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Friday 31 January 2014

Peter Pilotto for Target hits Net a Porter..

Ladies I am a huge Peter Pilotto fan, I love his use of pattern and colour in his clothes and his London fashion week collection is something I really look forward to. Therefore I am hugely excited about his current collaboration with American discount store Target! Now before you all start saying ... why are you excited? Its American! Well my beautiful fashionistas, the beautiful people over at Net a Porter are bringing the collection to UK shores (well UK online) on the 8th of February. 

Here is a sneaky peek, I bet you end up as excited as me, its fabulous!  There is everything from dresses, skirts, tops, skate shoes, beach wear and lots more.





I told you... absolutely stunning and all priced between £15 and £50. Get yourselves over to Net a Porter for all the details.  Oh and all in time for Valentines day date night! 

Sunday 26 January 2014

Who looked a little bit devine this weekend???

after perusing this weekends press two ladies definitely jumped out the pages and into my best dressed list! 

Firslty Rita Ora! Rita is slowly becoming one of favourite style inspirations, she's so sporadic and exuberant with her ensemble choices and she isn't scared to push the boundaries.  Seen at the ROCNATION pre grammy party over the weekend in Alexandre Vauthier HAUTE COUTURE! Her full look was taken from his Spring Summer 2014 Haute Couture show that took place just last week in Paris. That Bomber is the bomb (sorry yes I did just say that). 



Alexandres collection was inspired by beaches and windsurfing and Rita certainly did make it look Californian Contempo Casual rocking the whole runway look from the outfit to the shoes and fold over clutch that had a linking chain on the runway but Rita had left out.  Just OH MY WORD, FABULOUS.

Next was our very own Alex Gerrard looking HOT in this season BALMAIN! We all know Alex loves a Balmain Jacket and my word doesn't she know how to rock one! Paired with her staple leather leggings and white accessories Alex looked every inch the yummy mummy for a night out with her dolls in Manchester. Gorgeous.




Enjoy your Sunday!

Thursday 23 January 2014

My Favourites from COUTURE WEEK SPRING SUMMER 2014

A Review ..

It was Haute Couture week last week, Spring Summer 2014 couture to be precise and you all know how much I love Haute Couture week. I don't know whether its the out of this world craftsmanship, the attention to detail or the whimsical stories that lace the productions but I just love the romance of it all.
I haven't covered all the shows as not all of them were to my taste, as with every couture season I found some of the shows a tad too much and far to OTT but here are my favourites.

Bouchra Jarrar
OH MY WORD those Jackets! How Amazing. In December, French fashion's governing body, the Chambre Syndicale, granted Bouchra Jarrar an haute couture appellation which secured her a place in couture's history books, joining the ranks of  women designers like Chanel, Vionnet, Grès, and Schiaparelli. It's been more than thirty years since a woman was named a grande couturière, far too long! This was the reason for the newfound swagger in her exuberantly embellished jackets and gilets. "J'ai des oiseaux," she said backstage. "I have birds." And she meant it, the evidence was everywhere.  

I love the way she has reintroduced the classic black tailored trousers into evening wear, a classic staple back in my 90's clubbing heyday. 

Chanel
As we know Karl never skimps on the pennies for Chanel's show production and sets and this one was no different, this time round there was a glistening gigantic white tube that revolved to reveal French music star Sébastien Tellier, his orchestra, and two giant sweeping staircases fresh out of an Art Deco fantasy from the Hollywood thirties. Non, Lagerfeld corrected, "It's an ice palace, a nightclub on another planet."  
Lagerfeld strapped his cool young ladies into corsets with stays, the very thing that Coco herself got rid of in the name of modernity nearly a century ago. He compared them to motocross belts. "This is ballroom-cross," he joked. 
The corseted midriff was the core over which he laid the signiture Chanel bolero or crop top and a short skirt for the collection's defining look. It was buzzing, athletic and matched the footwear completely. Every outfit featured a couture sneaker by Massaro made from python, with lace, pearls, and tweed. (If you're curious about the cost of these fabulous trainers, the price tag will probably be something in the vicinity of €3,000, yes €3,000) And then there were the bunbags....OH MY. I predict this bunbag will be making an appearance on the shoulder of Rita Ora, RiRi and every other rich young hipster pretty soon, definitly next seasons Chanel perfume bottle bag.

This season I think Chanel and Dior, two most significant fashion houses in France made a major commitment to a new generation of Haute couture, to the future, in fact. 

