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.

Beckham Causes a Stir at Belstaff Opening

A lot of fashion week seems to of been dominated by the man candy this year. First David Beckham broke a million hearts with baby Harper at Victoria’s show in New York then Harry Styles caused pandemonium when he attended Burberry Prorsum and House of Holland. 
Beckham outdid all that hands down on Sunday evening, the whole on Bond St was bought to a standstill by the opening of the new Belstaff store and everyone was expecting a ‘special guest’. David Beckham arrived to celebrate the opening leather clad riding a motorcycle, sounds like any girls dream huh. Its clever thinking on Belstaff’s behalf as David Beckham is one of the biggest stars in the world, women want to sleep with him and men want to go to the pub with him (and probably sleep with him too) in fact I’ve yet to meet a person with a bad thing to say about Mr Beckham which makes him the perfect candidate to endorse a brand. Men look up to stars such as David Beckham and tend to imitate celebrities instead of looking towards the catwalks for trend advice.  I expect well been seeing Beckham out in a lot of Belstaff soon, and its more than likely well start seeing boys sporting Beckham quiffs and black leather jackets in no time.

London Fashion Week SS14 Highlights

It doesn’t even feel that long ago since February’s fashion week, yet SS14 LFW is almost over! Concluding today with shows from Simone Rocha, Fashion East and Meadham Kirchhoff among others it’s safe to say its been a very exciting week for fashion. From the looks of things summer 2014 will be all about pastels and femininity and a hell of a lot of white. 2014 will be the summer of the LWD (little white dress FYI).

With over 120 designers exhibiting their work we couldn’t possibly go over every collection shown over the last couple of days so here I’ve rounded up just a few of my personal faves!

Christopher Kane
Over the years Kane has established himself as one of Britain’s finest designers outdoing himself season after season and SS14 was no different. Kane took to studying flowers under a microscope for his collection, making flowers new and exciting isn’t an easy task. Dresses had large petal shape cut outs traced in shiny patent on pastel dresses. The shapes were clean, clinical and feminine. Kane also paid tribute to the trophy sweat, which doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, some with graphic botanical related prints and another that stood out to me with a cut out shoulder and beautiful jeweled embellishment around the shoulder. Moreover he’s announced he’ll be opening his first store, is there any stopping this man?

Burberry Prorsum
Christopher Bailey always pulls out all the stops to make Burberry one of the most memorable shows of fashion week. The star-studded frow including Anna Wintour, Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung and Harry Styles didn’t take away from the stunning clothes. With sheer lace skirts and pretty candy pastels the collection somewhat reminded me of Louis Vuitton’s 2012 collection. With beautiful lilac spring coats and loose trenches the show was a resounding success for Burberry. Models were showered with rose petals for one of the most beautiful finales of the week.

Erdem
Erdem's collections are almost instantly recognizable thanks to his romantic silhouettes and light florals. This season the romance remained but the colourful florals were gone. Erdems monochromatic show was a sure fire standout of the week. The intricate lace and florals were still there only in a strict palette of black and white, this collection seemed more focused on textural exploration than pretty prints. The knee length woven and sheer panel coat was to die for. Erdem chose this collection to push his own personal boundaries and leaving his comfort zone, and it really worked.  What will Erdem do next?

Simone Rocha
Newgen winner Simone Rocha (daughter of John) has been gradually building herself in the fashion industry. Still considered a relatively new designer her past collections have received rave reviews and been spotted on stars from Alexa Chung to Chloe Moretz. Rocha shows no signs of slowing down, as she presented another romantically edgy collection this morning. Although each garment was feminine and light, Rocha added a punk edge with green mohawks, masculine lace ups and beautiful pearl hold ups. Rocha experimented with sharper silhouettes, intricate detailing and different textures, this collections is a sign her works maturing and she’s showing no signs of disappearing any time soon, expect a lot more from her. 

