It's almost time to say, Au Revoir

On Tuesday, another luminous fashion month comes to an end. We have seen Lily Cole dancing to the beat of her own drum, feminists storming the runway, a lot (for some perhaps too much) of new FROWer Harry Styles and most unusually we have seen....steppers? For those of you who have been living somewhere other than the world, an unbelievable scene unfurled during Paris Fashion Week this year. Rick Owens, known for his raw, strong and structural clothing presented his pieces on females that embodied his collections. Taking 40 'steppers' - a form of dance where the entire body is used to create sound and movement - Rick sent his designs down the catwalk in front of awestruck audience members. Literally stomping on the usual idea of sinewy, lithe models, a gaggle of gorgeous, curvy, dancers were brought in. Cue nervous laughter from the likes of Cara and Jourdan. Personally it was a refreshing change. What do you think?

Rick Owens (Vogue.co.uk)


Some of the top trends shown during PFW:

Eye-watering prints: As seen at the designer of all designers, Celine (Vogue.co.uk), prints are making an eye-watering come back for SS14. From what I understand, the crazier and more clashing the better. I LOVE this coat from Phoebe Philo's latest collection for Celine. The colour and structure is her at her best - feminine and inspiring; the man's black belt to tie it all together - a nod to her masculine and powerful nature on the runway. Sacre bleu, cest incroyable!



Structure is everything: Commes des Garcons (Vogue.co.uk) is everything I wish I could be ... if I was to be an evil Disney queen. Always dark, brooding and terrifyingly beautiful, this season's collection didn't disappoint. Playing with the idea of the female form but hugely exaggerated, CdG accentuated female assets to create a domineering version of the woman. Scary....but only because I secretly want all of it....



Culottes with a little extra: Not just a saliva inducing scent, Viktor & Rolf (Vogue.co.uk) once again push the boundaries on what is feminine, but do so with an oh so on trend twist. Culottes are the staple shorts of the upcoming season. So what to do to make them different? Ah yes, layer a dress over them. A silver dress. With pleats. Sometimes I feel rather insignificant ....



Texture is everything: Chloe (Vogue.co.uk) is the designer of fairies...if fairies existed and needed a designer. Never afraid to use chiffon, crepe, silk, voile and organza, everything floats in the sort of ethereal way that you and I never will. This season saw these beautiful fabrics toughened up ever so slightly with pleats, kinks and any other manner of treatment to make them texturized. A beautiful juxtaposition can be seen with the army-coloured khaki and rough accordion texture of this flowing floor length gown. Im not sure whether to wear it with biker boots or ballet shoes?



Love the skin you're in: It would be sacrilege for me to not show anything from Christian Dior (Vogue.co.uk), since I see the house as one of the most iconic and transitional of all time. Luckily for me Raf Simons perfectly illustrated one of the most important trends (of course). This season everything from a milky white midriff to a full body-stocking showcased the real beauty - the female form. Peek-a-boo sections of skin waltzed down the runway at CD, with waists, backs, chests, legs and arms all being exposed. Keeping things lady-like as ever, expanses of body were paired with pretty florals, to make sure the house didn't move too far from its signature look.



And so as we look to the end of another month of models and mayhem, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have and I hope to see you again in a few months time for AW14! I will be the one in the sunglasses sat next to Anna Wintour. Well when I say sat next to I mean a few rows behind. In my living room.

Au revoir!

And for the first time in history, the catwalk saw....a smile?!!

On this drizzly day we are transported to a room so shiny and bright, it seems half the audience have to wear sunglasses. And for once the dazzling star of the runway was not the host of lithely limbed models, the swathes of frothy fabrics or the sharp-sheared designers, but the tiniest fashionista of them all, Miss Harper Beckham. Continuing on my strange theme of having to write about Queen Victoria and her brood in my opening paragraph ("2 become 1" literally changed my life....), I will report on the only person ever to smile at a fashion week, who also happens to be the youngest of the Beckham clan. Wearing what I am sure is by no means her most expensive dress, Harper wowed in the front row in a pleated Chloe ensemble, bringing a smile to even Anna Wintour's face - the only other time that happened was when she found out Meryl Streep had actually caused girls to want to pick up her coffee...."I have Patrick!!"

So with a smile, the show must go on.

Bold and bright prints - We have been without sunshine for one day and everyone is already discussing where they will be spending Christmas - I mean it must be the dead of winter now right? So to cheer us all up the lovely fashions of SS14 will see our wardrobes filled with eye-watering bright and clashing prints. Whether you want matchy-matchy outfits, same print but opposing coloured separates or just one block print piece, make sure it is loud ... and that its screaming, "This is KATE SPADE don't you know!"


