Work Placement

So this week I was working at Brides Magazine in the fashion department helping the shopping editor Astrid Joss and assistant Emma Shaw with returns and general errands! I had so much fun, even though it was a bit of a struggle getting up at 6am to get to London in time from Southampton!! I loved it...I had to pack up and send back about 50+ wedding dresses, and some of them were HUGE and sooo heavy! They were all absolutely gorgeous, and all designer brands (of course) from Christian Lacroix, to Temperley to Jenny Packham and so many more; and the SHOES!!!! oh how I've never seen so many Jimmy Choos and Louboutins in all my life...it was very hard to tear myself away on my last day let me tell you. On my last day I had to go to the Conde Nast studio and help the photographer dress a mannequin with an enormous but beautiful Big fat gypsy wedding stylie dress which definitely took some strength! I received a text message while I was there from Emma asking if I was able to stay for the rest of the week, which I was very flattered by- I was obviously doing something right which is always nice to know, but unfortunately I had to decline as I must now turn my full attention back to 3rd Floor Magazine as it's coming to that time where we will be starting to plan our shoots for the publication and start to interview a selection of creatives within the industry! Very exciting stuff! Here's a cheeky pic of just a selection of the beauteous shoes!

Mary Katrantzou- Ready To Wear Collection for Topshop London Fashion Week

So I was just taking a peak at the latest trend reports for S/S 2011 and came across Mary Katrantzou's ready to wear collection which was showcased at the new Topshop space at London Fashion Week. Her designs are so unique and innovative- this collection was entitled 'C’est Ci Nes Pas Une Chambre' which translates to 'This Is Not A Room'; which it most definitely was not.  The collection consisted of skirts, dresses and tunics which all had digitally printed images of a room or part of one; each combination showing a surreal 3D esque scene. Skirts were conveyed as lampshades with beading along the hemlines, and shoulders and hips were draped with fringing and tassles and necklines adorned with chandelier style embellishment and trailing skirts mirrored that of drapes and curtains. The whole collection viewed together depicts a very much 'outside meets inside' mood. It is said that Katrantzou was very much inspired by Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin's fashion editorials, in which the interiors are often set up in a rather graphic way. You can see the full collection at vogue.com, but for the time being, here are a few of my personal favourites!

All Walks Project- with Caryn Franklin

Today was a very eye opening and inspiring day; Caryn Franklin, former editor of ID magazine, host of the Clothes Show Live and all round Fashionista gave a talk on the project she is working on called All Walks Beyond The Catwalk, which is a project based on embracing all shapes, sizes, races and ages within the Fashion Industry, founded by herself, Erin O'Connor and Debra Bourne.
I was excited to attend this talk, as I am basing my dissertation around the evolution of the female form over the years, so this was very interesting and inspiring for me! At first, I thought the project was going to be about completely discarding the 'Size Zero' from the catwalk and to campaign about using 'Real Women'...which personally I don't believe in as being quite naturally petite myself- I find this rather discriminating (although I am a healthy size 8 I should add!)
However..this was not the case...Caryn explained that the project's aim is to incorporate all types of women- all diversities, rather than replacing one idealised body shape with another; which I am a great believer of and think this is an amazing project and I think it will be truly succesful! Caryn Franklin was such a lovely lady and I felt extremely priviledged to have met her and heard her views. 


Follow the project on Twitter and on Facebook

 We were given the question, 'What does the body mean to you' and asked to write our answers on a large piece of canvas, which shall be exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery in February next year, as part of a collaboration from designers, models and photographers involved in the promotion of All Walks.

Here are a few examples

♥ Your Body!! 

 One of my messages

One of my favourites! 

By my good friend Rakhee Tailor x 

Another one of mine... 

The lovely Caryn Franklin and I

Ralph Lauren 4D- Fascinating!

My tutor just showed us this in one of our seminars - I'd heard about it but not yet seen it for myself. It's crazy how much the future of fashion is developing with all the innovative ways of displaying creativity!

Twitter

So it appears November is the month for me getting things done! I have finally given in and joined the world of Twitter this week!! At first I was very reluctant to sign up...but now I must admit I'm slowly becoming an addict...it is such a useful way of keeping up to date with what is going on in fashion, music and the art world. Follow me here!!