I didn’t get a ticket to the Mark Fast show. He is probably one of my favourite designers. But I didn’t get a ticket. Not that I’m bitter about it or anything but did I mention that he is one of my favourite designers? And did I also mention that I didn’t get a ticket to his show?

Hmm anyway like I say I’m not bitter… but if I was bitter, which I’m not, my last women’s wear show of fashion week might have done something to lighten this mood, because hold on to your hats Mark Fast fans; a new knitwear kid on the block has arrived and her name is Alice Palmer.

Fitted yet uniquely sculptural knitwear was the order of the day, or rather evening, at this show. A simple palette of black and white with the odd flash of gold lurex thrown in (ooh love gold, love lurex!) made sure these numbers were both fabulously original and completely wearable.

Highlights included the hidden pockets of contrasting colours within the dresses, a two tone cape and the fitted black crop and mini worn with long white knitted coat which had a daring ‘Pretty Woman’ feel to it.

With a touch of futuristic panelling, a hint of skeletal ribbing and a whole lot of sexy cut out detailing… I soon found myself asking… Mark Who?

All my fashion week goings ons are on my blog

BB
xxx

All photos my own

As fashion week went on I started to look forward to the presentations more and more. A break from the fast paced stress of rushing from show to show, the presentations usually lasted a few hours meaning you could drop in whenever you could and browse at your leisure.

Although despite the free alcohol and free food (at one presentation I was even given carbs! At a fashion event! Whatever next?) I found they could sometimes be a little unimaginative, a few mannequins displaying the clothes and nothing to really tell me anything about the designer or what their collection was representing, meaning often I was in and out within 10mins.

However when I arrived at Somerset House on the morning of Day 5, I was shown how informative and interesting a presentation could be. Christian Blanken is a designer I am familiar with from my days interning at his pr agency many moons ago so I already had high hopes for the collection which is usually somewhere in between elegant separates and to die for tailoring. The presentation set exactly the right tone for the clothes; clean, understated and effortlessly chic. A rolling stream of modest looking models entered the all white Portico Rooms in pairs, styled in the latest Christian Blanken looks. They seemed unaware of anyone around them, posed for no one and simply stood for long enough for us all to admire the beauty of their outfit. The clothes themselves were fuss free and super sharp with his signature luxe sportswear edge, metallic gunmetal silver minis were teamed with layered knitwear and classic blazers, soft yet luxurious textured and fur jackets in monochrome colours were offset with neatly tailored trousers, and printed jersey seperates were worn with razor cut leather.

This was to be trumped yet again though when I visited my second presentation of the day – Maria Francesca Pepe. Set in a dark gothic atmosphere where lights were low and music was eery, entering this presentation was a challenge in itself… led only by a faint red light and scary horned mannequin inside a religious circle. Once inside the room, live model mannequins sat freakishly still upon tables and benches, made up to look like silver statues and showcasing acres of Maria’s signature fierce jewellery – wear.

Glass Cabinets held this seasons key pieces including amulets and horns, leather cuffs and chest adornments and spiked and studded stilettos.

With a suitably dramatic feel to the collection and a strong sense of theatre to the pieces, it is no surprise that Maria has quoted icons such as Rihanna and Lady Gaga as the muses or her fierce, quirky sense of style.

See the rest of the action from my fashion week here

BB

Xxx

All photos my own

If there is one tiny little bone of contention I have about my experience of fashion week, it is that often my standing ticket, in other words not important enough to be in the line of view for photographers, has somewhat limited my views of the outfits as a whole during shows. To put it bluntly standing at the back means I am never privy to what I’m sure more often than not, are extremely covetable shoes… and if there is one thing I love about fashion – it is the shoes!

After constantly reading tweets about fabulous shoes here, fabulous shoes there, when I finally got my chance to be bumped up to front row at The Joanne Hynes/ Helen Steele catwalk, I threw myself and my bags over the seat so quickly I nearly took out the photographer next to me!

And if I could have picked any show to be privy to the footwear it would have been this one… as soon it the first model strutted out in patent wedges so high they practically came up to my knees when sitting, I knew it was going to be good.

From then along with long tight dresses, gold lame and patent skirts and full fur coats, the shoes continued to dazzle me time and time again.

Patchwork Snakeskin flat Chelsea boots in an array of colours were a highlight, as were the eccentric glam rock platforms, both designed by Joanne Hynes. Hand painted clogs in distressed look metallic bronze fitted perfectly with the bright accents and graphic prints of the collection.

