THE WEEK IN FASHION 1/8-5/8

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large.

Back from our summer sojourn, here is a round-up of the week's fashion news. Enjoy!

Karl Lagerfeld has been spotted in St. Tropez sans sunnies, we kid you not! The man behind the mask is revealed.

Model Laura Bailey is the BFC's new cultural ambassador. You can follow Laura's fabulous fashion life and her work as a BFC ambassador over at her Vogue blog.

Laura in Stella sunnies (image from her Vogue blog)

Just to rub further salt in the wound of English fashion- lovers who are unlikely to see the ridiculously successful McQueen 'Savage Beauty' exhibition, Daphne Guinness' vast collection is now to go on show in New York. If you are lucky enough to be in NY then the Met will open until midnight this Saturday and Sunday to allow as many people as possible to see the McQueen exhibition before it closes. So there's really no excuse to miss out! The Met's exhibition REALLY needs to come to London.

The exhibition will feature pieces from Isabella Blow's archives which Daphne owns. Left to right- Amanda Harlech, Phillip Treacy, Daphne Guiness and Isabella Blow (Image courtesy of fuckyeahisabellablow tumblr)

Congratulations to Jaime Perlman who is jumping up from the position of Art Director of British Vogue taking over from former Creative Director, Robin Derrick. We also hear that Fran Burns is to take up a new Fashion Editor role at the title in September, amazing news! 

Jaime Perlman

Looking good Frannie!



Vanity Fair has released its annual Best Dressed list, and the criteria seems to be erring towards judging somewhat classic dressers. Unsurprisingly, most of the coverage has focused upon miss MOR herself Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and her third place entry. But we would like to draw your attention to the extreme chic of the glamorous wife of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned. Sheikha Mozah's family own Harrods, which we are sure makes her very happy in terms of fulfilling her prodigious shopping habits. She is known to have the largest collection of Christian Louboutin shoes in the Middle East, and harbours a passion for pearls. Here is a woman who makes wearing a turban aspirational.

She looks almost normal here 

But not here, with Prince Charles. (Image from Zimbio.com)

With Carla Bruni, who topped the list. Image from GraziaDaily.co.uk

The FashEd recently blogged about her involvement with Vauxhall Fashion Scout.This week the initiative announced its new 'One to Watch' picks. They all look very similar to one another, don't you think?

The work of Phoebe English (from anothermag.com)

Jessie-J wearing Shao Yen (image from his site)

One of the looks from Malene Oddeshade Bach's Middlesex BA show (image courtesy of catwalking.com)

Knitwear from Alice Lee (Image courtesy of Vogue.co.uk)

 Strictly speaking, this is last week's news but we just wanted to re-share the excitement of learning that Grace Coddington is to write a book! Many may be expecting that her memoirs  will re-ignite the Grace vs. Anna debate which was sparked by The September Issue, which they both starred in. However, we're also fascinated to hear about Grace's long and illustrious career taking her from Welsh school girl to being a fashion industry superheroine. This should be a fashion history lesson as well as insight into the mind of a very creative and somewhat shy woman.

Grace on the cover of Vogue in August 1962 (Image from Styleite.com)

A more recent shot of a heavenly Grace (from businessoffashion.com)

Finally, we are adoring these shots of wonderwomen Beyonce Knowles and Jane Fonda posing for W magazine and Harper's Bazaar US respectively. They both model key pieces from the AW11 collections and boy, do they wear them well. There are no more words...

Beyonce in Dolce and Gabbana (Image from swide.tumblr.com)

How amazing does Jane Fonda look in Stella McCartney's AW11 dress? (Image from Dailymail.co.uk)

  

With thanks to:
Fashionologie.com.
fashion.telegraph.co.uk
vogue.co.uk
theindependent.co.uk,
nymag.com/daily/fashion
vanityfair.com

THE AW11 CAMPAIGNS WE LOVE

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

The arrival of the BIG September issues has finally brought together the slow trickle of campaign images which have been released throughout the Summer. The excitement these ads create is a sensation in itself, especially if they feature a notably young/ famous/ odd person (delete as appropriate). They also bring the brand's new fashion message to the masses. Basically, they're kinda significant, but you knew that already, right? But which ones are actually doing their job and drawing us in?
Here are our top picks....
1. MIU MIU
Miu Miu's decision to use fourteen year-old Hailee Steinfeld provoked rather a lot of debate when it was announced. Although using very young models or actresses is by no means confined to Miu Miu, we were interested to see the direction they would take with the pictures - would they try to make her look like an adult? Or, would the brand play it charmingly tongue-in-cheek and show Hailee simply enjoying the best game of dressing- up EVER? Judging by the latest Bruce Weber shots to be released, they went for the utterly charming approach...