Oxford Street Celebrates London Fashion Week

It seems that everyone wants a part in London Fashion Week this year, and being one of the biggest high streets it’s a wonder Oxford St never got involved before. This year Oxford St are launching a 17 day festival to coincide with Fashion Week, the festival will give shoppers the opportunity to mingle with top British designers and models in the build up to fashion week. The collaboration is part of Oxford Sts efforts to affirm itself as ‘the most powerful fashion destination in the world’. The British Fashion Council has teamed up with Oxford St to arrange various pop up events which will feature some of the biggest names in the industry offering make overs and advice for those wanting to progress in to the industry. Some of the biggest high street stores are also getting involved such as Topshop, Selfridges, John Lewis and H&M. To me this seems like a brilliant idea to promote both Oxford St and Fashion Week and is also a brilliant way to get involved if you didn’t (like many of us boohoo) many to snag a ticket to the prestigious event so make sure to get yourselves down there guys!

Make It British

As times have progressed we’ve become more aware of things such as our carbon footprint. Because of this more and more companies are beginning to manufacture their products in the UK. Launching at London Fashion Week is the ‘Make It British’ logo that will signify products made in within the UK. 

The reason cited for the upswing in British manufacturing is the rising cost of producing in China and the importance of speed to market that domestic production permits. Another reason this is necessary is to create jobs within the UK.  Mulberry recently received £2.5m to build a handbag factory in Somerset, which will create 250 jobs. 
UK manufactured goods don’t come cheap mind, however the interest in carbon footprint and controversial labor conditions means this market is rapidly growing. A change in consumption habits may be needed however, perhaps we need to begin buying less and spending more as so many garments are wasted and sent to landfill. 

A few labels are already flying the flag for British manufacturing, ‘Closet Clothing’, ‘She Likes’ and ‘The Orphans Arms’ are just 3 labels whose products are produced in Britain. The products do come at a higher price than other fast fashion garments, a t-shirt averages at £30, which I guess seems quite steep however for a quality product with a British source is actually somewhat reasonable. Big names on the British high street are also beginning to tap in to the movement, Topshop’s minimalistic premium line Boutique is predominantly made in the UK, Marks and Spencer are releasing a Best of British line for Autumn 2013 and River Island have increased British production by 50%, which may seem small but is definitely a step in the right direction! 

LONDON FASHION WEEK SS14

Its almost that time of year again! It barely feels that long since February but within a month or two Somerset House will be thriving with fashionistas and bloggers once more as fashion week begins. Get your first glance of what you'll be wearing next summer this September. Fashion week starts on Friday the 13th September (unlucky for some) and continues till Tuesday 17th. The schedule can be found on the LFW website now.
Its always exciting to see who the NEWGEN winners are, the ones to keep an eye out for hotly tipped by the British Fashion Council! This years winners for the catwalk areeee (drumroll)... Korean born Central Saint Martins graduate J.JS Lee, known for her chic, minimalist and modern tailoring, LCF graduate Lucas Nascimento who has previously shown at Rio Fashion Week and specialises in knitwear, Marques Almeida a design duo from Portugal who have worked with Vivienne Westwood and Preen, three man design team Sister by Sibling who also specialise in knitwear and Simone Rocha, daughter of designer John Rocha whose designs have been praised internationally and worn by the likes of Alexa Chung and Lady Gaga, she's been tipped as London's brightest young design talent, definitely one to keep your eye on she will be big!
The presentation winners are 1205 who has experience at Savile Row so expect to see immaculate tailoring, Nasir Mazhar who says Lil Kim embodies his brand and shoe designer Sophia Webster who worked at Nicholas Kirkwood, expect single soles and feminine lines.
The exhibition space has been awarded to upcoming shoe designer Liam Fahy who studied at DeMontfort where he was awarded the Drapers Footwear Designer of the Year award whilst he was studying. He won the Fashion Fringe Accessory Award in 2008 judged by king of shoes Manolo Blahnik.
If you can't get down to Somerset House or like the majority of us don't get invited to the shows be sure to watch the live streams and keep up on twitter and instagram!

The NEWGEN winners for SS14

Sister By Sibling AW12

Simone Rocha AW13

Marques Almeida

Sophia Webster