London Fashion Week - The Highlights

Ahhhh London Fashion Week. The closest I've ever been to its catwalks was when I was about 14 on a school trip to the Natural History Museum. I should have been more excited that we were about to see prehistoric bones and huge skeletal Dinosaur structures, but I'd just caught glimpse of a huge marquee... And there it was: London Fashion Week in all its shining glory! I gawped out of the school coach in awe and spent more time trying to get a sneaky view of

what was going on in there than concentrating on getting into the museum, haha!

My love affair with fashion has always been apparent since I first leafed through my mum's Vogue magazine and religiously sat down to The Clothes Show every Sunday evening from the tender age of five. My favourite day at playgroup was Friday because we got to dress up with all the pretty things in the amazing Dressing-Up Box : )

Fast-forward a couple of decades and this season London Fashion Week's catwalk extravaganzas were held at Somerset House for the first time. New venue, new season, new pretty things, hehe! Here are a few of my favourites from S/S 2010 courtesy of Britain's fashion capital...

Burberry

Again, like in many other catwalk trends for the up and coming summer, pastel colours seemed to be the pick of the season! My favourite thing about

the Burberry outfits this year is that there's lots of gorgeous floaty material all ruched, ruched, ruched - which seems to hug the body. I'm huge fan of clothes that flatter the curves a lady was given and this collection seems to fit the bill just nicely!

Luella

Coral reds seemed to make a regular appearance, as did bows, belts and polkadots - all very feminine and remind me of the 1940s on a day to a seaside town! In fact these pieces take me back to cute little black and white shots taken of my Nan in the

days when she was my age: she seemed so innocent as did all her friends all laughing and messing around in the seaside town (which was probably Blackpool back then!)...

Topshop Unique

Also my favourite highstreet retailer, Topshop hosted their very own fashion catwalk event this year 'Topshop Unique'. The lovely Kate Moss was there with Sir Phillip Green, both very excited to launch, along with guests - a very preggers Jourdan Dunn, my favourite girl-nextdoor-lady Alexa Chung and many more. Handbag.com got some great exclusive footage of the event, the clothing and some s

neaky backstage chinwagging with those involved.

Check out the video here!

Happy Birthday Twiggy!

Today Twiggy (nee Lesley Hornby), aka Britain's first supermodel turns 60. If you don't know who she is you will most likely have seen her pictured somewhere (if you search for her I'm very sure you'll recognise her). I've always loved Twiggy, from her super massive false lashes and elvin looks to her awesome style - she epitomises the days of the swinging 60s in London!

To mark her milestone birthday Twiggy has released a book called (funnily enough) 'Twiggy: A Life in Photographs' - documenting 140 pages of the beautiful photographs spanning her amazing modelling career. She has had the fortune to work with some of the best photographers in the business such as Solve Sundsbo, Steven Meisel and Mary McCartney.

In addition to celebrate the supermodel's birthday and fantastic career, The National Portrait Gallery is opening an exhibition of the same name showcasing some of the best shots ever taken of the model (come actress!) It debuts today and runs till 21st March next year! I'm going along to see it next week, I can't wait and if I can I'm going to try to take some piccies (I still can't find out on the website if flash photography is prohibited!), but failing that I'll let you guys know what it's like.

If you're in the area, you should swing by as the exhibition is not to be missed! Go to National Portrait Gallery's website for more details!

Then & Now: Twiggy with Kate Moss, Britain's latest icon!

6 Months to go Until IMATS!

Yes, that's right I am counting down and I know it's still a long way to go, but I missed the last one by the skin of my teeth (literally by a day) so this time I want to be sure I'm first in line for tickets : )

IMATS, for those of you who are confused right now, is the International Makeup Artist Trade Show that takes place annually in London's Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace), usually at the end of January. It's a fantastic world-travelling event (it also visits LA and Sydney) that provides a huge window into the world of makeup and prosthetics from glamour makeup to Special Effects makeup for TV, film and photography.

Makeup artists the world over visit to see one-off special seminars given by some of the world's most talented makeup specialists, including Bafta and Oscar award winners. Makeup companies often debut their makeup and insider secrets are shared! If that's not enough, many cosmetic and beauty products including the tools of the trade (brushes) are on sale for you to shop, shop, shop!! The best thing is anyone can come along, you don't have to have a makeup qualification to go, although a madness for makeup will obviously help : )

I can't wait to go in 2010 - I'll be saving up the pennies between now and then to make the most of the discounted products and exclusive cosmetics on offer and I honestly am so excited to see the makeup artists who'll be kindly sharing their knowledge and experience during the event! *squee*

For a taste of the kind of the wonders on show these photos are examples from some of the visiting stands who come to promote their courses - beauty makeup as demonstrated by West Thames College stand and bodypainting from Charles Fox...