Miu Miu sequins- just what every young girl wears to pop out for a pizza. 

Awwww. Not so much a snow angel, as a shoe angel

This is rather sad. Like nobody will play any more.

I am no photography expert, but to my amateur eye these images look just a touch soft at the edges, which gives them an even more innocent allure. It's almost as if they were taken spontaneously to capture a precious moment of a little girl growing up, by a parent or relative. In reality, they are the result of careful styling, will create millions in revenue and appear in some of the most expensive advertising spaces on the planet. So, I am taking my proverbial fedora off to Miu Miu for creating this adorable effect.

2. MULBERRY
Mulberry continues the slightly whimsical, childish theme with its Fantastic Mr Fox themed campaign. This is unmistakably the work of Tim Walker, tricking the eye as the page is turned to reveal bemused models and their Mulberries dwarfed by giant foxes and owls and other woodland curiosities. To recreate this effect for yourself, simply get you and your favourite bag down to the Southbank Centre where the supersized straw fox will provide the perfect prop!

A Taylor bag - seen above in large and small versions - and a pretty pleat is all you need for Mulberry themed country high jinks

3. PROENZA SCHOULER 
Proenza Schouler have chosen to underline their particular take on the print story which continues into this season by framing Zuzanna Bijoch's poses for Willy Vanderperre with graphic, simplified echoes of the patterns on the clothes. I love that this campaign is really just all about the clothes and the ideas behind them. Pared back and stark.

An exquisite autumnal palette

4. BALENCIAGA
Balenciaga, shot by Steven Meisel, gives us the juxtaposition of old and new- Nicholas Ghesquiere's sharp, modern pieces are worn in a convent- like setting, and then in a super futuristic, pristine cube. We are particularly seduced by the smokey surrounds and sharp architecture of the 'old' images. Balenciaga's subliminal message seems to be 'these clothes can worn anywhere, as long as it's as chic as they are'.

Balenciaga looking sharp

5. CHANEL
How could we not include these mega-cute Chanel images- a collaboration between a trio of the most-wanted people in fashion, Carine Roitfeld, Freja Beha Erichssen and King Karl himself (who took the photos). The FashEd is particularly enamoured by the shot of Freja looking a little dishevelled with a message scribbled in eyeliner across her forehead. My favourite is the extremely feline whisker and flowers-for-ears combination. Again you can recreate the look for yourself by popping to your local photobooth armed with eyeliner and/or some cat ears, easy!

6. GIVENCHY
While Mulberry takes us on a woodland romp, Givenchy prefers a more exotic rainforest-esque setting. Mariacarla Boscono is cast as a kooky bird of paradise, holding court in her den of sumptuous print and colour.

Givenchy shot by Mert and Marcus

7. MARC JACOBS

This post would not be complete without a mention of our unmitigated delight at Helena Bonham Carter's teaming up with Marc Jacobs and his long-time collaborator Juergen Teller. An absolute stellar choice of ambassador for Marc's AW dottiness. 

A lesson from Helena- You don't have to be a 14 year-old to make fashion fun.

And last but not least, we love this slightly skinny, suitably stubbly indie boy, with his luscious mop of hair, hanging out in his Diesel pants.

 Images courtesy of FashionGoneRogue.com, Diesel.

PRESS PLAY FOR PRADA

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large (Bethan Holt)

So here I am, posting for the first time as Fashion Junior, and who better than Prada to ease us into back into the fashion mojo after a long Summer break. The brand is still riding high on the massive fashionista love-in sparked by the genius concoction of stripes, baroque motifs and bananas in the SS11 collection. The video released yesterday to showcase their AW11/12 campaign does little to abate our crush on Miuccia's quirky aesthetic. This is just a quick post as I'm still getting to grips with the whole having my own desk/ first day at work thing. So on this balmy afternoon in London I leave you with Steven Meisel's depiction of Miuccia's exotic skins and phosphorescent frocks as modelled by the ethereal Kelly Mittendorf, Frida Gustavsson, Ondria Hardin and Antonia Wesseloh. I don't know about you but the haunting soundtrack (which despite extensive research and calls to the Prada Press Office, is still unidentified, making it all the more eerie) gives me goosebumps.

Film courtesy of Prada