LFW | BURBERRY SS16

LACE, LATTICE AND GILDED EMBROIDERY WERE THE KEY THEMES AT YESTERDAY'S SS16 SHOWCASE BY BURBERRY. 

PRESENTED IN A TRANSPARENT TENT AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL MODELS WERE HEAVILY ADORNED IN GOLD AND LOT OF IT. WITH EXAGGERATED GOLD MILITARY DETAILS, GOLD CORD, GOLD BUTTON FACES, AND GOLD CRESTED EMBLEMS. 

AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THESE METALLIC ACCENTS WERE THE TRADITIONAL SHADES WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE AT THE AUTUMN/WINTER SHOWS. THINK BLACK,  AMBER, AND  RUSTIC YELLOW. 

CHRISTOPHER BAILEY SAID: “WE TRIED TO FORGET ABOUT THE SEASONS.” 

THE EMPHASIS ON TRANSITIONAL PIECES WAS FELT BEYOND THE COLOUR PALETTE AS BAILEY SHOWCASED A COLLECTION WHICH DELICATELY JUXTAPOSED HEAVY DUTY MILITARY PIECES WITH ROMANTIC AND  GAUZY TEXTURES: LATTICE AND MESH DRESSES IN WINTER PASTEL HUES, WERE DRAPED OVER BY  OVERSIZED CASHMERE COATS. 

THERE WAS A STRONG SENSE OF PAIRED BACK AUTHENTICITY ABOUT BURBERRYS PRESENTATION, WHICH SEEMED TO GESTURE THE CULTURE OF THE MODERN BRITISH WOMEN: A DESIRE FOR SIMPLICITY AND MUTED ELEGANCE. 

BACKSTAGE BAILEY SAID “WHEN ANYTHING FELT TO GLAMOROUS WE BROUGHT IT BACK DOWN WITH A BACKPACK. 

THE BACKPACKS WERE QUITE POSSIBLY THE STAND OUT PIECES FROM THE SHOW.  MADE FROM GARBARDINE - CONSTRUCTED  NYLON THE ACCESSORY FEATURES TANNED LEATHER DETAILS, GOLD HARDWARE AND IS DECORATED WITH MONOGRAMMED EMBLEMS. 

SELECTED PIECES AND ACCESSORIES CAN BE PURCHASED AND PERSONALISED UNTIL OCTOBER 5TH.

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PALOMA POSES FOR AGENT PROVACATEUR

For Agent Provocateur's AW15 Campaign they have cast former sales associate's Paloma Faith as it's sultry starlet and Alice Hawkins as photographer. 

Titled Knickers Forever the Campaign see's the two women - who worked together in the Lingerie companies Soho Branch - reunite to collaborate on images that see Paloma writhing around in strategic lace, butter silk hosiery and in a nod to her former role, Faith is styled in Provocateur's signature baby pink uniform. 

Hawkins - whose images traditionally offer high voltage sex and glamour - said that she 'took inspiration for the images from the Polaroids that she used to take' while working at the store.' In a vide clip released on Youtube Paloma explains the impact that the boutique had on her, 'I've never had a job, other than an AP, that has formed me as a person or influenced my whole life. ''When I walk past the shop in Soho, I feel really nostalgic about a time when I think I was quite carefree.'

Touted as "powerfully sensual" the collection is available from today and can be viewed here. 

LILY ROSE JOINS THE CHANEL ALUMNI

KARL LAGERFELD HAS APPOINTED A NEW MUSE FOR HIS LATEST CHANEL CAMPAIGN IN THE FORM OF LILY ROSE DEPP.

WITH INSANELY GOOD LOOKS FROM HER FATHER, JOHNNY DEPP (WHO AT 52 IS STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS) AND MOTHER VANESSA PARADIS (A LEGENDARY CHANEL MUSE AND LONG-SERVING AMBASSADOR) IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL LILY BECAME FORMALLY INITIATED INTO THE FASHION WORLD.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE BRANDS PEARL ENCRUSTED EYEWEAR COLLECTION, WAS PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARL AND DEPICTS LILY AS A "BABY DOLL" (ALTHOUGH THERE ARE  UNDERLYING HINTS OF LOLITAESQUE CHARATERISTCS) DECORATED IN CHANEL. THE STYLING FOR THE SHOOT ALSO PAYS HOMAGE TO DEPP'S ROCK STAR GENES, WITH DARK LIPS TOUSLED HAIR AND HER #BRF DEMEANOUR. 