A collaboration between the Irish designer Hynes and the artist Helen Steele, the printed items were what really stood out. Steele’s own series of paintings had been translated into dresses, scarves and tees with digitally constructed moving images and then clad with Hynes signature crystal hallmarks to create a wonderful clash of pattern and texture.

A favourite outfit for me, and one I would happily wear tomorrow if I could was the black patent ra-ra skirt teamed with gorgeous cream arran knit and shiny purple wicker platforms. Along with a stylish blonde hair cut on the model and a swish of bright orange lipstick it nearly had me drooling.

All the rest of the fun from fashion week is on my blog

BB

xxx

All photos my own

These two completely different labels both showed straight after each other at the Fashion Scout and both in their own way completely made my Monday.

Bunmi Koko was one of the busiest shows I have experienced at this venue, perhaps due to the success of their previous creative show last season which saw colourful tribal prints, pom poms, giant knitted puffball creations and a tongue in cheek attitude.

With more colour than has been seen on any catwalk this season, the latest offering definitely had the fun factor. Aptly named kaliedoscopia we were given an inkling as to what was to come. And it did what it said on the tin… bright colourful kaleidoscopic prints featured on bouncy ruffled and folded dresses. Add to this a touch of sequin sparkle, lashings of delightful gold lame, a rainbow of both warm and acidic colours and futuristic silver studded visors and what resulted was an extremely compelling show.

From one extreme to another, I left the fun and frills of Bunmi Koko to head into the sleek sophistication of Samantha Cole. Showcasing an entirely black collection, it may have been easy to dismiss this range as safe or uninventive… however before the first model had even finished her walk of the room I had realized it was neither. To make plain black clothing interesting is a skill not many designers have but Samantha Cole’s use of embossing on luxury velour and suede fabrics, geometric printing on leather and gorgeous crochet knitwear all made it look completely effortless.

The clothes were not particularly outlandish, apart from a rather risqué leather leotard I think I would wear every piece, but the luxury element was obvious and despite the fact that an outfit might have only consisted of a pair of leggings and a crochet jumper… they were a seriously sexy pair of leggings and crochet jumper. The overall look was that of demure elegance with a seductive edge. Hot!

Don’t forget you can read about all my fashion week happenings over on my blog

BB

xxx

All photos my own

The anticipation before a Pam Hogg show is electric, you can just feel the excitement, buzz and nerves in the air over what the hell she is going to come up with next… as one of our wonderful British eccentrics Pam Hogg never fails to shock and this AW11 she really went all out.

With Daisy Lowe and Alice Dellal walking I had a feeling this would be a Brit pack fueled fashwar affair and I wasn’t wrong. Jamie Winstone, Jodie Harsh and Mummy Dellal all on one side, Matt Smith, Karen Gillian, Paloma Faith and Boy George on the other. After an excruciatingly long wait outside in the freezing cold (apparently the models got held up at Vivienne Westwood trying to tame their ridiculously huge show hair) us mere mortals were finally given the green light (or black sticker) to go inside. One of the busiest so far we were packed like sardines into the small space, although considering I could no longer feel my face from the cold, the bodyheat of so many eager individuals was somewhat welcomed.

There was definitely a roudier atmosphere here than previous shows and even when the deafening music began the chattering didn’t seem to stop.

It all began fairly safely, well as safe as you can get with Pam Hogg, long leather belted coats and fitted dresses featured tan leather strapping. Heads were adorned with what looked like leather bicycle saddles and hair was curled and piled high in a Mohican style.

We had a brief white moment with a rather chic (I know) Jackie O number and fetching feather pillbox hat before the crazy started sneaking through with multi-coloured furs, black and white superhero esque catsuits and models sporting what looked like dead dogs on their heads.

It was a pretty long show and seemed to morph through a number of different collections. Next came the digital print section where we saw sprayed on bodysuits, fitted cleavage showing bodycon and hooded dresses with massive lampshade skirts in a number of different coloured swirling prints. The headpieces slowly got bigger and more extravagant as we watched the rainbow develop.

Daisy Lowe of course looked gorgeous but I’m just not convinced with Alice Dellal as a model, for one she is far too short and next to all the six foot tall leggy lovelies she just looked ridiculous. I’m all for showing how the clothes can look on real people but I’m just going to put it out there… she is not even that pretty. Sorry to any Dellal fans around but it’s true. I saw her last summer at 1234 festival fronting her band that no one can remember the name of with her half shaved head and shine to getting naked and as far as playing a rock chick goes she does that well. But as a model, she conjurs up the same feelings I had when the Geldof sisters modeled for PPQ – it just doesn’t work for me.