Denim - Its wearable, its durable, its the builders outfit of choice. Nuff said. Take a leaf out of DKNY's book and wear baggy dungarees with feminine heels, a waist skimming blazer and a plain baseball cap. Rihanna meets Rachel McAdams - real talk.



Volume, volume, VOLUME!! After posting about square shoulders the other day, NYFW has continued to build on this larger than life silhouette (pun completely intended) and is making the female form domineering and edgier. Like Threeasfour, remember to balance out big shoulders with a slim-waist and shaped hips to stop you from looking like Lady Gaga...



Floor sweeping skirts - Skirt lengths have moved from midi back to floor length and we are all secretly rejoicing. Obsessing over the dresses at Carolina Herrera which take a strong, structured bodice and pair them with a flowing sheer skirt. Modern day princess!



Pleats and gathered fabrics - As adding volume is the top of the fashion list for SS14, take something less terrifying than spikey shoulders and add texture and pomp by the manipulation of fabric. You may not want to look like a fancy lampshade, a la Zac Posen, but the idea of layers of sheer fabrics is actually a lot more flattering that you think. Choose the right shade and the right pleat and you can hide a whole manner of sins.



My final thought for the day...or should I say final fashion? Dior SS13. In the immortal words of Rachel Zoe. I. Die.

Im in the FROW don't you know

If, like me, you are in fashion, it is a day of mixed emotions - wonder, excitement, fear, delight, worry, longing and sheer unadulterated terror. No, it is not something as light-hearted as your wedding day, the birth of your first child or even that time you picked up that pair of exact Louboutin replicas from Kurt Geiger for a quarter of the price (you can always just Dulux the sole). No, it is the beginning of....FASHION WEEK. In New York, London, Paris and Milan there are girls who haven't eaten anything but soup for the last month in hopes they can make it to the Holy Grail....to the FROW. And for those of you thinking I am mocking this, please believe I am not. I would give my right Manolo to even be allowed into the event space, this is my territory, my Mecca, my life. Over the next month I hope to give you a little insight into why.

Yesterday marked the beginning of New York Fashion Week. It runs from 5th  -  12th of September and is followed graciously by London (13th-17th Sept), Milan (18-23rd Sept) and Paris (24th Sept - 2nd October). For those of you who aren't aware, this is a time when the fashion world simultaneously stops for a moment and yet is the busiest they have ever been. The globe's best designers are currently adding the final touches to garments that until now have been but a dream on paper, but by the beginning of next year will already be lining the wardrobes of your favourite stars. If you are Victoria Beckham you may well get so excited by this whole process, you have to take a little break from the harsh lights and even harsher critics...


Anyway, with Anna Wintour's sunglasses firmly on the face which is attached to the body which is sat in the most coveted seat there is in fashion, we know it has well and truly begun. And here is what we have seen so far of SS14...

The Barely There Dress - It is cold, it is dreary, it is time to wear a slip? Seems bazaar perhaps, not if you are among the likes of Tess Giberson who paraded a host of the cutest underwear/outerwear/barely-there dresses down the runway. Team with a fur coat if you are cold or just accept it for what it is - a sexy update on your Nana's nightie.



All White - Pure as the driven snow? Well with the likes of BCBG Max Azria bringing us a collection even the White Queen would be proud of, who cares? Pair white with white in SS14 and dazzle in the spring sun.



Boxy - The slimline shapes of this summer melt into boxy coats in AW13 and angular shapes in SS14. Take a liquid leather skirt, such as at Chadwick Bell and pair with a top that will poke anyone who gets too close. Square those shoulders ladies...



Ethereal - It seems when Rankin painted Holly Willoughby in head to toe silver, he knew what was going on. Add a little unearthly spirit to your clothing by pairing silver leather with frothy chiffon like Zimmermann to create the look of a space ballerina. Strange, but it works.



Bare Your Soul - Remember when Tara Palmer-Tomkinson went out in just underwear and a fur coat and we all thought she was loopy? Turns out she was just VERY ahead of the crowd. Love the skin you are in seems to be the new trend at fashion week as everything from midriffs to cleavages were on show at Peter Som...its all well and good when you look like Cara Delevigne I suppose.



So there is just a little taste. I will be back with more trends and looks each day. Just remember, you may not like the fashions, the models or the thought process behind these events, but to people like me (and there are a lot of us) this is an art form of the highest level. And if you still aren't convinced, well I will try over the next four weeks to change your mind.

Finally with every post I will leave you with a past favourite fashion week ensemble. Today....Alexander McQueen AW13. Enjoy!