Archive for February, 2011

Of the coveted big four fashion weeks London is the one the industry looks to for up-and-coming talent. New York pushes luxe sports style, Milan provides the ‘sex’ and Paris is the quintessential capital of chic; London masses great expectations as the hub of raw talent and progressive design. Achingly cool British designer and winner of the autumn/winter 11/12 ‘Vauxhall Fashion Scout Merit Award’ Georgia Hardinge is heralded as the capital’s latest one-to-watch, setting pulses racing with her signature architectural cuts and infallible sense of style.

Fittingly entitled ‘Spined’, the Hardringe vision for autumn/winter 11/12 is fiercely anatomical, seeing her trademark sculpted aesthetic reference skeletal forms and body parts. While the stimulus sounds undeniably morbid the interpretation proved both beautiful and wearable, exemplifying the designer’s skill to take an avant-garde idea and translate it into a viable modern collection.

With the macabre photography of Joel Peter Witkin providing the morose backbone for her striking aesthetic, Hadringe served up a host of city-smart ensembles. A graphic monochrome and nude palette was an intelligent choice, providing a blank canvas for her intricate fabric-play and sculptural shapes. Outsized jackets paired with skinny fit slacks boasting linear vertebrae-pleats characterise the overriding look while bold x-ray style placement prints felt young, edgy and ‘ready-to-wear’. Accordion fabric folds evoke the look of scaled-up rib-cages and wrap around the wearer in faux protection of the vital organs. Built up layers of leather, suede, wool and chiffon enhanced the textural finish that underpins Hardringe’s work and is set to make her a star.

We were in attendance at the packed out Freemasons Hall venue for the rising stars first stand-alone show and had the opportunity to find out a little more about her inspirations and motivations in an exclusive interview after the event.

Mpdclick: This is your first solo show, what was the lead up the event like and how did it feel to have your name on the illustrious London Fashion Week schedule?

Georgia: It was great; it’s such a privilege and honour to be able to do it. Of course it was hard work, really hard! but so worth it. I had a great team of people helping me and fantastic interns; you need to have people around you that you can rely on and when you spend that much time with them you have to be able to get on and have a laugh.

Mpdclick: The collection is architectural in cut, is this concurrent throughout your work?

Georgia: Yes definitely, my signature look is very architectural; I like to push with the limitations of fabric and work with it.

Mpdclick: The aesthetic is very anatomical,; the pleats and folds look almost like vertebrae. Can you tell us a bit more about your influences for the collection?

Georgia: Ha, you are a genius, it is exactly that. I like darkness, I am all about the darkness really but of course I need to translate my ideas to others and I want people to want to wear it. I am really influenced by photography and this collection was inspired by a photographer whose work I love, Joel Peter Witkin. He looks at death, disfiguration and dismembered body parts. I find the idea really interesting; it’s like the Mexican celebration of death. Though I really focused on the idea of anatomic body parts it’s a more accepted translation.

Mpdclick: The prints are really interesting, did you design them yourself?

Georgia: Absolutely, they are acrylic prints; they are based on the idea of psychological inkblot tests (Rorschach) where you fold the design together and open it up to see what comes out then make of it what you will.

Day One: LFW

Words by Runway & Trends Editor…

Irish designer Paul Costelloe kicked off the London Fashion Week proceedings for the 10^th consecutive season presenting his ‘Home Grown Fashion’ inspired autumn/winter 11/12 collection. Usually steeped in sartorial etiquette, this collection showcased a flirtier, more colourful mood from Costelloe while retaining the brands neatly tailored signature.

Moving away from the saturated Seventies vibe that dominated the spring/summer season, the chic late 1960s influence felt well timed and refreshing with nifty tailored swing jackets and ice-skater skirt suits characterising the ultra-feminine silhouette.

Vibrant shades of burnt orange, emerald, fuchsia and mustard were rife with ‘joie de vivre’ promising a bright outlook for the coming winter. In keeping with the uplifting spirit set by the palette, the collection celebrated locally sourced fabrics, with the lions-share coming from the UK and Ireland. From Harris Tweed and herringbone to plaid and cashmere, the traditional luxury fabrics had new appeal when re-worked with contrast texture threads or offered in block brights.

In Costelloe’s words – “This collection is all about positivity: Being proud of our surrounding Islands and making the most of our incredible creativity and resources.”

Foiled metallic statement dresses sporting flirtatious flared hems had a cute cosmic edge when styled with pink crimped bobs. Costello’s real winners came in the form of Double breasted jackets with exaggerated fold down collars and outsized buttons and sleeveless A-line safari dresses, destined for high-street reinvention.

