon of February 23rd. But can also be seen, with the helping hand of 3D spectacles, in New York, Paris, Dubai, Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Even us mere mortals can get in on a piece of the fashion action, as Burberry is teaming up with SKY to create a 3D package of the pre-show event and backstage footage. If all else fails, the show will be streamed in 2D online, where viewers can comment on the event using Facebook and Twitter - all in real time of course.

Fashion Moment - The Marvellous Mini

The Mini skirt may only be a little piece of clothing worn just over the thigh, but it certainly speaks volumes to the fashion world.

Exploding on to the fashion scene in the 'Swinging Sixties' under the creative hands of Mary Quant (or Andre Courreges if your French), the Mini soon became iconic. Worn by practically everyone under the age of 50 - including Jackie Kennedy at her wedding to Aristotle Onassis in 1968, the skirt quickly earned its place in fashion history. When the skirt first appeared, sexual freedom was evolving (namely down to the pill) and for the first time pubescent teenagers were influencing fashion from the streets. Together this revolutionized Dior’s New Look of the previous decade. Perhaps, foolishly women lost the conservative silky elegance of the 50s and embraced fun, sexy, mass produced skirts made from Cotton Gabardine to PVC. Available to those neither rich nor grand, youth culture propelled this trend not just across Britain but internationally, changing the face of fashion forever. Just think of Twiggy’s 1960s boyish frame and mod style, in comparison to the 40s and 50s curvaceous Hollywood sirens Jane Russell or Lana Turner.

From this point on, Minis became a wardrobe staple swinging in and out of the closet; Blondie pranced around in hers towards the end of the 70s during the ‘new wave’. Whilst the 80s saw a number of Mini variations spring up from ra-ra styles to puff balls. Even the Princess of Wales could have been seen sporting a puff ball. Knowing no bounds the ubiquitous trend grew; even business attire was not left untouched by the craze. In the mid 1990s Minis were walking into offices across the world, with a little help from TV stars such as ‘Rachel’ from Friends. Availability and popular culture had at first made the Mini classless (taking the limelight off couture trends) and so this may have remained had the late 20th century craze for Spandex Micro Minis, not created snobbery amongst the tightly clad clan. Just think of Geri Halliwell as 'Ginger Spice' revealing her knickers to the world.

Yes, there is a tarty stigma that surrounds the modern bum cheek showing Mini, (need the Bratz doll Mini skirt for pre-teens be mentioned.) However, worn properly the Mini can not only cover a multiply of sins, but to date it looks set to be one of the hottest trends of the year. A refreshing new twist to the Mini is emerging- think double layered. An illusion created by the likes of Prada and Louis Vuitton, where a layer of white underskirt pokes out from beneath the top Mini skirt. Certainly there is no shortage of style variations to choose from – ruffled, draped or frilled the marvellous Mini seems to adapt to every situation.

Ok, so some of the daring catwalk styles popping up this season may not be hitting the shops in such short proportions, but nevertheless the Mini is here to stay. The best advice is to choose wisely, don’t ignore the trend but find something that works for you.

A Touch Of Talent – An Interview With Camilla Seckin

(Images as seen - photographs by Beth Davies/Camilla Seckin and garments created by Hannah Byrne)

Want to find out what’s going on in the world of fashion right now? Well the best place to start is to turn to students. Just think of the talent that has surfaced from university courses –John Galliano graduated from Central St. Martin's School of Art and Design in 1984, and look at him now (working on his own label and with Dior). Ok so not every single fashion student is going to take the industry by storm – but tick-tock-trends will keep you updated on the latest talents that emerge.

So here goes, Fashion Promotion and Imaging postgraduate (UCA) Camilla Seckin is certainly no stranger to the world of fashion having gained work experience with companies such as i-D magazine and WGSN. So it’s no surprise that her work as a stylist and photographer has already been published in various magazines (Disorder to Catch 22). Yet only a term into her Ma, Seckin has just completed a new shoot, Anglonight (images as seen). In response to her new found work load she reveals, that the project was carried out to explore high-end designers - such as Vivienne Westwood’s use of underwear as outerwear.

Aspiring to be a successful stylist /photographer, Seckin admits, “I actually knew from a really young age I wanted to study fashion.” Indeed if her personal style is anything to go which she suggests, “evolved from big Granny 'Margaret Thatcher' cardigans with lots of funky jewellery” and her love of charity shops and village fetes, surely her unique styling will soon be turning major fashion heads. Following this dream Seckin turned to Beth Davies (photographer) to collaborate on her latest unique shoot, set in a dilapidated Surrey mansion – which is fast becoming a hot spot for fashion shoots (having recently been used by a certain evening news paper). In response to asking Seckin where her forward thinking inspiration stems from, she replies “I am so inspired by stylists such as Nicola Formichetti (Creative Director for Dazed & Confused and Fashion Director of Vogue Hommes Japan.)” That being said, her latest work is influenced by a range of approaches from the shoots structural shape and silhouettes – “it is my job to ensure that the shapes work well to the narrative of the fashion story” to her passion for history, “I just love reading about the past.”
Indeed the future is wide open for the talented stylist, whilst reflecting on her work so far Seckin reveals that she does not want to work for trashy magazines but says, “I would like to work for more art-house magazines or foreign magazines.” Determined to succeed and leaving no area of the fashion industry untouched, she certainly seems to know where she’s heading, “I am currently working on several shoots and I’m designing and making headwear and clothes.” In fact success seems imminent for Seckin as her latest images may even be heading off to a certain glitzy magazine. Modestly she concludes by summing up her life philosophy like this: “Read, read, read…watch films…culture…. travel…throw yourself into new situations and then you will learn.”

Check out her blog - www.camillaseckin.blogspot.com

Fashion week by Berns

Take a look at Fashion week by Berns – Yvonne Sörensen Björud, CEO Berns Salonger suggests that Berns fashion week has grown into one of the most prominent catwalk shows for Swedish designers to platform their work. Dagma has already shown on Monday a collection that was sweet enough to eat – just take the pink sugar almond tights(image Dagmar Spring Summer 10.) However Acne will be showing on the third and final day (February 3rd 2010)- and going by their fusion between jeans and fashion it's certainly not a show to be missed. Importantly fashion week at Berns seems to be following a highly prominent trend in producing sustainable fashion, a seminar will be held by Antonia AX:son Johnson foundation on Fashion night (tomorrow)titled ‘Sustainable fashion, onwards and upwards'- that's one for the diary.