Anyway back to the collection and after what felt like an eternity of watching the same piece drift out in a different shade or colour clash everyone seemed to be getting a bit restless and the chatter noise had risen significantly. Just the right time for Pam to issue us all a wake up call and let the crazy truly begin.

First out we had eery gothic nuns dressed entirely in pink velour, then came crows on shoulders and sheer bodysuits that made Catwoman look tame.

The stand out look for me, well it was one which was hard to forget, was when this brave model appeared completely naked bar some strategically placed leather straps around her nether regions. Lady Gaga eat your heart out.

The finale then saw Alice Dellal and Daisy Lowe as golden geese, complete with sequins, fur and swan like headpieces do their best ‘Swan Lake’ walking on water dance down the stage.  Not quite sure whether to laugh or cry, gasp or smile… it was completely mesmerizing.

With a wink to Matt Smith on the way back, Daisy Lowe ended the show and the hour of eccentricity was over for another season.

See my full Day 3 here

BB

xxx

A great little addition to my busy Sunday afternoon, Fashion Mode was a showcase of three separate designers under the roof of one fabulously entertaining catwalk show. Suited me perfectly – No braving the cold or queuing for 45 minutes – I was able to view three completely different collections without having to move an inch.

Florian Jayet – To boldly go where no man has gone before…

First up was Florian Jayet whose collection literally travelled to new dimensions with other wordly dresses, quilted leather trousers and aztec shaped jackets which wouldn’t have looked out of place on a powerful alien race of women in a sci-fi show. To add to this theme all of the models wore metal spiked headpieces and severe rolled up hair making their space age look all the more effective.

As a closet sci-fi geek… shh don’t tell… I was somewhat drawn to the steely stares and angular poses of the models. Leather trousers with ribbed effect rouching at the calfs gave the effect of body armour and the clean palette of black, white and brown meant no nonsense futuristic fashion.

The stand out pieces were a long black dress with shell like structured top and flowing heavy silk bottom, and a brown tweed swing cape with bazaar leather cone shaped shoulders… both taking the power shoulder to a whole new level.

It’s funny what the glamour of a fashion show can do… I found myself very much wanting to channel metal headwear that wasn’t a million miles away from those crazy head braces people with buck teeth have to wear… hmm out of the bubble of fashion week I’m not sure I could pull it off!

James Hillman – The Modern Man

Round two and it was over to James Hillman to show us what our modern day man should be wearing. An all black range of smart suiting with chic leather and waxed panel inserts adorned the gorgeous male models. Bounding down the catwalk so fast I was struggling to take a decent photo, these fitted pieces created a striking silhouette. I loved the stylish black belted trench coat and there were also a few great leather holdalls which although designed for men, wouldn’t look out of place in my wardrobe.

Carlotta Actis Barone – Snow White…

Last but not least and back to the fantasy world was Carlotta Actis Barone. This time we were transported to an arctic wonderland full of snow queens, ice maidens and Inuit chic. Every model came down the catwalk with eerily frosted faces, large white eyelashes, silver studded lips and natty birds nest hair. The collection included bouncy blue prom dresses with full red underskirts, hooded black leather coats worn with contrasting white fur hand muffs and transparent geometric patterned leggings.

Carlotta is known for her projection of political and ethical issues through the clothes she designs and this latest offering was no exception. This collection was designed to highlight the cruelty against animals, particularly seals and the slaughter for fur.

Blue represented the sea, white the snow and ice and the bright red accents represented the violence and cruelty inflicted. Traditional Inuit clothing influences also come through in the hooded knitwear and snow white faux fur. However despite the serious message behind the designs, the overall effect of the collection was that of fun and fantasy.

The finale, which drew the whole show to an end, saw a striking long red satin dress flow down the catwalk on a ginger natty haired model accessorized with a white faux fur shawl which I presume represented the seal.

It was quite simply… a showstopper.

Keep up with my daily musings over on my blog

BB

xxx

All photos my own

My trips to the Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue over this AW11 LFW have been some of my most interesting experiences… An independent platform for new and emerging designers to showcase their work, often the collections shown here are daring, eclectic and a whole lot of fun! Young talents turned household names such as David Koma, William Tempest and Peter Pilotto all have the Fashion Scout to thank for launching them into the fashion stratosphere.

Georgia Hardinge is one such designer who has shown here for the last three seasons in a row and is the winner of this year’s Vauxhall Fashion Scout Merit Award. Tipped as the rising star of this season, I was more than a little intrigued to see what she had to offer…

And risen she has… straight into my list of  ’designers I am SERIOUSLY coveting’…

From the structural ‘Black Swan’ esque fluted capes and ruched bodycon dresses to the soft grey leather short suits and monochrome digital prints gracing sheer dresses and silk tops, there were definitely no throw away pieces within this collection – every outfit was a winner in my book.

