Diary of a London Fashionista

In Karl We Trust

diaryofalondonfashionista — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:14:00 +0000

I couldn’t help feeling insanely jealous this morning as I scrolled through all the pictures of the Chanel Cruise ’10 collection. Venice provided the perfect backdrop to one of the most exquisite collections shown this year and as I stared longingly at the Venetian sunset, the press sipping bellinis and the hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of Chanel floating down the wooden catwalk, I couldn’t help but wish I was there instead of having to face yet another rainy day in London. Influenced by 1930s Venice, the show paid homage to its host with dark, Venetian mask style sunglasses, whilst the models wore their hair in super-short, tight curls and sported dark, sultry eye make-up. Lagerfeld did not disappoint, with beige chiffon, double C print dresses, iconic, monochrome stripes and bikini tops paired with high waisted, tweed skirts and blazers. Chunky silver jewellery and metallic fabrics off-set the acres of logo printed chiffon and pale lace used on cocktails dresses and jackets. Guests apparently left with Chanel beach towels, which will definitely be one of the summer’s hottest beach accessories, along with the gorgeous round travel bag, with chain handle in the style of the 2.55 bag. Karl, we love you.

Bruno on Twitter!

diaryofalondonfashionista — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:15:59 +0000

After the success of Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen is venturing into fashion with his latest character, Bruno – a spoof fashion stylist from Austria. The film isn’t released in the UK until 10th July, but pre-released clips are extremely funny and it looks to be every bit as successful as Borat. For now however, you can follow Bruno on Twitter (brunovassup). My personal favourite tweet is:

Fashion is ze lifesavingest of all ze sciences. NOT 1 suicide bomber has ever blown zemselves up vearing Marc Jacobs. U do ze mathematischer.

London Loves…May

diaryofalondonfashionista — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:54:03 +0000

Check out all the things I’m loving this month on the London Loves page…

NYC Sample Sales

diaryofalondonfashionista — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:20:35 +0000

Nanette Lepore: May 20 – 22, 9 am – 7pm, 225 West 35th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, 4th Floor.

Luca Luca: May 20 – 22, May 26 – 29, 9am – 6pm, May 30 – 31, 11am – 5pm, 19 West 36th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

Charlotte Ronson: May 27-29, 10am – 7pm, 1071 Sixth Avenue, at 41st Street., ste 301.

Fashion News: 07/04/09

diaryofalondonfashionista — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:52:11 +0000

1. Congratulations to Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady who had their second wedding in Costa Rica at the weekend. Gisele looked stunning in her dress, that had a 10 foot train, but the wedding didn’t go quite according to plan after shots were fired at intruding paparazzi by bodyguards, who were trying to protect the exclusive magazine deal the couple had.

2. Congratulations to Sophie Dahl and Jamie Cullum, who have just announced they are engaged!

3. Fashionista spotted Dolce and Gabbana shooting their Fall 09 campaign in Brooklyn, NYC, today in a gym…

4. Monday night saw the premiere of ‘Coco Avant Chanel’ in Paris – Audrey Tautou, who is playing Coco Chanel in the film, looked as stunning as ever in Chanel Couture

Photo from wwd.com

5. WWD posted an exclusive behind the scenes video from the Longchamp ad campaign, featuring Kate Moss and Sasha Pivovarova looking like twins, shot by Mert and Marcus in LA’s Santa Anita Park…

6. Finally, adverts for WhatIsTheNewBlack.tv have been plastered all over NYC and I eventually got round to checking it out today. The site acts like a virtual store in which you can dress the model and then it judges you on your choices – apparently no matter what the season is I always stay a step ahead. Go me! However, a few questions: why is there such a limited choice of clothes? why are the clothes so boring? why are there only 3 categories? and why isn’t there a tool that allows you to upload photos of your own wardrobe and preview what your own outfits look like, Clueless style?! Sort out the above and I think they might be on to a winner! http://whatisthenewblack.tv/

London Sample Sales

diaryofalondonfashionista — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:21:42 +0000

According to Daily Candy, the following sample sales are taking place:

Rigby and Peller: 16th April 12pm – 9pm, 17th April 10am-8pm, 20th Century Theatre, 291 Westbourne Grove, W11 2QA (020 7229 4179)