SPEAKING ABOUT WHY HE CHOSE THE GENETICALLY GIFTED TEEN, LAGERFELD SAID 'LILY - ROSE IS STUNNING, SHE'S A YOUNG GIRL FROM A NEW GENERATION WITH ALL THE QUALITIES OF A STAR'. LOOKING AT THE IMAGES FROM THE CAMPAIGN ITS NOT HARD TO AGREE WITH KARL'S DESCRIPTION OF FASHION NEWEST IT GIRL. 

THE CAMPAIGN WILL APPEAR IN PRINT ON SEPTEMBER 2015.

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GAME. SET. MATCH.

AS GREY CLOUDS GATHERED OVERHEAD YESTERDAY EVENING, THE WORLD OF FASHION AND SPORTS DESCENDED ONTO THE BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED GROUNDS OF KENSINGTON PALACE TO ATTEND A PRE-WIMBLEDON SOIREE. 

THE EVENT WHICH WAS HOSTED BY LEGENDARY TENNIS STAR, BORIS BECKER AND BRITISH VOGUE'S EDITOR-IN-CHEIF, ALEXANDRA SHULMAN, CELEBRATED THE UPCOMING BRITISH TENNIS TOURNAMENT AND ALSO RAISED A CHAMPAGNE GLASS TO HERITAGE BRAND, RALPH LAUREN, WHO THIS YEAR, CELEBRATE ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY AS THE EVENTS OFFICIAL OUTFITTER.  

THE UNIFORM FOR THE FESTIVITIES, WAS, YES YOU GUESSED IT, LAUREN, LAUREN, LAUREN, - WITH MOST OF THE GUESTS DRAPING THEMSELVES FROM HEAD TO TOE IN THE BRANDS LATEST SARTORIAL OFFERINGS. CASE AND POINT, ACTRESS JESSICA CHASTAIN, WHO  STUNNED IN A WAIST CINCHING, BLACK AND WHITE CREPE DRESS AND BLACK SKY SCRAPPER HEELS. CHASTAIN KEPT HER LOOK SIMPLE AND LOW KEY, ACCESSORISING WITH AONLY PAIR OF DIAMOND EARRINGS. THE MAKEUP WAS CLEAN AND MINIMAL WHICH WAS CO-ORDINATED WITH BOLD LIPS IN A DARING SHADE OF PLUM. CHASTAIN'S LOOK WAS THE VERY DEFINITION OF PAIRED DOWN ELEGANCE AND SOPHISTICATION AND DROVE US INTO A SARTORIAL LOVE AFFAIR. 

JESSICA CHASTAIN

OTHER BEAUTIES WHO SERVED UP SARTORIAL ACES WERE CINDERELLA ACTRESS LILY JAMES, WHO DAZZLED IN A WHITE CHIFFON SHIRT DRESS, SUPERMODEL ERIN O'CONNOR WHO ALSO ELEGANT IN A WHITE FLOOR LENGTH GOWN, WHICH HAD A CUT OUT DESIGN IN THE BACK. O'CONNER ACCESSORISED WITH A GOLD BELT AROUND HER WAIST AND A SIMILAR TONED  CLUTCH. 

ELLA CATLIFFF IMPRESSED INDULGED OUR FASHION TASTE BUDS AS SHE SHOWCASED HER ENVIABLE FIGURE IN A FORM HUGGING RED AND BLACK MINI DRESS. LAST ON OUR LIST OF TOP PICKS IS MOLLIE KING WHO WORE AN OLIVE TONED TULLE SKIRT, AND KHAKI VEST SHIRT WHICH SHE PAIRED TOGETHER WITH AN OVERSIZED METALLIC BELT. 

ERIN O'CONNOR IN RALPH LAUREN

ELLA CATLIFF IN RALPH LAUREN

MOLLIE KING IN RALPH LAUREN

LILY JAMES IN RALPH LAUREN

BORRIS BECKER & GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE 

JOANNE FROGGATT, LILLY JAMES & MATT SMITH 

CHELSEA LEYLAND 

Setting the scene @ralphlauren and @britishvogue #RLWimbledon summer cocktail party last night to celebrate 10 years as Official Outfitters of The Championships

A video posted by Ralph Lauren (@ralphlauren) on Jun 23, 2015 at 4:16am PDT

 VIDEO COURTESY RALPH LAUREN INSTAGRAM 

THE WORLD OF FASHION AND SPORTS WILL AGAIN TAKE CENTRE COURT ON JUNE 29TH WHEN, THE ON-COURT OFFICIALS WALK OUT IN THEIR "PREPPY" INSPIRED UNIFORMS DESIGNED BY RALPH LAUREN. 

