Wednesday at the Metquarter

Last week was a busy one for the blog... as well as organising future events with both the guys at Liverpool One and Cavern Walks (for which we are tres excited and will fill you in with the deet's soon!)we were also lucky enough to find ourselves at the Met Quarter on Wednesday night for the opening of Miss Francesca Couture' flagship store and catwalk presentation.  

400 fashionistas had gathered at Metquarter to watch the 40 minute show featuring 12 local models showcasing 36 looks from Francescas new Autumn Winter collection.  

Francesca, 28 from West Derby who graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 2008 with a BA Hons in Fashion Design, said “It’s a dream come true for me to open in Metquarter.  I've had a lot of input into the look and feel of the store, which I think is the perfect fit for my brand. I can't wait start dressing Liverpool girls for the upcoming Christmas party season.” 

Francesca continued "To launch my flagship store with a catwalk show on this scale was more than I could have hoped for.  The turnout was fantastic and everyone was so positive about the new collection, I'm really excited about the future."    

Attendees looked glam as usual and there was some fabulous winter outfit inspiration in the audience as well as the catwalk.

The collection was fun and glittering for Autumn / Winter 2013 and promises to help Liverpool's young vixens stand out on the dancefloor this festive season.  Francesca certainly knows her customer and did not disappoint her with this collection.  There was sequins, tulle  tartan and animal print a plenty and Francescas young and vibrant clientele want just that.  

The event was a great success, Metquarter centre manager Jennina O'Neill said “Francesca’s label has gone from strength to strength in the last few years and we’re delighted she’s decided to open her flagship store at Metquarter, we're certain it will be a very popular addition to the centre and perfectly compliments the likes of Kurt Geiger, MAC, Illamasqua and Mococo.”

The launch event was supported with a pop up bar from Playground, hair styling from Jane Fullerton and makeup from Illamasqua.

Customers can book personal consultations with Francesca via www.missfrancescacouture.co.uk or calling 0151 207 5959.   

How we would style "that" Chloe Cape!

Chloe have out done themselves with this beautiful cape from their Autumn / Winter 2013/14 collection. We would wear it with this beautiful cropped white shirt from Maison Martin Margiela - £270 from FarFetch.com, Acne Skin 5 washed skinny jeans - £170 at liberty and these amazing Alexander McQueen velvet puritan platform sandals - £740 from Mcqueen's website. You can find the cape at Net a Porter for £1855

The Ice Festival arrives!

On Thursday night the blog was kindly invited down to the launch of the new Ice Festival in Liverpool One. 

We were treated to fabulous canapes from Pickled Beetroot catering, tunes from Anton Powers and free cocktails whilst appreciating the new, temporary winter hangouts and awaiting the unveiling of Liverpool designers Philip Armstrong's Ice dress. 

The launch was held in the new Apres and Ice bar at the top of Kenyon steps next to the new ice rink.  The alpine themed Apres Bar is purpose built cafe bar that will provide a stop off point for shoppers to grab a winter warmer or a tasty snack, with a wide range of drinks for all the family to enjoy.  (the apple, ginger and lemongrass virgin cocktail was amazing) Shoppers can take a break from the new ice skating rink in true style.

Whist at the party we took the opportunity to take a few pic's of those at the launch who were looking sartorially devine!  As per usual everyone had dressed up for the occasion but we did particularly notice the effort put into outerwear.  There was a great selection of classics from the guys including a variety of Barbour's, Belstaff's and wax jackets over classic tailoring, typical Liverpool boys and from the ladies we seen a lot of gorgeous wool and fur coats styled with a fine selection of fedoras and scarves!  DiscoFashionArt have noticed the growing trend in hats on ladies in the city recently and we love it! DFA loves a finely crafted hat especially in the winter!

We then moved on to the new Ice Bar so designer Philip Armstrong and design partner Tony Burke could unveil their iconic ice dress.  The floor length dress had a deep v neckline cut to the waist, a structured fitted bodice and a stunning layered fishtail design inspired by their current Autumn / Winter collection.  The dress was carefully sculpted by the team at Ice Box who specialise in frozen art.  It was stunning!

Philip told us "We are obviously used to working with fabric so its been amazing to work with the Ice Box team and see how their craftsmanship with ice can bring our design to life in such a different way.  I was thrilled to be asked by Liverpool One to be part of the launch of their Christmas activities and create the design for this totally unique dress".

