I'm dreaming of a 'Whistles' Christmas!

In a recent newsletter i received from Whistles, there was an intriguing message in the shape of a short film it suggested a Whistles advent calender and some treats leading up to Christmas i don't know what to make of it seems exciting though what do you think?  I'd suggest signing up to there newsletter if you want to discover what's to come:

High fashion, Goes high street, Gone mad?

I don't know what to say about this high street, high fashion collaboration business any more, it seems there a new one everyday now and its not even cool new designers for hip high street stores any more it's major labels getting in on the act and i don't know if i like it or not, at first i was like this is amazing i can't believe this collaboration is happening but now its like oh another day another amazing label collaborating with a high street store it kind of takes  the magic out of it? But anyhow two days after the Lanvin for h&m launch it's time for Valentino for Gap???? That's right the collection has already been launched in Italy, the line celebrates Gap's arrival in Milan and Rome last week, its a seven piece capsule collection and as much as i am aware is only available in London flagship stores from tomorrow the 27th November 2010. The collection sees Gap basics with added Valentino signatures such as ruffles and bows, the collection is obviously on trend combining military and utilitarian to produce some beautiful clothes so here's a look at the latest collaboration; what next Chanel for Miss Selfridge, Versace for River Island, YSL for Next God only knows hopefully he'll tell them to hold off for a little while so it will give us some excitement when we hear!

    

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Russian Wonder Tales

Whilst flicking though my latest Christmas edition Toast catalogue which included the usual wonderful clothing, photography, poems and stories, i came across an extract from a Russian wonder tale called Tzar Saltan which goes as follows:


'In ancient days, long before our time, in a certain Tzardom of a realm far beyond the blue sea-ocean, there was a Tzar, young in years, named Saltan, who was so handsome and clever  that songs were sung and tales told of him, and beautiful maidens everywhere dreamt of him at night. Minded to rule his Tzardom well, he used to wander forth at dusk in all four directions of his capital, in order to see and hear, and thus he perceived much good and much evil and saw many strange sights. One evening, as he passed the house of a rich merchant, he saw though the window three lovely, damsels, the merchant's daughters, sitting at their needlework, and drawing near he overheard their conversation. 


The eldest said '"If the Tzar were to wed me, i would grind flour so fine that the like of the bread i would bake from it could not be found in the whole world."  The Tzar, hearing, thought: "That would be good bread truly: however, the bred i eat now is not so bad."


The second said: "If the Tzar were to wed me, i would weave for him a kaftan of gold and silver thread, so that he would shine like the Glowing Bird."


"That would be good weaving, indeed," thought the Tzar; " though little enough need have i for such a splendid coat." 


Then the youngest daughter, who was named Marfa said: "As for me, if the Little Father Tzar became my husband, i know how neither to spin nor to weave, but i would bear him seven hero-sons like bright falcons, that should be the comeliest in his Tzardom; and their legs should be golden to the knee and their arms silver to the elbow, and in their hair should be little stars.".......


And from the 1st December you can download four podcasts of Russian Wonder Tales, one for each of the four weeks before Christmas from www.toasttravels.co.uk then go to features. And i thought it would be a great way to get into the Christmas-y mood anywhere you are so i hope you will join me in this storytelling advent calender if you will. Also whilst your on the website check out the cool clothing and Christmas decorations and if you buy something you'll receive a Toast catalogue every month trust me its worth it just for the catalogue. Happy listening!

The Re-Launch!

Forgive me farther for i have sinned i have been neglectful and have not posted on my blog for a month. But i vow to write better posts on a wider range of subjects as i have realised the error of my ways and it saddened me. From here on i will try not just to write ANOTHER fashion blog i will try to incorporate all aspects of design and i will begin today with a make up post on architecture.  So here starts the re-launch if you will of my improved blog and i promise that it won't disappoint i begin in Switzerland within an alpine slope near the i'm told famous Val's thermal baths though i can't say i have heard of them though my geography knowledge is somewhat terrible. But here architect Bjarne Mastenbroek with the help of fellow architect Christine Muller has created an unbelievable James Bond like underground holiday house, the house is set into a hillside so that it does not disturb the surrounding landscape and the view from the nearby spa. Mastenbroek said 'Buildings should be a part of their environment....It would have been unreasonable, for example, to construct a typical three-story building on site. Our solution was to create an underground house.' Which was an excellent solution as you can see in the following images:

