Nike RT: Riccardo Tisci and Nike collaboration confirmed

Over the past few seasons Riccardo Tisci’s most recognisable pieces have been his printed t shirts and sweats, cult pieces which merge high fashion with sporty streetwear. So it only makes sense that Tisci would collaborate with one of the biggest sportswear brands in the world.  The rumours have been flying around of a collab between the two since WWD.com posted about it earlier today, the news is expected to be confirmed later today. It is thought the collection would have a strong focus on footwear.

Not sure how Tiscis BFF Kanye West will take this blow after his infamous fall out with Nike after they denied West any royalties for the sales of Air Yeezys and Air Yeezy II’s after which he signed a deal with rival brand Adidas.

Inevitably Givenchy’s pieces become one of the most coveted items each season so its likely that if this collab goes ahead to same will happen when it hits the shelf’s.

Miu Miu's New Muses

Our hearts were all a flutter when we first laid our eyes on the new Miu Miu campaign featuring actress and ultimate girl crush Elle Fanning, but apparently that wasn’t enough for Miu Miu as this morning three more portraits were revealed for their Spring Summer 2014 campaign featuring three more of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars.

Elle Fanning has given her older sister a run for her money over recent years; getting her first big break in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere she then went on to work with J.J. Abrams for sci-fi blockbuster Super 8. 2014 see’s the release of highly anticipated Disney live-action Maleficent in which Fanning plays Princess Aurora alongside a terrifying Angelina Jolie as the infamous villain.

Also featuring in the campaign is Elizabeth Olsen, who in the past has always been known as the younger sister of Ashley and Mary Kate but after a breakout performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene has proved she wont be staying in the twins shadows for long, Bella Heathcote who starred in Dark Shadows alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and Lupita Nyong’o who got her big screen debut in Steve McQueens 12 Years a Slave which is already looking to cause waves at this years Academy Awards, not bad huh.

Shot in New York by Inez and Vinoodh the campaign features each actress in looks from Miu Mius Spring/Summer 2014 collection. Poised perfectly in sets as distinctive as the actresses, the shades of blue, red and violet compliment the prints and materials to create a truly striking campaign that flirts with sexual femininity, classic demure pieces with an edge. 

Thick wool stockings are in rich tones of red and yellow and paired with ruby red Mary Janes or lace-up knee-highs. In one shot we see Bella looking perfectly demure in a good girl coat then the next Lupita works a bad girl bustier dripping with jewels, each effortlessly translating the new spirit of the Miu Miu woman.

Do Your Bit: Small Business Saturday 7th December

In recent years, the British high street has been slaughtered by the ongoing recession, we've lost an array of British manufacturers from Woolworths to Republic, the Great British high street is soon becoming a thing of the past with consumers looking to spend more on luxury goods, luxury and economy (Primark etc) are two of the most successful markets at the moment. 

Small, independent, local business are also being hit hard, which is why American Express came up with the 'Small Business Saturday' initiative which has now made its way over the pond to the UK. It basically encourages the public to, just for the one day, support their local stores and shun the massive chain supermarkets and restaurants. The idea started three years ago in the US to help small firms survive competitions from mainstream rivals, it boosted the turnover of small business by £3.5 billion.

It only makes sense that this idea would work wonders in the UK, MP Chuka Umunna agreed and so decided to start one up over here. The initiative has been supported by a host of high profile names such as Dragons Den's James Caan, Mary Portas and Made in Chelsea's Proudlock.
December 7th will be 'Small Business Saturday', so make sure to support your local butcher, restaurant, corner shop or vintage store next Saturday!

Karl Lagerfeld Comes to London

Karl Lagerfeld will open a flagship store on London's Regent Street for his self titled label Karl Lagerfeld in March 2014, it has been announced.
The store will be his largest in Europe to date, spanning an impressive 2,700 square feet and will sell both and mens and womens ready to wear and accessories. Karl Lagerfeld's CEO has said that opening in Regent Street is an excellent opportunity as its the perfect position for this important market. 

The store is set to incorporate impressive technology heavily, from the dressing rooms which will apparently contain photo booths with instagram like filters to a digital guestbook for customers to leave special comments for the designer. Its been said that luxury consumers are all about the experience and not the products now, it looks like Karl got the message.  Keep your eyes peeled for more info!

Lady Gaga Channels Donatella for Versace

Earlier this month it was rumoured that Lady Gaga was collaborating with Versace but at the time the Italian brand refused to comment on the rumours, until now when these images were released proving the rumours to be true.

The campaign shot by Mert and Marcus features Gaga looking unnervingly like Donatella herself, in a tight lilac Versace dress with poker straight platinum blonde hair. The campaign says Lady Gaga for Versace which assumes she's had more to do with the campaign than just featuring in it. 

When speaking of the collaboration Donatella said  "I am honoured that my friend Lady Gaga is the face of our new Versace campaign, I wanted to capture her true beauty and spirit in images that are elegant and alluring. She is like family to me, the embodiment of the Versace DNA."

Lady Gaga's recent album 'Artpop' even features a track named after Donatella, which Gaga described as a love letter to the designer, cute. 