FOR THE PAST 10 YEAR'S, THE FASHION HOUSE HAS MADE FASHION HISTORY IN BEING THE SOLE DESIGNER TO CLOTHE ALL ON-COURT OFFICIALS. TO CELEBRATE THE 10 YEAR MILESTONE RALPH LAUREN HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO DRESS UP LIKE UMPIRES AND BALLGIRLS AND BOYS BY CREATING A COMMEMORATIVE COLLECTION WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLINE AND AT THEIR POP-UP SHOP AT WIMBLEDON.

THE WIMBLEDON TOURNAMENT WILL COMMENCE ON JUNE 29TH 2015 AND CONCLUDE ON 12TH JULY 2015 

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PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA..

“Paris is a place in which we can forget ourselves, reinvent, expunge the dead weight of our past.” 

― Michael Simkins, Detour de France: An Englishman in Search of a Continental Education

Every year for the last six years I have gone, no matter what, to Paris. I've been in winter, spring and summer and every time that plane lands at Charles De Gaulle, my heart finally feels happy and I know I'm at home.

I've travelled a lot and believe me I have been to so many different, interesting and exciting places but for me there is nowhere like Paris, in my eyes you could try to compare it to anywhere else but nowhere would match up to it.

I have a lot of favourite places in Paris most of these have been found by accident or by people tagging locations on Instagram but I wanted to share a few of my favourite spots with you all:

• * Avenue du Camoëns, this a side street just right of Trocadero is a little gem for those that want to catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower through the gaps in the Parisian buildings you can get some really nice photos from the spot and its hardly ever crowded unlike Trocadero.

•  * Le Squat, 59 Rue du Rivoli, this is a collective space nestled on a bustling street is a former squat now an artist's collective, you can enter for free and check out the artists work, I'd highly recommend going here for the doors alone, they are simply beautiful.

•  * Pizzeria D'Ampere, this is a restaurant again found through Instagram location, its location just round the corner from the Wagram metro (17th Arrondissement) I know its an Italian but oh boy is the food great! its a small restaurant and can get quite busy at weekends but if you want a decent pizza, pasta and a good glass of wine, please hop on the metro and swing by this place!

• * Château de Versailles, this palace perhaps most famous for the treaty that was signed there in the hall of mirrors signalling the end of the first World War, for me Versailles transports me back to a time of opulence and excites the historian in me and of course it reminds of two things, the amazing Sofia Coppola film 'Marie Antoinette' and the amazing Vogue shoot in 2009 at the Grand Trianon. This year I did something different and I rented a golf cart which was so much fun, it meant that I could gain a different perspective on the huge estate, it also meant we got to places a lot quicker.  I find the main palace at Versailles can sometimes be so overbearing, it is always busy no matter what time you get there, so I tend to spend most of my time at the Grand Trianon or wandering around the gardens. Don't be put off by the 40 minute journey to this wonderful place, admire the scenic ride.

• * Montmarte -I love wandering around this district especially on a weekend when its bustling with tourists and locals. This is the perfect place for those who are budding artists as art dominates almost every street corner here. For me, this place really came alive in the sunshine and I spent most of my Saturday morning on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur. There some quant shops that sell knick knacks and some amazing pâtisseries.  

Have any of you been to Paris? if so where are your favourite places?

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A NIGHT WITH McQUEEN

The first time I that I understood the power and significance of clothes began with Alexander McQueens AW/2008 collection - The Girl who lived in the tree. The collection was romantically dark - only McQueen could balance the juxtaposition with success - and magical and made me understand the power that our sartorial choices have in influencing our identities. 

The fascination with the late artistic genius seems to have been experienced more instantly since his death in 2010 as his talents has been celebrated over and over again, with the release of Clair Wilcox's coffee table book - Alexander McQueen -, the 2011 Met ball, and the current exhibition “Savage Beauty at London's Victoria and Albert museum. Ironically it is the AW/2008 collection which informs the premise for the latest celebration of the designer's talents in John Caird’s play, “McQueen”.

