Summer the season for fashion parties
The season of fashionable parties has begun. This week, Hardy Amies, Vivienne Westwood, Premier Model Management, and Gareth Pugh all have something to celebrate. From birthdays, to product launches, to couture; fashion houses are throwing decadent parties to mark the start of summer.
On Tuesday, Hardy Amies showed his couture collection at Amika to a star-studded crowd. Celebrities such as Virginia Bates and Chloe Delevigne were privy to a preview of his luxurious tailoring and sexy evening dresses in caramel and gunmetal shades, followed by a lavish party where BoomBox DJ Jerry Bouthier lit up the danceflloor.
Elle magazine celebrated their annual summer party hosted by editor-in-chief Lorraine Candy. Set in the gardens of Home House, the fashion crowd drank Perrier Jouet until late evening, before heading off to Vivienne Westwood's fragrance launch party, held on the HM President boat on the Thames. The stylish Brazilian band CSS played an electric set before DJ and editor Princess Julia took over the decks.
Thursday sees the launch of John Lee Bird's exhibition ‘Before Encore' in Notting Hill's 20 th Century Theatre, which includes a show by newcomer Mattijs van Bergen, who will preview his autumn winter 07 collection. Friday sees the opening of Fashion in Motion with Gareth Pugh, already dubbed to be the hottest ticket in town.
14 June 2007
Cover up for summer
Summer has arrived and the months of covering up our legs and arms are over. Or are they? As fashion has it, this is not the season of the skimpy swimsuit. Take note from designers such as Michael Kors, Stella McCartney and Miuccia Prada who made the most convincing case for poolside modesty when she paired jewel-tone satin tunics and turbans straight out of "Sunset Boulevard."
And as unimaginable as it might have seemed, our bare-it-all pop culture is catching on to the cover-up trend. Scarlett Johansson played the 1940s starlet in the April issue of Vogue, baring very little as she posed in Dolce & Gabbana and Prada at the pool and the beach. Another curvy girl, Beyonce Knowles, posed for the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in a yellow-and-orange bikini of her own design with an ample boy-cut brief.
This move toward covering up could be a reaction to too many years of low waisted jeans and thong baring backsides. But it's also about a renewed interest in getting dressed, even for the pool. It's about returning the mystery to fashion by not letting it all hang out.
Where bathing suits are concerned, today's safe was yesterday's scandalous. But this summer we've come full circle. Fashion is telling us to hark back to a simpler time, when a pair of oversized sunglasses, a shapely swimsuit and a heady dose of self confidence was sexier than a thong and revealing bikini tops.
6 June 2007
Fashion's Hippie Trail
This summer, if you want to follow the road to a fashionable season, take the hippie trail. Boho Chic is one of those trends that won't go away and is determined to stay for the coming months. A new footloose and fancy-free marks the summer's carpe diem when it comes to dressing up. Or down.
Even the shows in Milan, Paris and New York seemed to furtively follow the hippie trail. Detours via India and the Far East were evident in the catwalk collections, and summer, according to designers, is all about easy living and comfortable glamour. Wedges are the new heels and you can wear them with cropped trousers and a slinky top for day, or smarten them up for evening with a decorative kaftan wrap-dress or lace-trim skirts and beaded tops.
Mettalics and florals are very much alive this season and delicate flower prints give way to some of summer's prettiest inspiration. The high street is blooming with great prints, so you needn't go overboard on budget. French Connection, Mango and Reiss have some of the strongest ethnic looks if you fancy bright, bold and folksy details.
Summer glorifies a return to relaxed-fashion. Gone are the tweed suits, heavy jumpers and body-hugging clothes. Fashion's cyclical nature has come round to a new freedom where laid-back glamour means easy, feminine pieces. So don't equate boho, with mere frivolity. Tailored prints can look very sexy - and smart - and the layered look is key to understated elegance. Whilst investing in classical pieces is always a good thing, revel in the fun of walking the hippie trail, as next season's fashion will see a return to a more demure nature.
9 April 2005
Summer Is All About Havaianas
A good pair of Havaiana sandals look good in the city, on the beach or at the pool, blends well with the blue of the sea and sky but is also equal to the demands of urban life. Such is the proverb of the famous Brazilian sandal. It is, without doubt, the most democratic sandal known to man because in the words of the writer Jorge Amado (himself the wearer of jeans and Havaianas), they "grace the feet of both the poor and rich alike".
Havaianas have been in fashion for over four decades and have survived the hippie movement, strode through the 70's, 80's and 90's and are in fine form today. In 1994 the sandal was re-designed with the single-coloured Top Havaianas and ever since the fashion columns of newspapers and magazines were unanimous on their revolution as a style icon: they are the obligatory fashion accessory for summer.
In the Havaianas factory in Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil, 5 pairs of sandals per second are produced, which add up to 105 million pairs per year. Since their launch 2.2 billion pairs of Havaiana sandals have been produced and sold (if all the size 37 sandals were laid end to end they would go around the world 50 times). Today we know that two out of every three Brazilians get through one pair of Havaianas on average per year.
The quality of the product, the marketing strategy and the advertising campaign, based on the real statements of famous people who wear Havaianas - a tried and tested tradition of São Paulo Alpargatas for many years - have given life to the traditional sandal, although it really needs no great introduction. This summer, wear them with dresses, skirts, jeans, cut-offs, trousers, or with pretty much any outfit you like. Our only recommendation is to not wear them with socks. Available from Selfridges, Office and other good stockists.
20 March 2005
Summer Dressing
In
case you hadn't noticed, the dress is back this summer. Girls in full skirts,
50s frocks and flirty dresses have been spotted around the capital since the
start of the beautiful weather. This time, fashion is on a nostalgic trip like
never before, so there is something suitable for everyone.
There are romantic dresses in silk prints, rippling with feminine ruffles and flounces. Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs and Diane Von Furstenberg have all looked to the 20s and 30s for inspirations, and produced some of the most romantic dresses seen in years.
More pared down - but equally stunning - are hourglass 'new Look' gowns from Miuccia Prada, who has an unfaltering know for knowing what a girl really wants to wear. Her full-skirted mousseline dress in moss green is the stuff of pure fashion fantasy.
For pure elegance, try your hand at Lanvin, Rochas and Nina Ricci; these houses are redefining the concept of party dressing with elegant, modern takes on the 50s cocktail dress.
Designers have also shown us how an individual twist can make a dress stand out from the crowd. In other words, it's not what you wear but the way you wear it; adding an unexpected touch - such as a simple woven leather belt to cinch in a chiffon gown (like Chloe) or wearing something fabulously flamboyant in a casual way, like teaming a Cavalli dress with Roman sandals. This summer is all about the dress. Why opt for a simple outfit such as jeans and a pretty top when there are so many gorgeous dresses around?
A Short Moment
Summer weather calls for shorts and fashion is dictating that shorts are back. For the best look, wear them turned up for the chic look, or rolled up for casual. For evening team with a chiffon top & heels or for those scorching days with a cotton vest and flip-flops.
9 June 2004
Poolside
This summer is all about the poolside look. Beautiful printed scarves - think Missoni, Pucci, Versace - tied into a turban, a twist of silk, wrapped casually around your head. Be inspired by Bianca Jagger, bright prints and anything from Marrakech.
9 March 2004