Mulberry Backs Out Of LFW 2014

Bruno Guillon, Lana Del Rey and Emma Hill

Mulberry was rocked this summer when it was announced that Emma Hill would be quitting her position as creative director for the British handbag specialist. After creating the Alexa and Del Rey bags which proved to be a huge success, questions were asked about her departure, it was announced that she left after "disagreements with management over creative and operational strategy". For the six years whilst Hill was the the helm of Mulberry, the houses popularity greatly increased and they filled the whimsical, girly gap left by Luella. Hill also introduced entry-level price points which appealed to the younger Mulberry women with less cash to burn, this seems to be where the differences begun. In 2012 Bruno Guillon (previously of Hermes) was appointed chief executive of Mulberry and his sole intention seems to be to re-emphasise the luxury nature of Mulberry. For example in autumn 2012 oversaw a substantial increase in Mulberry's prices across the board.

It seems Mulberry's troubles don't stop there. It was announced today that Mulberry will be backing out of Februarys Fashion Week, Mulberry was always one of the most anticipated shows with an a list packed front row so to see it go is sad. It seems that Mulberry is having trouble filling its creative director vacancy after Emma Hill left in June, rumoured successors have ranged from Erdem to Mary Katrantzou. Its been announced however that Mulberry will still feature in the LFW schedule but we'll have to wait till nearer the time for more info!

LFW starts 13th - 17th February.

Graduate Fashion Week New Venue Announced!

When it was announced that Earls Court was set to be demolished one of the big questions was, so where will Graduate Fashion Week be hosted? As one of the most important events of the year for fashion graduates up and down the country this was the question on most students minds. Well we can finally reveal the answer! It has been announced that GFW 2014 will be hosted at the Truman Brewery, East London!

The Truman Brewery was the rumoured location for the event and now its finally been confirmed what do you think? We had a discussion in class, is Shoreditch still considered edgy and cool? Apparently so I imagine thats one of the main reasons this venue was selected, GFW describe it as 'Londons buzzing creative district'. What do you think of the chosen venue? How do you feel about having your work showcased there? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Illustrator Kristjana S Williams for Triumph

International lingerie brand Triumph have teamed up with Icelandic illustrator Kristjana S Williams for its latest ad campaign. The brand, who's previous ads feature Louise Redknapp, have taken a very different turn with this new ad campaign, which could perhaps suggest Triumph are trying to get themselves noticed again. 

The adverts are quite graphicy and cartoony with a black and white photograph in the centre. The imagery seems to reflect what the brands about and its heritage, theres illustrations of reels of thread and tape measures. 
To give them credit the new ad is fresh and taking a new direction for them, however I'm not overly keen on it if Im honest, the illustration makes the image busy and somewhat hard to see the focal point of the advert. What do you guys think? Will this ad bring a new customer to Triumph? 

The Rise of the Fourth Conglomerate

As you may have already noticed, British heritage is big news at the moment. Everyone’s trying to get a little piece of Britain, no one however as much as Li & Fung it would seem. 

When we think of conglomerates we obviously jump straight to the likes of LVMH, however Li & Fung are causing a stir in the industry and are looking to become big news. China is constantly emerging, Li and Fung is a trading empire founded in Hong Kong. William Fung along with his brother Victor Fung are slowly but surely buying up the whole of Savile Row. 

The family already controls Gieves & Hawkes, Hardy Amies and Kent & Curwen and now they have recently purchased Savile row tailor Kilgour, who has dresses a-listers from Daniel Craig to Jude Law. Fung Capital, a venture capital arm of Li & Fung, is said to acquire a third brand from Savile Row within the next six months to form part of its new portfolio called Savile Row Brands. It seems the Far East are really looking in to investing in British Heritage and I feel this may just be the beginning of an Asian take over.

Vivienne Westwood Collaborates with Top Heritage Brands

Legendary (and slightly crazy) British designer Vivienne Westwood has teamed up with 5 quality British brands to create a small collection of mens accessories. British heritage is getting a real push at the moment and this latest collection just emphasizes that. The collection is a celebration of quality, craftsmanship and the brands that pride themselves on being ‘Made in Britain’. One of the most notorious names teaming up with Westwood is prestigious luggage manufacturer Globetrotter. The tartan-lined suitcases come with leather luggage belts and straps in Westwood’s distinct squiggle print, and are finished off with foil embossed luggage tags. The other brands collaborating with Westwood are Gloverall; known for their duffle coats, Lock & Co esteemed London hatters, Johnstons of Elgin known for their quality scarves and Pantherella who produce socks, so keep your eyes open boys for your head to toe Vivienne Westwood fix. The collection will be available from www.viviennewestwood.co.uk from November.  

American Legend Lou Reed Dies Aged 71

Influential American singer songwriter Lou Reed passed away yesterday aged 71. As the music industry mourns this great loss it seems only right to look back at the work of one of the most significant musicians of our time.

Some of you youngsters may not be aware who Lou Reed was but I bet you recognize this image by American artist Andy Warhol. 

Reed was the founder of The Velvet Underground; a band that although not hugely acclaimed in the sixties has since become one of the most widely cited bands of the era. The Velvet Underground and Lou were part of Andy Warhol’s famous ‘Factory’ scene in New York along the likes of Edie Sedgwick. 

Reed then went on to have a very successful solo career in the 70’s alongside the likes of David Bowie and Iggy Pop. One of his most influential solo albums being the 1972 record Transformer featuring famous track ‘Perfect Day’.

Lou Reed had a powerful effect on music and culture today, the ray ban white shirt leather jacket look that we see at least once every day was pioneered by Reed and seen as challenging and rebellious back in the day but is now just a part of teenage subcultures. 

Reed will be remembered for years to come for both his experimental music and effects on culture, we mourn the loss of an American legend.