The play is set over one night and focuses on a bizarre encounter between Dahlia - a young girl who breaks into the designers home to steal a dress - and McQueen who together, embark on a whirlwind journey of reality and fantasy and light and darkness. 

Whilst the production does celebrate the flamboyant artistry of McQueens fashion taste and the glittering excess of glamour drink and drugs of the fashion world, I do think that it does challenge those who have an anti-fashion disposition and forces them to think about the incredible ingenuity of McQueen and the deep and dark consequence of his immeasurable talents.None more is this felt in the scene which features the haunting imagination of the late Isabella Blow, who appears in McQueen’s own mind to confirm his own fears about “how much time he has left”

Stephen Wright, who plays the title role (- and shares and uncanny resemblance to the designer,) explores McQueen’s persona in such depth that you almost feel like you know what it was like to be Lee McQueen. You understand the emotional cycle of his depression, manic happiness, and his overwhelming need to belong and can imagine the sensation of being consumed by his own awe and magnetism. 

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*The production is at the St James Theatre until the 27th June 2015. 

#BALMAINATION #H&M

H&M’S LATEST GUEST DESIGNER HAS BEEN REVEALED. 

DURING LAST NIGHTS FESTIVITIES AT THE BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS IN LAS VEGAS, OLIVIER ROUSTEING REVEALED THAT HE WOULD BE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SWEDISH BRAND TO LAUNCH A CAPSULE COLLECTION LATER THIS YEAR. 

THE COLLECTION IS SET TO MAINTAIN BALMAIN’S COOL DNA, BUT WILL OFFER PIECES AT A REMARKABLY LOWER PRICE POINT, MAKING THE BRAND MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE WIDER CONSUMER MARKET. OF THE COLLABORATION, THE DESIGNER SAID IT WAS A “MOVE TO BRINGING EVERYONE INTO THE WORLD OF BALMAIN, GETTING A PIECE OF THE DREAM AND CREATING A GLOBAL #HMBALMAINATION”

FURTHER DETAILS ON THE COLLECTION WILL BE REVELAVED CLOSER TO THE LAUNCH DATE OF NOVEMBER 5TH 2015.

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MET GALA COUTURE

Alex Chung in Erdem Photo | Courtesy of Into The Gloss

YESTERDAY NIGHT NEW YORK CITY PLAYED HOST TO ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAVAGANT AND GLITTERING MET BALL EVER ATTEMPTED. FASHION DARLINGS WERE DRAPED IN SHADES OF GLITTERING NUDES, ROYAL PURPLES, AND BLOOD REDS, ACCESSORISED WITH ORNATE HEADPIECES AND BOLD JEWELS.

Kim Kardashian in Roberto Cavalli | Photo Courtesy of Vogue 

THE MOST ENCHANTING LOOKS OF THE NIGHT CAME FROM THE LIKES OF ALEXA CHUNG WHO WAS DRESSED BY BRITISH LABEL ERDEM, KIM KARDASHIAN AND BEYONCE WHO DARED TO BARE THEIR CURVES IN BARLEY THERE GOWNS BY CAVALLI AND GIVENCHY. DAKOTA JOHNSON ALSO DISPLAYED HER PLAYFUL SIDE IN A METALLIC MINI DRESS BY CHANEL. 

Dakota Johnson in Chanel | Photo Courtesy of Vogue

Beyonce in Givenchy | Photo Courtesy of Vogue

BEE SHAFFER ALSO WOWED IN A SPECTACULAR CREATION BY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN AND FOR DOLCE AND GABBANA MODEL KAREN ELSON MARKED HER DRAMATIC ENSEMBLE WITH A GOLD HEADPIECE, WHICH LENT ITS SELF TO THE RICHNESS AND DRAMA OF ORIENTAL DRESS. 

Bee Shaffer in Alexander McQueen | Photo Courtesy of Vogue 

Karen Elson in Dolce and Gabbana | Photo Courtesy of Vogue 

WHAT WAS CAPTIVATING TO ME ABOUT THESE PIECES IS THAT THEY BORROWED ELEMENTS OF EASTERN CULTURE AND MADE TASTEFUL COUTURE THAT REPRESENTS A CELEBRATION OF THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EAST AND WEST.  

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