Dior
Raf Simons is like a kid in a sweet shop with couture, its combination of technique and psychology could have been tailor-made to satisfy his obsessions. The first thing that got me about this show was the lightness, not only in the weightlessness of the clothes themselves, but also in an attitude that proved the designer's wanted desire to modernize couture, this presented itself clearly when Raf paired a couture dress with flower-strewn trainers like at Chanel (Simon's painted a picture of a starlet leaving the red carpet, pulling her comfy shoes out of her bag, and spending the rest of the night taking over the dance floor of the after party).
"Dior loved movement in his clothes," said Simons, 
" and I was wondering what would have happened if he'd been in business twenty or thirty years longer, when the sixties happened, when there was a literal movement in society." 
Well we dont need to wonder any more because the collection that Simons showed for Dior had the bohemian vibe that you imagined he imagined Dior would have brought to couture.  Oh and least we forget them shoes!! It was definitely all about the accessories this couture season.

Ellie Saab
Ellie Saab is Couture. His collections to me are synonymous with fairy tales, red carpets and princesses. There was plenty of of his signature looks here, as usual, but perhaps sensing that a change wouldn't go unappreciated, interspersed among his signature embroideries and appliqués were a handful of gossamer-light pleated goddess gowns. Strapless, plunge-front, or one-shouldered, the plissé numbers felt of-this-moment. I love Ellie's dresses they are simply magical.  

Giambattista Valli
Giambattista brings a youthfulness to the couture collections that no one else can match.  The attention to detail was astounding as usual, especially apparent on the white lace dress adorned with intricate, jewelled raspberry and black flowers.  If I was a budding actress I would certainly be trying to get my paws on one of these frocks for the upcoming award season. The definition of OH MY WORD.


Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal
This was the second outing for Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal but the methodology behind the execution was no different.  These clothes are ART, plain and simple. The fashion houses alchemists sourced the somewhat prized materials for the collection from each corner of the globe, gathering up bits and pieces from other times and places to re-purpose in the here and now, such as the scarves found in a 1930's brothel that were transformed into a pencil skirt and the 1920s Bauhaus tapestry cut into an opera coat.  Pieces of the collection were wrapped and draped from textiles designed by the artist Frank Lloyd Wright which was sourced from a private collection in Flagstaff Arizona.  The clothes were paired with bricolages of found thingymebobs, beads, chains, can rings, crystals, keys and more.  It was all mesmerisingly and bizarrely beautiful.  The only thing that I didnt like were the masks, unlike the jewelled creations from the houses last collection (made famous by Kanye West when he wore them on his Yeezus tour last year) the ones this time round were just plain scary and took you away from the clothes. 

Valentino
Fifty looks for fifty operas was the basis of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Picciolli for the Valentino spring summer couture show which was inspired mostly by the musical arts. Silks adorned with musical notes and other melodic themes ran through the collection. Each look described the character for each of the chosen operas protagonists in a primordial way.  The connections were sometimes lost on me but this did not distract me from the beauty of these garments.  Oh and lets not forget "a carnival des animaux, a swan, a snake and a peacock made from feathers wrapped around the waist of a ballerina tutu.
(The swan dress reminded me of a remake of the swan dress worn by Bjork designed by Macedonian designer Marjan Peojoski)

I know like me you may not be able to afford these exquisite gowns but use the guide to help plan any dresses you may want to get tailored this year for a special event! I am making it my mission this year to interpret some of those Giambattista Valli designs.    

All pictures from Style.Com

Tuesday 21 January 2014

January so far.....

My fabulous readers, I'm so sorry for the lack of posts in January, I had every intention of starting the year as I meant to go on and get the regular daily posts back up and flowing straight after the Christmas and New Year break but unfortunately I had a few medical problems I had to get sorted, tres non chic but necessary all the same! No worries though I'm all good and back to WERK. 

As much as I was lacking on the posting front so far in January, I was involved in some very fabulous meetings! Firstly I had lunch with the lovely Emma from the PR team at Radley! Emma took me for a lovely lunch in Browns Brasserie in Liverpool One, which I hadn't visited before but enjoyed tremendously, indulging in a lovely Nicoise Salad (Yes I am on the diet wagon!)whilst discussing Radley's new spring/summer 2014 collection and zealously talking about the brands latest collaboration with the amazing, London Fashion Week darling, Holly Fulton. The new collections are a fantastic new direction for the traditional British brand, enticing a whole new generation of shoppers who want high fashion, coupled with the most high quality British craftsmanship but for an affordable price. Ill be bringing you all the details of the new collection soon, just in time for spring and believe me its definitely worth a look, here is a sneaky peek of the Holly Fulton Collection, how 'oh my' is that oversized clutch!  All available at Radley Liverpool.