Mpdclick’s Managing Editor Sarah Wade shares her visual diary and highlights of London Fashion Week Day 2.

As a personal fan of Louise Amstrup, her a/w 11/12 show ‘Born Bad’ (the first on our Day 2 schedule) didn’t fail to impress. Her signature easy breezy tailoring was evident, yet this season vamped up with jet black PVC snoods and tall, angular trilbies courtesy of milliner Noel Stewart (main image). Geometric prints with flashes of sulphur yellow and ultraviolet on a slate grey base added contemporary decoration with commercial wearabilty still in mind.

Another highlight was Georgina Hardinge’s ‘Spined’ collection, where intricate leather work combined with slitted treated wools, twisted in to 3D shapes inspired by anatomy. Stayed tuned to the Journal, as we’ll be publishing an interview with Georgina soon, after our very own Runway Ed Jen (pictured with the designer below) put a few questions to her about the line.

Georgina Hardinge

Georgina Hardinge

Mpdclick’s Jen interviews Georgina Hardinge

Of course, London Fashion Week would not be the same without its street style, which often give the catwalk looks a run for their money. We spotted some great outfits, more photos soon, but for now check out these blogger’s unique accessories…

Nadia of Frou Frouu layers up

The Style Crusader‘s Jen adds a bit of bling to her blouse

Fancy footwear on David from The Nyanzi Report

Central St Martin’s MA Grad J. JS Lee produced a chic, sleek collection, shown at Somerset House. Particular high points included the tailored leather, sharp shoulders, low-slung satchel-like backpacks and a warm 70s brown that added interest amongst the monochrome. Jackie JS Lee is a definite one to watch.

J. JS Lee

J. JS Lee

J. JS Lee

Taking things on a slightly more theatrical route, we slipped backstage at Bryce Aime’s On/Off show to catch the master of structure putting the final touches to his range. Prism-shape headwear combined with lengths of floating chiffon and subtly sci-fi prints. ‘Militarium’ provided a welcome theatrical change after a day of utterly wearable (but economically sensible) collections.

Backstage at Bryce Aime

Bryce Aime

Bryce Aime

Bryce Aime

Bryce Aime

Bryce Aime

To round of the day’s events, Olivia Rubin’s show at West End nightclub Jalouse attracted a glamorous celebrity crowd and provided the perfect backdrop for her glitzy collection. Her signature all over prints took a little direction from the masters this season, Jeremy Scott-esque brickwork played out across chiffon maxis and billowing minidresses. Matching cardies and bold florals added a little modesty to the look, while embossing and glazed finishes provided a glimmer of fashion-forward technique.

Olivia Rubin

Olivia Rubin

For full show reviews stay tuned to the Trend Journal, alternatively, subscribers can view the full London Fashion Week collections here.

Day One: LFW

Words by Runway & Trends Editor…

The buzz surrounding April’s royal wedding has spread to London Fashion Week with speculation over who will design Kate’s dress mounting. With just ten weeks to go the designer in question must have began work on what is set to be 2011’s most influential dress. While remaining secretive over her involvement Caroline Charles has said “I’m doing something for the Royal wedding but my lips are sealed.”  Monarchical wardrobes aside the designer showcased her British credentials presenting her autumn/winter 11 vision last Friday, a collection underpinned by heritage and styled with sophistication and feminine flair.

The overall mood was of subdued elegance, not groundbreaking but incredibly wearable and rich with detail. With the empowerment of women at the top of Charles’ agenda for the season the Suffragette movement provided valuable inspiration seeing narrow shapes in luxe fabrics take centre stage.

Hues of bitter chocolate, cappuccino, fudge, ruby and jade felt confident and luxurious, reiterating the overriding heritage look. Bustle skirts and riding jackets offered a subtle equestrian aesthetic when teamed with top hats and bow-back sash belts. Androgynous boyfriend fit crombie jackets injected a younger tone to the collection while theatre coats and classic DJ’s in velvet and silk stuck to the recognised Charles signature.

A liberal dose of leopard print on skimming shift dresses and statement fedoras amped up the glamour for daywear while evening pieces were meticulously hand embellished with lavish beading and embroideries. As is tradition the Charles show ended with a ‘Pièce de résistance’; this season the finale ensemble boasted a densely beaded trophy jacket in ruby red and spring green on black, accompanied by a georgette fish-tail skirt decorated with sequin starbursts and finished with a veiled top-hat. Not for a trip to the local shop but you can see why Charles has the Royal seal of approval.