London Vintage Fashion, Textiles and Accessories Fair: 19th April 8am-5pm, Hammersmith Town Hall, King Street, W6 9JU (020 8543 5075)

Designer Sales UK: 23rd April 12pm-10pm, 24th April 11am-9pm, 25th April 11am-8pm, 26th April 10am-5pm, Boiler House, Brick Lane, E1 6RU (01273 858464)

Anita’s Vintage Fashion Fair: 26th April 10am-4.30pm, 20th Century Theatre, 291 Westbourne Grove, W11 2QA (020 7229 4179)

The London Accessory Sale and Secret Sample Sale: 30 April 2pm-9pm, 1st May 12pm-8pm, 2nd May 12pm-7pm, 3rd May 12pm-6pm, T2, F Block, Old Truman Brewery, 87 Brick Lane, E1 6QL (07900 432661)

Reiss: 30th April, 1st May 8.30am-8pm, 2nd May 9am-7pm, 3rd May 10am-4pm, Music Rooms, 26 South Molton Lane, W1K 5AB (020 7629 8199)

London Loves…April

diaryofalondonfashionista — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:55:29 +0000

Check out the London Loves page for everything I’m loving this month!

Kate Moss for Topshop S/S 09

diaryofalondonfashionista — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:53:44 +0000

Whilst I accept that pretty much the whole world is enamored with Kate Moss right now, her new collection for Topshop once again did little to convince me of her designing abilities. Some are calling this collection her strongest yet and for the most part I would have to agree, the whole collection is very stylish and very wearable. The inspiration for this collection was apparently Kate’s love of the prints designed by London department store, Liberty. And it is this part of the collection that I have an issue with. There’s no question that the prints are gorgeous and perfect for summer, but Kate has simply taken these designs from Liberty and put her own name on them. Despite this, the collection will probably be another sell out but given that Kate is loved for her personal style and the fact that whatever she puts her name on turns to gold, I would have appreciated a collection from her that didn’t rely so heavily and obviously on the designs of somebody else. Still, at least she did a good job of turning the prints into dresses!

Topshop does it again…

diaryofalondonfashionista — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:15:11 +0000

So after the openings of Lanvin and Gucci in London, it was time for New York’s new store opening: Topshop, the most spectacular of them all. Sir Philip Green held no less than three parties to celebrate the opening, all with his number one girl, Kate Moss, in attendance. The Broadway store itself is stunning and, at Thursday’s opening, had NYC’s fashionistas queueing for over 3 hours, whilst Topshop staff handed out water and a nearby coffee shop set up a stall. Kate appeared in a green, chiffon dress and biker jacket from her own collection for Topshop and the crowd went crazy for her. Inside, the store is very much like the Oxford Street branch, an emporium of the coolest clothes being bought by the coolest kids in town. The launch parties were attended by Jennifer Lopez, Alexander Wang, Jennifer Hudson, Daphne Guiness and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld. However, despite the universal love for Topshop and Kate Moss, some of the more discerning fashionistas have expressed concern that the clothes they once had shipped in specially from the UK will now be worn by everyone Stateside, whilst fashionista.com pointed out that the clothes are retailing for more than in Britain. However, the Topshop success train shows no signs of slowing down, with rumours that Sir Philip Green is planning to open another store soon.

The Gucci Sloaney Bag

diaryofalondonfashionista — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:10:50 +0000

Photo from handbag.com

In honour of the reopening of the Gucci store on London’s Sloane Street, Frida Giannini has designed the above limited edition bag, which is available only from the Sloane Street store. The bag is named after the street’s famous Sloane Rangers - young and wealthy, upperclass Londoners-but fails to capture the essense of the Sloane Ranger. Princess Diana is considered the ultimate Sloane Ranger but there is no way she would have ever been seen with this bag! In my opinion, this bag looks cheap and lacks the luxurious feel that designer bags should have. This bag looks like it came from a tourist souvenir shop selling fake handbags! People buying this must surely only be buying it for the fact that it’s Gucci, limited edition and very expensive. When the new store looks so stunning, more effort should have been made into creating a bag to match.