However the streamlined elegance these clothes exude hark from a morbid inspiration. The kaliedoscopic prints and snaking ladder detailing  are based on imagery of dead bodies by Photographer Joel Peter Witkin. While on first glance this may not be apparently obvious, a more detailed look shows x-ray like patterns of human anatomy. But despite the sinister edge there is no denying their obvious beauty and the idea that something so dark can evolve into something so pretty will surely make an impact on any creative eye.

Erdem better watch his back as I suspect a we have a new print extraordianaire in our midst…

Catch all my daily news over on my blog

BB

xxx

All photos my own.

The Louise Amstrup show impressed me so much, it gets the special treatment of a post all to itself! A 9.30am wake up call with hardcore beats blaring out and models strutting in clothes so fierce they made me want to rush home, change into my leather trousers, kohl up my eyes and take on Day 2 with my best bad girl attitude!

I was also a little giddy at the fact the Girls Aloud Nicola Roberts was present on the front row but I won’t bang on about that too much here as this is my serious review in which I am to remain utterly professional… hmm… but you can read all about it over on my blog if you like.

So once we had all shaken out our umbrellas and dried off from the miserable London weather awaiting us outside, the show began. First out was a series of edgy statement coats and dresses, grey with patent panels and PVC balaclavas covering heads.

The austere grey and black was infused with accents of bright purples, yellows and greens, coming through in colour blocking squares and every outfit was teamed with long black knee high socks and striking patent heels. There was a touch of sheer and if not wearing hoods or balaclavas, there was a slight seventies vibe with big hats and floaty trousers.

The whole collection was just on the right side of dominatrix dressing, not overtly showing flesh but signaling a nod to the dark side of fashion. Waists were cinched, skirts were full, shoulders were angular and the cuts on the suiting were severe and directional. One tweet read ‘If ever there was an extremely stylish dominatrix, she would be wearing Louise Amstrup’ and this pretty much summed it up. Without even an ounce of sweetness and light, these outfits are most definitely not for the girl next door types, they are for the femme fatales of this world, the Angelina Jolie’s and Veronica Lake’s, the women we won’t let our boyfriends talk to for fear they won’t return.

Confidence, power and steely determination are all needed to carry this lot off.

Read all the goings on from my Day two here

BB
xxx

All photos my own or from Dazed Digital

The afternoon of Day 1 was just a tiny tad craaaazzzy so apologies for only blogging these now. After Maria Grachvogel it was off to Jena Theo to stand in a queue for half an hour and not get in… another story another time… then from there it was non stop with Caroline Charles, Jean Pierre Braganza, Falguni & Shane Peacock, Eudon Choi, Felder Felder, Bora Aksu and finally Ashley Isham… I was so tired by the end of it I’m not entirely sure how I managed to shuffle my weary body all the way home… especially after a couple of cocktails had officially numbed my brain for the night.

An unexpected favourite of the day was Jean Pierre Braganza… after the rather erm how shall I put it?… yawn performance at Caroline Charles before hand, this show was punchy from start to finish. Dark, moody, full of attitude, and with some of the most impressive posing I had seen from models all day. The women’s wear was a full on ‘Warrior Woman’ look, the models strided down the runway with a ‘take no prisoners’ power, stopping half way down the catwalk to strike a dramatic angle for the waiting cameras, complete with an angry pout. The pallette was black and grey with fiery red thrown in and the clothes were structural boxy shaped dresses and coats with lazer cut fringing, fur collars and strong digital prints all teamed with thigh high boots or sky high heels. My favourite pieces were the ribbed bodycon midi dress in black and white stripe effect and the stand out leather dress with cut out detailing at the back.

And it wasn’t just the women that were full of drama, the menswear was just as evocative. The first male model actually startled me, he bounded out with such fury! If the women were warriors then the men had to be gods, as the leather strap details and patent panelling was even more in abundance. The red and black prints were particularly intense and the key menswear look for me was the striped trouser combo reminiscent on a prisoners uniform.

See the full collection here

After a late start at Falguni & Shane Peacock, thanks for keeping us waiting Diana Vickers – I had no idea you had become so special, I almost didn’t make it to Eudon Choi… but thank goodness I did as it was really something special. Often at fashion weeks you see a lot of costume and showmanship aimed to wow… this is all great and does make the required impact but every so often it’s refreshing to see what I call real clothes… clothes which, away from all the bravado of the catwalk and the lights and the six foot tall models, are actually wearable. Eudon Choi was a classic example of this. Clean lines, unique cuts and just plain good design. A touch of the equestrian theme, the collection was a range of creams, camels, browns and greys in structural shapes, panelling and extremely well cut tailoring. As well as the colours the theme came through in the form of leather buckle details and jodpur style fitted trousers. Highlights included the cream cocoon shaped coat and the camel and grey panelled dress with voluminous arms. Making clothes with a masculine cut look feminine is no mean feat but Eudon Choi has it mastered, each piece subtly sexy despite showing very little flesh.

