London Fashion Week AW15 - runway highlights

New York, London and Milan Fashion Weeks have been and gone for another season, and with the fashion pack in Paris for the final week of madness, I wanted to share a few of my runway highlights so far. First up, London.

London is often regarded as the most creative and original fashion week (I would say that...) and ever since the legendary Christoper Kane brought Burberry back to our capital in 2009, it has continued to grow in status. (As a side note, I truly believe Christopher Kane should be knighted for wrestling Burberry back from the chavs, establishing it as a British icon to be proud of once more, and making it the most desirable ticket on the LFW schedule.)

This year sees the return of another British icon, Gareth Pugh, who has spent the last seven years showing in Paris and Milan. This is definitely cause for celebration and a good move on his part – there is no denying his dark aesthetic and almost McQueen-like theatrics belongs with the home crowd.

So without further ado, let's take a look at some of this season's most inspiring looks...

Gareth Pugh, AW15

Gareth Pugh's return to London was always going to be a dramatic one and, according to the man himself, inspiration was drawn from the equally optimistic and dark notion of 'sacrificing yourself to something bigger'. His own English heritage and sense of national pride was quite literally painted on the models' faces, who all sported dramatic St George's Crosses.

Ok, so we might not be recreating the makeup anytime soon, and the hats may be a little much for a Wednesday morning in the office, but the coats? The coats were beautiful, wearable and impeccably tailored. Another fabulous, dramatic show from the man whose genius was described as 'undeniable' by British Vogue back in 2007.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label AW15

Nobody is going to be surprised to see me include a little Vivienne Westwood Red Label. I love this woman and for very good reason. Yes, her show will always have an agenda (this time promoting the Green Party) and yes, her punk ways will always be evident in the styling (disheveled hair and makeup, skull jewellery) but don't let all that detract from the fact that Ms Westwood sure knows how to cut clothes for women. You only have to look at the drape of her dresses to see why women feel like women in her clothes.

On a personal note, she incorporated just the right amount of animal print to keep me happy. Whether it was to add personality to an otherwise classic look (above left) or in a stunning dress that screams sex in all the right ways, she was right on the money.

Giles AW15

Oh Giles, what can I say... you really know how to put on a show! Here's yet another British boy who can combine glamour, theatrics and the slightly bizarre and produce something truly magical. The collection was reminiscent of the early Giles Deacon dark aesthetic, combining Victoriana ruff-collars and corsets with gothic black lipstick. All of which were given added drama by an all-star cast of models, including Lily Donaldson, Jessica Stam, Kendall Jenner, Erin O'Conner and Edie Campbell.

The collection was actually very wearable, if you look past the haunting theme and examine the individual pieces. The tailoring was superb and I'm a little bit in love with the Miss Haversham-esque tree and jewel print fabric (above). Definitely one of my favourite collections this season.

Felder Felder AW15

I've had a real soft spot for Felder Felder ever since my good friend Sian and I queued in the cold for an hour to get into one of their shows. It was a hot ticket and we were the last people allowed inside before the doorman slammed the doors and turned the rest of the queue away! Needless to say I was hoping we would be rewarded with a good show, and we were. Since 2006, twin sisters Annette and Daniela Felder have been making industry waves with their feminine yet edgy designs and this season was no different.

The collection was inspired by 1960s German model Uschi Ubermaier and subsequently there were a lot of short skirts and sheer fabrics (presumably the versions that hit the shops will be lined). The fabrics were certainly beautiful. Black and teal are two of my favourite colours and, whether 60s or 90s inspired, I do appreciate a short hemline. One thing that I've only just learnt is that the Felder sisters are commited vegans, so not only are their clothes beautiful but they are cruelty free! Good job ladies.

Ashish AW15

If Vivienne Westwood screams sex in a classy way, this next show screamed sex quite literally, with the word emblazoned across the sweatshirt of the second look that graced the catwalk. Ashish had his reasons for this overt message, saying, "I think it is interesting that when a woman dresses sexily, she is labelled a slut. Which I find strange and offensive – it should not be the case. Everybody should be free to dress how they want without being labeled. I wanted it to be sexy and powerful – empowering."

Whether bright red thigh-high boots inspired by Parisian streetwalkers are the way to go about spreading this message is up to the individiual, but what I will say is that Ashish produced possibly my most-wanted piece of LFW. Nope, not the sequined underwear.... not the thigh-high boots.... it was that coat. A sequined parka with leopard print lining?! He may as well have sewn my name straight into the label.