Holly Fulton for Radley Renn (oversized clutch) - £249 and Ranya (Flap over clutch) - £199

Last week, myself and one of the dudes from the blog met up with our amazing friend and might we say extremely talented, up and coming photographer, Emma Bassnett from The Lab! 

The Lab is a collective of fabulously talented people who run a state of the art, fantastically cool, photographic studio over in the Baltic Triangle. The guys hire out for the Lab for creative studio work, in-between their own fantastic projects, at extremely reasonable prices and the space is extremely cool. 

Located in the attic of the old Picket club the studio has a cool rock n roll vibe, and as well as a large photographic studio the space also houses a state of the art green screen for video production and a dedicated station for the perfect product shoots. 

I had the pleasure of using The Lab myself back in October for a shoot with Bite Me Clothing and it was a dream to use.  The vibe is a bit Andy Warhol's factory meets modern, Liverpool photography and I enjoyed every minute I was in there.

Find more details about the lab here The Laboratory Media Pack
and at their face book page 



And the purpose of our lovely meeting you ask?  Well, as well as discussing the amazing fashion photography Emma has been doing lately we also started work on a very exciting project Emma and The collective over at the Lab have organised with the fast becoming legendary, Liverpool fashion pioneers over at Resurrection on Bold Street. All I will say for now is that we will reveal all about the exciting event really soon and we will be covering the fantastic fashion extravaganza as it happens.

["Speaking which we do need some more models to join this amazing project so if you are or know of a model between the ages of 18 and 30 with a cool urban look, both male and female who are looking for some portfolio work then contact me for more details at discofashionartsugar@hotmail.co.uk "]   

Finally I also had a little catch up with the PR guys over at Met Quarter who told me some fantastic news about a new, exciting opening coming to the fashion haven in February.  

All you fabulous fashion forward yummy mummies will LOVE the arrival of The Pudding Club - Liverpool's first specialist boutique for expectant mums to the Met Quarter. Frustrated with not being able to find comfortable, fashionable jeans – the backbone of her pregnancy wardrobe – Alexandra Macleod decided to set up The Pudding Club so that mums-to-be could enjoy shopping to dress their bump, and feel pampered in the process. 




Following on from the success of her first venture in Knutsford, Alexandra saw a large percentage of her clientele travelling from Liverpool and so the Metquarter struck a chord with her. “Many of my Knutsford clients were travelling from Liverpool and after attending the opening of the Metquarter I immediately thought of it as the perfect place to open another shop,” commented Alexandra.

With the belief that a good pair of jeans underpins any woman’s wardrobe, whether pregnant or not, Alex made sure that The Pudding Club has a strong emphasis on maternity jeans – whether Skinny, Straight, Bootcut or Boyfriend in under bump, over bump and on bump styles. The Pudding Club will be the only premium maternity denim supplier in Liverpool, stocking brands including Paige, Citizens of Humanity and J Brand. Maternity jeans range from £45 to £250.  In addition, women working in the city centre who need somewhere on their doorstep for stylish maternity clothes for work are also catered for. For working mums to be there is a selection of tailored trousers from Slacks and Co and Attesa,  together with work shirts by Vanessa Knox and Paulina (Germany’s leading maternity wear brand worn by Heidi Klum, Natalie Portman,  Jessica Alba and Claudia Schiffer amongst others).  New for 2014, The Pudding Club will also be stocking the SPANX range of maternity underwear, a complimentary product to occasion wear.  Alexandra added: “This is a brilliant add on to our occasion wear brands, such as Tiffany Rose and Isabella Oliver, as women are wearing more clingy maternity styles and require the right underwear. Women are at a time in their lives when their bodies are constantly changing and they can find this transition daunting. Sexy and feminine lingerie helps to raise their self-esteem and confidence, in addition to a capsule wardrobe which will take them through pregnancy and beyond”.
“Our ethos is to spoil our pregnant ladies. Our stylists are extremely knowledgeable and can give our customers advice on how to look good and how to put outfits together that look stylish and contemporary whilst not compromising on quality. Our customers will have a great choice from a wide range of premium brands depending on what look they are trying to achieve - whether it’s work wear, day wear or occasion wear. We have the widest selection of Maternity clothing brands in the UK so there is bound to be something for everyone”.

Definitely another jewel in Liverpool's ever growing fashion crown.

Well I'm off for now but Ill be back soon with my long overdue 2013 fashion review, where I will be discussing the biggest stories from fashion last year and recommending what trends we should be taking forward into this year.  Oh and a little thing called the 2014 Spring Summer Haute Couture Roundup! 
Chanel, Gambassti, Margiela OH MY!