Rooney Mara Crush

Rooney Mara has come a long way since starring as Lisbeth Salander in the ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’.  Not only does she consistently WOW on the red carpet but she has also been named as the new face of Calvin Klein’s Downtown fragrance.  Rooney’s recent appearance at the Cannes Film Festival only confirmed she is perfect for the roll!! Purity at it’s best….. 

Rooney Mara for Calvin Klein ‘Downtown’ Fragrance By Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Rooney Mara in Calvin Klein, Cannes Film Festival 2013

Rooney Mara in Givenchy Haute Couture at the Met Ball 2013

JW Anderson Vs Versus

Man of the moment JW Anderson must be eager to impress as he reveals his latest collaboration with Versus this week in New York.  Taking over from Christopher Kane, Anderson has a lot to live up to; but I’m sure given his latest run of success he’ll do just fine!  With Anderson winning the ‘Emerging Talent Award for Ready-to-Wear ‘at this years British Fashion Awards, Donatella obviously has her finger firmly on the fashion pulse – lets hope it’s reflected in the latest Versus collection….coming soon . . . .

JW Anderson Man About Town By Jamie Hawkesworth: JW Anderson Hero Magazine Issue 8 By Jack Borkett

Versus by Christopher Kane AW12

The Met Ball goes PUNK

This year the Met Ball – the most glamourous, fashionable red carpet event of the year, broke the mould; challenged the tradition and went PUNK!!  What better way to celebrate this year’s New York Metropolitan Museum exhibition; ‘Punk: Chaos to Couture’ than inviting a host of celebrities/fashion legends to dress like an anrchist and stick safety pins through their Versace?!

However, after seeing the pictures I am a little worried about who actually received the memo!?  Sienna Miller looked fierce in her fully studded Burberry Prorsum leather jacket whilst Miranda Kerr accessorised with a dangerously spiky Christian Louboutin clutch and SJP even turned up showing her underwear!!  Special mention for Anne Hathaway who looked amazing debuting a punked up, bleached blonde crop to go with her vintage Valentino, Nicole Richie was definitely the punk princess of the night with Dree Hemingway and Leelee Sobieski rocking their own unique style – both showing true Punk attitude!

As for the guests who decided not to embrace the theme and arrived looking as ball gown perfect as ever….they just didn’t cut it; only the Punked made it onto my favourite’s gallery, these girls got it just right……..

Monochrome Punk:  Anne Hathaway in vintage Valentino and Rooney Mara in Givenchy Haute Couture

Studded Punk: Cara Delevinge in Burberry and Sienna Miller in Burberry Prorsum

Punk Princess: Nicole Richie in custom made Topshop and Miley Cyrus in Marc Jacobs

Glamourous Punk: Paloma Faith in Michael Cinco and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Gucci

Alternative Punk: Leelee Sobieski in Dior Haute Couture and Dree Hemingway in Stella McCartney

*All images from Style.com

Basso&Brooke Love

Summer is finally here and what better way to celebrate than reaching for your SS13 prints!!  Basso&Brooke are leaders in this field and this season their genius is expressed in the form of the baseball cap!  From colourful florals to hand drawn sketching, these prints are on another level; never have I lusted after a cap….until now!!

(LtoR): ‘New Floral’; ‘Ghost Garden’; ‘The Joy of The Rabbit’; ‘War and Peace’; ‘Kitsune’ and ‘Not Wool’ All By Basso&Brooke, available to buy here NOW!!