The cool and contemporary pop up Ice Bar featured a stunning room filled with furniture made entirely of crystal clear ice.  The bar opened to the public on the 7th of November, access is ticketed in half an hour slots and booking in advance is highly recommended.

We had a wonderful time at the launch and we highly recommend a visit to the festival, even if it is to snap yourselves up one of the snazzy metallic annoraks.

All tickets and time can be found at Liverpool ones website

www.liverpool-one.com/icefestival

Zandra Rhodes at Boudoir Boutique

On Saturday we had the pleasure of popping down to one of our favourite shops in Liverpool Boudoir Boutique to meet the fashion legend that is Zandra Rhodes.  We were greeted at the shop by owner Louise Kavanagh and her daughter Amy Louise Keating who very kindly let us take some pictures of their beautiful shop and had a little chat with us before we sat down with Zandra.

 Louise who previously owned Drome also of Cavern Walks opened Boudoir Boutique seven years ago and the shop is now somewhat of a Liverpool landmark, not only popular with Liverpool fashionistas but also fashion mad tourists too.  The shop is a beautiful, eclectic space full of beautiful clothes, antiques, accessories and all out wonder.  The shops moto 'in here life is beautiful' certainly rings true.  The shop stocks a lot of up and coming and established labels exclusively, including Unreal Fur, Finders Keepers, Forever Unique and one of DiscoFashionArts favourites Parisian designer Manoush.  The shop also stocks their own designs including some beautiful kaftan's, furs and other vintage inspired pieces.

The store also exclusively stock Zandra Rhodes current handbag and accessories collection.  

   

Just as we were finishing the tour of the shop, the lovely Zandra arrived and we sat down and had a lovely chat with the fashion icon.  

Zandra what brings you to Liverpool and in particular Boudoir Boutique?

I am in Liverpool purposely to visit this store, its a personal favourite and I have visited the store before.  I think its an ideal place to sell my accessories collection as it is so beautiful and a joy to be in.  I also like to meet my fans and find out what they enjoy most about my designs.

You were one of the new wave of British designers who put London at the forefront of the international fashion scene in the 70's. Who are your current favourite designers and who do you think are pushing fashion boundaries today? 

I think there are a lot of brilliant designers coming out of the UK today and I definitely think Britain are the current leaders in fashion. However, when I am designing my own collections, which I am in the midst of now I find it hard to focus on anyone else so I can't say a particular designer.

You famously designed clothes for Freddie Mercury, Madonna, royalty and numerous other celebrities, is there anyone you would like to dress now.

I really enjoyed dressing Madonna in the 80's and 90's and would love to work with her again now, but the person I really admire and would like to dress now is Lady GaGa, I really like her style and desire for fashion and beauty.

We love your current accessories collection its full of classic pieces.  What was your inspiration?

I wanted to create pieces that are classic and would go with a variety of outfits.  We went for classic colours and shapes in high quality leather.  We took inspiration from the 1920's and F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby with art deco shapes and detailing.

Tell us more about the Digital Study Collection and what drove you to do a digital project.

The Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection was created through a collaborative project between the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and myself.  The collection was officially launched at the Fashion and Textile Museum in March 2013 by actress and my friend Joanna Lumley.  I studied at one of UCA's founder colleges, the Medway College of Design, and was made the University's first Chancellor in 2010.  Over the last fifty years my work has included the design of haute couture dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth Taylor, and Diana Ross and I wanted a way of storing this British Fashion History so fashion students can access it in the future.  

The Digital Study Collection provides unique online access to images of 500 iconic dresses and garments, for use in learning, teaching, and research internationally, by fashion historians, fashion and textile designers, and fans of my work alike. These images were selected out of thousands of couture pieces 

held in my private archive at my studio in London. The digitised garments cover my entire creative career from the late 1960s to the present day, with particular focus on my landmark collections of the 1970s and 1980s. 

Thanks Zandra its been a pleasure meeting you!

The digital Study can be found at 

http://www.zandrarhodes.ucreative.ac.uk/p/welcome.html

We can honestly say meeting Zandra has to be a highlight for DiscoFashionArt and we thank everyone at Boudoir Boutique for putting on this fabulous event! 

Visit the store now in Cavern Walks or visit their blog at

http://www.boudoir-boutique.com/blog/