The Clothes Show Live, London

So finally the latest low-down on the Clothes Show Live, London...

We rocked up at the ExCeL Centre in London's Docklands and hit the show with plenty of the day ahead for shopping, chatting, pampering and indulging and it certainly lived up to expectations. There were all sorts of brands there - from stalls selling gorgeous chunky leather wrist cuffs to organic fashion stores, right through to some of my fashion favourites such as Yumi and Fig Leaves.

Fig Leaves.com even had a Beach Catwalk that featured every half an hour, showcasing a whole host of their gorgeous beach wear for both men and women. I couldn't decide which of them I liked more, I've been ogling their range of beautiful bikinis online ever since (now I just need a holiday somewhere warm so they can be put to good use)!

On the Expert Stage, various fashion gurus were on-hand giving people the latest in news and interviewing those in the know including George Lamb, Nicky Hambleton Jones and Karen Franklin (one of the original Clothes Show crew I remember seeing every Sunday when I was little!).

My friend and I were also lucky enough to catch an interview with Angela Buttolph, the author of Kate Moss: Style - a wardrobe diary of the world's most famous modern fashion icon. It's out now and I've had a leaf through it the other day. It's on the Wants List that's for sure - Angela takes you right through the years of Kate's ever-changing and up-to-the-minute style all alongside beautiful full-page photos and glimpses of her fashion to date. It's been put together so well and lovingly researched down to the very last button : )

The Tigi stall had masses of giveaways - I pretty much walked away with a year's supply of hair products ranging from Control Freak Serum and Control Freak Extra Extra Straight hairspray (bought together for £10!) to Curls Rock Amplifier and S Factor Flat Iron Shine Spray - I was in hairstyling heaven! In total I think it came to just £40 - a giant tick on the bargain front!

On top of all that there were celebrity hairstylists showing off their talents and the latest trends - if you were lucky you could be picked out of the crowd and have your hair taken care of by one of the experts themselves, so long as you're not shy : ) There were masseuses on hand to soothe away your shopping aches and pains, the Jessica Nail Bar with champers, the ever lovely Benefit counter, and Fake Bake even had their tanning booths onsite if you were feeling in the mood for a quick bronze before you head out!

Bench were offering a mahoosive 75% discount all day (no prizes for guesssing why we couldn't even make it in without an hour's queue!) and of course, women present means there's a need for chocolate - the KitKat Senses Bar had all that covered with hot beverages and sweet yum yums to please all, including plenty of chocolate fountains dotted around the place - paradise!!

But the highlight for me was the Fashion Theatre at the very end - this was the first real-deal catwalk show I've ever seen and A LOT of effort went into it. The theme was 'On the Pier' and showcased S/S 09 clothes from partywear to casual, to punk to nautical. And not only did they have models showing off the latest onstage - they had dancers who performed their own routines throughout the show also wearing the clothes being showcased. There was also a giant mirrorball at one point, and even a rotating stage! It was so much fun, I loved every minute and I'm definitely coming back next year!!

You can find more photos from the Fashion Theatre on the Clothes Show London website, plus you'll be pleased to see that the clothes showcased are all those in the high street and online stores : ) Yay! x

Image Source

All images courtesy of Clothes Show London

The Clothes Show Live Returns to London!

Hiya!

I'm very much looking forward to this weekend (again!) It's going to a bit of a mental one - I've lots planned and have been recently suffering a cold, so I hope that I don't end up burning myself out all over again and making myself ill once more! :-P

On top of all the party plans, this Sunday my friend and I are going to the Clothes Show Live at the ExCeL in the London Docklands! I remember watching the Clothes Show, the TV series, when I was very little. Every Sunday evening I religiously watched wide-eyed at all the very pretty, crazy and wild outfits. I was too young to follow fashion myself of course, but I still loved to pore over the prettiness and dream! :-D

A decade and a bit later and I'm actually going to be at the Clothes Show event that's held annually. It's been missing in action in the recent years but this year it makes a very happy return with some big celebs and experts there, such as Erin O'Connor (the model!), Andrew Collinge (hair expert!) and many more!

Jessica Nails will be in attendance with their luxurious Nail & Champagne Bar, something tells me my friend and I will most definitely be stumbling into this - pretty nails and champers - could a girl ask for more?! And of course there will be a catwalk for everyone to see and say "Ooooh" and "Ahhh"... :-P

It's an event not to be missed, especially as the word on the street is that on Sunday there's gonna be lots of discounts here, there and everywhere :-D So if you haven't got your tickets yet HURRY!

Are you gonna be there? If so, what are you most looking forward to and why?

I'll be back next week with a big scoop on what went down at the event and what goodies I picked up. Oh and maybe a piccie of my beautiful nails (why not?!)

Bon weekend! x

More info at http://www.clothesshowlondon.com/