ACNE

I can’t get enough of the Acne collaboration with William Wegman for their SS13 campaign, as if the dogs weren’t cute enough?! My personal fave is the Borsalino Hats number….>>>    

Find the SS13 collection including these pieces online at -  shop.acnestudios.com

Acne Borsalino Hat Dogs – William Wegman and Acne Studios Collaboration SS13

Acne Dogs – William Wegman and Acne Studios Collaboration SS13

Onyx White Laptop Case Dog – William Wegman and Acne Studios Collaboration SS13

Black Taurus Shoe Dog – William Wegman and Acne Studios Collaboration SS13

Rumor Pink Tote Bag Dog – William Wegman and Acne Studios Collaboration SS13

Paris AW13 RTW

And so to the final AW13 fashion week, Paris was as au-inspiring as always, the fashion pack were out in force looking fabulous and as the Chanel show set represented, fashion or at least Chanel is now a dominating force in every corner of the globe – perhaps the World does revolve around fashion after all?  In Paris, you wouldn’t be far wrong; seas of beanies and round sunglasses, sculptured Rupert Sandserdon shoes galore and a whole load of Celine coats adorned the pavements.  Luckily the glamour outside was matched inside as the likes of Celine, Dior, Chanel, Saint Laurent, Chloe, Balenciaga, Valentino…to name but a few, all delivered, some were even the best ever!

Celine RTW AW13: Look 6, Look 18, Look 25 and Look 34

Chloe RTW AW13: Look 8, Look 15, Look 16 and Look 26

Carvan AW13 RTW: Look 9, Look 23, Look 32 and Look 35

Valentino RTW AW13: Look 16, Look 20, and Look 26

Milan RTW AW13

Recession?  When it comes to Milan Fashion Week, there’s no such thing; no one does rich like the Italian fashion crowd and even the snow didn’t seem to stop them.  From the word go Milan took us to the dark side; Gucci’s rainbow collection of SS13 was out and black, dark jewel colours and fierce slicked back hair was in; the AW13 Gucci girl meant business.  Highlights included python skin skirt suits, embroidery, feathers and the gorgeously feminine (but tough) silk skirted evening gowns.  Versace came out strong, exploring the punk revolution with tartan/pvc clad models storming the catwalk; even Prada kept the tone dark, using grungy browns and flashes of mustard.  Moving away from the strong silhouettes, Prada concentrated on softer drapes in tweeds, un-fitted leathers and fur with some Prada magic coming from the occasional flash of contrasting colour (I need the aqua green tweed two piece!!!).  So where was the fun? The kitsch glamour? The colour of the Italian fashion capital?  That job was for one man, Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi with his ‘FF’ Fun Fur archive collection.  Fendi AW13 showed off a collection of fur like you’ve never seen it, accompanied by mohawke’s and what looked (at first) like a small Sesame Street character hanging off each bag, the mood was lightened and Fendi took centre stage.

It was then left to Dolce and Gabbanna to help to bring Milan to an end with their beautiful, classic and oh so Italian collection that, as always, Wowed!

Gucci RTW AW13: Look 3, Look 30, Look 43 and Look 45

Fendi RTW AW13: Look 8, Look 19, Look 22 and Look 27

Dolce&Gabbana RTW AW13: Look 5, Look 46 and Look 70

LFW….

And so to London, the excitement mounted!  Never one to disappoint, LFW seems to get better every season and this week was no different.  Christopher Kane showed no less than 60 looks – successfully capitalising on the extra budget he now has thanks to investment from the  French luxury conglomerate PPR’s, Tom Ford returned to main stream fashion week and after an exciting NYFW it was up to London to keep the tempo going.  With such a forward thinking line up there was no doubt London could rise to the challenge…..

David Koma AW13: Look 3, Look 14 and Look 17

• The ‘Coming of Age’ – David Koma:  A designer I have appreciated but never personally taken note of until now.  Apparently this season the inspiration came from old vinyl records, but there was nothing old about this collection.  The use of innovative, interesting textures and materials gave David Koma’s AW13 offering an intriguing subtlety that hasn’t been present in previous collections.  I can imagine the cooler crowd warming to these pieces; think Alexa in Look 14 (above) with a pair of Chanel pumps? No? I’m sure Koma won’t need to look far to find some other A-Lister waiting in the wings…