Its not only the exterior that's impressive the interior is just as interesting although you may think an underground house may seem like a dark, dingy bunker this couldn't be further from that it is actually surprisingly spacious and bright and has been designed in a modern way, all the walls and floors are concrete which really takes the house back to the elements its surrounded by, although i can't help thinking it would be cold, however the colourful cushions and throws around the house help to add some warmth to the otherwise monotone theme around the rest of the house. The place is full of great design ideas like the vaulted arches in bedroom made from corrugated cardboard 40 mm thick and the mismatched pendant lighting in the kitchen, this underground haven of design really couldn't get any better.

Panic on the streets of London Part Three...

I have just this minute stumbled upon Mary Katrantzou's collection and it would be very wrong of me not to share this fascinating show with you why such a big deal? I'm sure my words won't do it justice but you'll definitely understand when you see it, but i'll try to describe this bewildering spetical first anyhow, so chandelier necklaces, lamp shade skirts with beads hanging from the hem, curtains on the hips and of course the grand household scenes mirrored on the dresses this is all sounding a bit surreal? Well it is and if your thinking this combination cannot create beautiful dresses you would be terribly mistaken, its all a bit architectural and that's reflected in the sublime structure of the clothes and of course the name of the collection ' C’est Ci Nes Pas Une Chambre or This Is Not A Room.' I don't know what else to say apart from i don't think this will be like anything else you've ever seen before and if it is please share!

Panic on the streets of London Part Two...

It's so hard to chose just a few more collections from London to share with you as i loved so many of them but i am going to begin with David Koma with only his third collection he created a show based around a sophisticated palette of blacks, whites, golds and severely pale pinks, peaches and yellows. The dresses went through a whole transition from little pleated and peplum skirts in pale colours, with sheer panels on top, to monochrome assembles, onto monochrome with a hint of yellow and peach, then black was swapped for gold, and then to finish off it was an all black affair from short to long dresses. It was a truly cohesive collection if ever i did see one.

Up next is Matthew Williamson who's collection had a glamorous tribal feel to it, the intricate techniques and embellishment he used were exquisite, he had flowing dresses that appeared sun bleached, perfectly cut trousers, woven tops and those oh-my-god-i-love-that-dress party frocks. One of my favourite features of the show is the skirts some with tiered, layers they almost look like a grass skirt that had had a trim, some with suede fringing, one was covered all over in gold sequins with peacock feather donning the hem just beautiful.  I also liked the culotte type affair that was happening with the shorts and trousers with giant although subtle studs on the waist band and pockets, a truly awe inspiring show.

Cooperative Designs is a label created by knitwear designers Annalisa Dunn and Dorothee Hagemann who meet at St Martins and founded their label in 2008. They enjoy creating experimental and innovative knitwear mixing old and new techniques to produce an interestingly modern outcome.  I read an interview with them recently and here's how they described their s/s 11 collection "S/S 11 is called 'Bollywood Babylon'. It's a '30s Hollywood film version of India, really over the top. We've got some animalistic prints that are modern and graphic."  And their not lying the collection is certainly over the top and definitely features prints although 'features' may be an understatement try features on every surface possible.  The collection oozes cool fashion forward print clashing wonderfulness and i love it. Cooperative Designs clothes for A/W 10 are available from asos.com now YEY!

Last but by no means least Louise Gray who's show was as usual brightly coloured, crafty, layered, textured and bold, the models wore heaps of rags and coloured raffia in their hair, eyes smeared with bright colours and sandals designed by the great Nicolas Kirkwood. The fabrics we're faded in parts and the outfits had a kind of recycled vibe about them with bottle top embellishment stuck on the bottom of shorts and on tops, those arts and crafts neon star type cardboard shapes you have as a kid inserted in clear tops to fall where they like and what appeared to be paint stains on the fabrics. The thing i love about Gray is her ability to layer on clothes to produce an edgy outfit and she continued with this throughout the collection.

Other Collections from London worth a look:

Clements Ribeiro.

Mulberry.

Temperley London.

Richard Nicoll.