Back at the On/Off stage and back to high glamour party wear was Ashley Isham. A combination of printed bandeau style minis and full length decorative evening gowns, this collection had celebs on the red carpet written all over it. The Singapore designer already has a following amongst the likes of Christina Aguilera and Kylie Minogue, and Girls Aloud Kimberley Walsh was in the front row showing her support. The dresses themselves were high octane glitz and glamour but the overall theme seemed to be channelling a bit of Gaga inspired styling with the models sporting floral netted headpieces and bird nest hair.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the best view and my camera finally gave up the ghost after a whole day of snapping so my photos are not the best… but after a long ol’ day it was nice to end with a bit of sparkle!

Don’t forget you can catch more of my daily ramblings on my blog

BB

xxx

all photos my own or from London Fashion Week

‘Ello Folks… I’m Bumpkin Betty and along with the lovely Katie Wright and Sophie Charara I’m going to be here all week filling you in with all the fun, fashion and general nonsense that this AW11 London Fashion Week brings… ooh lucky old you!

Day 1, first up, and off to an altogether too early start in my opinion, is Paul Costelloe who was kicking it all off for the 7th season in a row… sheesh this guy clearly likes mornings! But early bird catches the worm and all that jazz and he drew in a good crowd. Being the first show, there was a certain buzz in the air and it started more or less on time… (As the day went on I was quick to realise this was somewhat of a rarity)

What I can only describe as Autumn in the Country meets London in the Sixties, the collection was a mixture of plaids, tweeds and metallics in both rich autumnul shades and bright pop accents. Models bounced down the catwalks with bright red, almost pink bobbed wigs and blunt fringes… I was feeling ever so slightly smug at this point considering I just got my ‘red’ hair cut into a mid length ‘bob’ and heavy ‘fringe’… so ahead of the times… ahem sorry I digress…

The plaids said twee, yet the bright pinks and full swing shapes said fashion and the merge of the two was really rather lovely. As a country bumpkin myself who loves a good Suzy Quant style mini, I have to say I was a fan! I’m also a little bit of a magpie when it comes to fashion and pretty much anything metallic or shiny is automatically a winner in my books, so when this pink tinfoil esque mini with neat pockets at the front came out I was well and truly sold! Other stand out pieces for me included the  yellow cropped coat and full skirt two piece suit and long black dress with punchy floral print.

See the full collection here

The men didn’t get much a look in but there was a rather fetching rich red suit and some snazzy textured blazers in velour and plaid… and despite the touch of Austin Powers about it, who doesn’t love a bit of velvet on a man?

Next Up in a gorgeous Georgian setting in The Savoy was Maria Grachvogel and I only have one word for this entire experience… stunning! Actually I lie I have many more words, but they are all in the same vein. I was blown away by this collection, perhaps it was the set up of the show with the models circling the room meaning that sitting or standing you could have the same great view, perhaps it was the intimacy of a smaller venue which brought you so much closer to the clothes or perhaps it was just simply the mystical prints and breathtaking designs on show. Either way I have nothing but praise for every single piece. It was a completely different atmosphere to Paul Costelloe with dramatic theatre style music and very severe looking models who were working the ‘don’t mess with me’ power women so much I was actually a little scared of them. It was also the first show of the day where I saw what became a recurring theme of black lips and high scraped back hair. The collection showed both exquisitely perfect tailoring and stand out long flowing evening dresses. The long black silk number with the open back was devine and the white fur collar snow queen style coat was to die for. As well as the subtle prints in soft greys and jade greens there was also a zingy mandarin orange present in a couple of the pieces and if I had the figure for it, I would definitely be happy to take the cream all in one flared jumpsuit off their hands. LOVE!

See the full collection here

Suddenly my own outfit is looking altogether very average… hmm there is nothing like a morning looking at supermodels to make you feel bad about yourself… where is the champagne lounge again? Think I may be needing it…

Ciao for now,

BB

xxx

P.S if you want to hear more about my LFW goings ons head over to my blog where I’ll be doing daily round ups of all my shenanigans and keep up with me on twitter too @bumpkinbetty

All photos by BumpkinBetty or from London Fashion Week