Burberry Prorsum AW13: Look 6, Look 10, Look 12 and Look 38

• The Fashion Powerhouse – Burberry Prorsum:  Pre SS13 the last few seasons from Burberry have all merged into one, the colour pallet and cuts seemed to be duplicated and as attractive as they were, I felt the collections became a little predictable.  SS13 however couldn’t go by un-noticed and was a rainbow of metallic beauties that I’m sure will adorn the front rows of fashion week but perhaps on a more commercial level not so much.  That brings us to the latest offering, AW13 which in my opinion ticked all the Burberry boxes and then some!  As soon as Karlie Kloss walked out in Look 6 sporting that rubber pencil skirt/shirt combo I knew we were in for a treat!  Still as effortless and on-brand as ever, the collection highlight was the variety of animal prints on offer, often all mixed together.  Evening-wear isn’t Burberry’s strong point so the metal belted pieces that came towards the end of the show, can be left in the sample room and the rest?  That can be sent directly to me…please?

Matthew Williamson AW13: Look 1, Look 4 and Look 15

• The Surprise – Matthew Williamson:  When I think of Matthew Williamson I think bohemian, pattern, sexy, womanly, perhaps not words you would use to describe the AW13 show.  From the off, Look 1 consisting of a sculptural coat with geometric inserts would have looked more at home on the Carvan catwalk -that was until the rest of the collection was revealed.  The 70′s colour pallet and geometric patterns ran throughout with particular favourites, the striped dress and suit, the wrap skirt and fringed necklace added that bohemian edge to a strong new direction for Matthew Williamson.

As London drew to a close nearly as quickly as it started we were left with a more grown-up feel; brands seemed to have experimented subtly with textures and materials rather than full on looks.  It may now be the shortest fashion week but it is still the sweetest!

NYFW best in show…..

Masculinity, oversized outerwear, silk and moody, minimal hair and beauty – just a few of the obvious trends on show at NYFW.  During the week, there were for me a few stand out collections; the perfection that was Derek Lam, the surprisingly current and ‘street’ DKNY and 3.1 Phillip Lim’s punk biker girls!  New York showcased some surprising textures and silhouettes this year that seemed altogether more relaxed yet at the same time more risky than usual.  Despite the exaggerated silhouette being taken a bit literally by some; New York seemed edgier than the preppy princess stereotype would have you believe  - perhaps they were taking note from London?  Whatever it was it worked!

3.1Phillip Lim AW13 RTW: Look 9, Look 13 and Look 44

Derek Lam AW13 RTW: Look 14, Look 18 and Look 23

DKNY AW13 RTW: Look 1, Look 8 and Look 33

NYFW – Trending Tobacco

NYFW Autumn/Winter 2013 is in full flow and from what I’ve seen, it’s been a directional few days for the American fashion capital!  We’ve seen luxurious knitwear, oversized outerwear and perhaps most surprisingly for New York; rather a lot of masculine inspired pieces creating an overall more structured, masculine silohette than we are used to from New York.  Double breasted oversized blazers, structured tops, plaid and colour blocking are thus far the big trends I can pick out.  One of my favourite themes comes in a colour-way that is never too far from the spotlight and New York A/W13 seems smitten – it is of course the ever flattering, chic yet simple Tobacco/caramel/camel brown; whatever you call it, this shade flatters all!! Here are a few of my personal fave nude/taupe/caramel sightings straight from NY…..

Rodart go nude for Look 18 & Look 8 whilst Victoria Beckham, Look 6 looks soft in Taupe

Look 16 at Jill Sandler Navy mixes it up with contrasting earthy tones, Slinky deep tabacco shades intensify Look 18 and Look 47 at Victoria Beckham and Marc by Marc Jacobs respectivly

Graduating to the darkest Tobacco tones, Look 22 at Jill Sandler Navy and Look 13 at Donna Karen adding a little bit of metallic couretesy of DVF Look 6