All images from www.style.com

Rock & Runway: dinosaur edition

If there’s one thing I love almost as much as music and fashion it’s dinosaurs. I bloody love dinosaurs. In fact it’s quite surprising that it’s taken this long for them to infiltrate my blog! But in light of the discovery of Qianzhousauras sinensis – or Pinocchio Rex as he has been nicknamed – I decided to let dinosaurs have a moment.

The skeleton of this 66-million-year-old tyrannosaur has been dug up in China and identified by scientists at Edinburgh University. It is smaller and more muscular than its better known big brother but has a much longer snout, hence the nickname. Two long-nosed juveniles have previously been found but it was unclear whether the long snout was a transient feature that grew out as the species matured, so the discovery of the adult Pinocchio is a pretty big deal.

Dinosaurs have infiltrated just about every aspect of popular culture, and why wouldn't they? Dinosaurs, in my professional opinion, are awesome. My childhood was filled with them – dinosaur toys, dinosaur films, trips to the natural history museum – and it is my suspicion that just about any child who saw Jurassic Park in the cinema is equally as smitten.

So how, you may wonder, am I going to make my love of dinosaurs relevant to Rock & Runway? Well first up is a little dino-inspired fashion. All too often it is the children that get the best of the dino fashion but occasionally they make an appearance on the runway. My favourite such moment was Giles spring/summer 2010 collection. Remember this bag? Oh how I wanted one of those bad boys.

Dinosaur t-shirts are never too hard to find. My beloved Jurassic Park one (see above) came from Universal Studios in Florida – Jurassic Park ride anyone?! – but I also have my eye on this one from the Natural History museum.

On the music front I have two options. First up is Dinosaur Pile-Up with Peninsula, from their second album Nature Nurture. If you don't remember me mentioning them before you can read my reviews here. Second is the incredible Jurassic Park theme by John Williams. I defy any child of the 80s/90s to listen to this and not get a little bit emotional…. It might seem a bit unorthodox featuring classical music on a blog dedicated to rock music but dinosaurs are bad-ass and, frankly, classical music doesn’t get much more rock 'n' roll than this.




Read more about the discovery of Pinocchio Rex here.

London Fashion Week: Inspired by Minnie Mouse

Today’s Friday fashion fix is devoted to a little something that I found at London Fashion Week – the Inspired by Minnie Mouse Exhibition, where several prominent designers have celebrated Disney with a one-off creation.

Shoes by Terry De Havilland

From Giles Deacon to Katie Hillier, these are some seriously stylish pieces, all incorporating that infamous mouse. I’m not sure I can actually pick a favourite design, but I will say that when I saw these Terry De Havilland peep toes, I wanted to smash the Perspex display case they were contained in, stuff them into my handbag and run like hell! (Take from that what you will.)

Dress by Giles Deacon

Necklace by Katie Hillier

Necklace by Tatty Divine

 This is also a very appropriate post as I am saying goodbye and heading to Orlando for two weeks of fun in the sun. My holiday is perfectly timed, because frankly I don’t deal with cold weather all too well and the last few days the temperature has really dropped. Has anyone else caved and put the heating on or is that just me?!

I was hoping to line up a guest blogger for while I am gone so that my little blog doesn’t stay too quiet, but unfortunately I haven’t had the time and as usual I seem to be working up to the eleventh hour! So I’m afraid you’ll have to sit tight and check back on my return.

In other news, for those of you who haven’t seen it, I thoroughly recommend heading over to My Creative Diva, a new online lifestyle magazine aimed at creative women. Edited by the lovely Joan Gordon, it is full of food, fashion and all the things ladies loves, plus interviews with lots of creative women. Check out p24-25 for my book reviews – some seriously good reading material has been landing on my desk lately including The Fashion Design Directory which I have reviewed in issue 1.

Have a wonderful few weeks and a big thank you again for regularly reading my ramblings. I would happily write with no audience at all because it’s a pretty cathartic process, but having such a lovely audience makes the whole thing so much more satisfying. Don’t forget you can sign up to receive my posts via email – it requires no effort and who doesn’t love that?!

So long and see you on the other side! Probably a tad exhausted but hopefully with a tan and a big smile on my face.